Leaving my S unplugged at work

[Reed]

I have a different strategy... I only plan on charging at work.

We have a lot of L2 ChargePoint stations at work that are free for employees to use. My commute is only about 10 miles each way. So 99% of the time, I will have plenty of charge when I get home for other driving when necessary. If I do a lot of driving on the weekends I may need to charge at home or at one of the local charging stations that have a relatively low flat charging rate.

If leaving the car unplugged regularly overnight is a concern for longterm life of the battery I may need to figure out another strategy. From the responses on this thread it sounds like I should have no concerns.

 

[brianman]

Why would you doubt something that is written in the owner's manual? Wouldn't you want to follow Tesla's instructions? LOL

"Trust but verify."

Example: Vampire load is much higher than the manual describes.

 

[David_Cary]

"Trust but verify."

Example: Vampire load is much higher than the manual describes.

Wasn't the LOL there for a reason. I think the statement was meant to be sarcasm.

The battery prefers to be at a relatively low state of charge (30-50%) so the manual is (IMO) wrong from a longevity standpoint. But running too low because you forgot to charge in is so bad in terms of owner experience, that Tesla felt this overwhelmed any longevity issues. And other issues crop up in extreme temperatures but most of the time this is a non issue in a garage.

I've typed it a lot but it bears repeating. Batteries do not want to be stored at high states of charge (well Li based ones). The battery is the single most expensive part of the car and certainly the most significant wear item.

 

[mknox]

I have a different strategy... I only plan on charging at work.

Let us know how that goes. I charged at work for a bit until I started to get sideways looks and heard rumors that people were off-put by my getting "free fuel" for my car. I will now only use the charger at work if I absolutely need to (which for the most part is never).

 

[Reed]

Let us know how that goes. I charged at work for a bit until I started to get sideways looks and heard rumors that people were off-put by my getting "free fuel" for my car. I will now only use the charger at work if I absolutely need to (which for the most part is never).

I hope this does not turn out to be the case for me. In the Silicon Valley people seem to encourage (rather than discourage) the use of alternative fuels. There are about 10 chargers near my building and many others throughout our campus. Since ordering my Model S I have been checking charger availability more frequently. It seems like there are alway at least 1 or 2 free.

I should have my car in about a month, so I will let you know how things pan out when the rubber hits the road.

 

[brianman]

I hope this does not turn out to be the case for me. In the Silicon Valley people seem to encourage (rather than discourage) the use of alternative fuels.

That's different than what mknox was saying, at least as I interpret it. As I read it, the issue wasn't about what kind of fuel you use but rather that company money is paying for it.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

@Reed, @mknox, I get free juice too at work so much so that I rarely plug in at home now. And, there's a thriving EV community at work now (33 vehicles and counting) working around 5 J1772 stations and 13 110V outlets with folks proactively moving cars around once done charging and sending a note to a mailing list accordingly.

Non-EV owners haven't frowned upon the free fuel aspect at all and many that I've spoken to are now actively considering atleast a Volt or a Leaf given the better commute angle too (with HOV lane access).

 

[Larry]

Plug it in it is

 

[mknox]

Non-EV owners haven't frowned upon the free fuel aspect at all and many that I've spoken to are now actively considering atleast a Volt or a Leaf given the better commute angle too (with HOV lane access).

I'm the only EV owner at my company (although the company does own a Volt) and there really isn't the interest in EVs here in Canada like there is in California. There is a government and utility push towards the adoption of EVs, but the uptake is slow. Being the only one with an EV getting "free fuel" might be the difference between my experience and yours where there are already others with EVs and interest rising.