Leaving sentry mode on while plugged in for extended periods...bad idea?

[m3m3m2]

Hi all,

Just bought my Model 3 recently and am moving to an apartment that has a detached (public) parking lot with super chargers. I will most likely be leaving it plugged in at a super charger and don't drive all the time, maybe 3 days between drives at most. My question is, is it bad for the battery to leave sentry mode on while it's plugged in for those extended periods? Considering it's a busy public parking lot, I'd feel less confident leaving it unattended for an exteneded period of time without sentry mode on.

 

[jjrandorin]

You likely mean plugged in at Level 2 chargers, not superchargers (which are a tesla specific thing of Fast DC charging, all tesla charging is not supercharging).

Sentry mode uses between 1-2 miles an hour of range (rounding to what you will see in the vehicle), so like 20-48 miles a day depending on what else is on in your vehicle like cabin overheat protection, etc.

Leaving it on will be the equivalent of driving 20 ish miles a day, on your battery, as far as energy used. Whether that matters or not is up to you. Over the course of a year, its a lot of additional energy used, but wouldnt be any different than if you were driving the car 24 miles a day. Many people drive much more than that.

As long as you are talking about "your apartment complexes level 2 chargers" and not actual superchargers (which charge idle fees, etc), its just a matter of being ok with roughly 24 mile a day of battery usage. If it sentry makes you feel better, then you should enable it, energy usage be darned.

 

[Frank99]

Welcome to the forums. Hope you've got the 'Tesla grin' as wide as I still do.
There's no issue with what you suggest. You'll use a bit more energy than with Sentry disabled, but should something happen to the car, you'll have a record of it. With the car plugged in, it'll keep the battery topped up so you'll never notice the energy use. There's no significant practical wear to the car or battery doing this.

 

[pkeller]

You may also want to reconsider leaving it plugged in to a public charger (I assume its public since it's in a public lot) for extended periods of time. There may be others that would like to charge their cars but are unable to due to you idling on a charger for longer than necessary.

 

[Darmie]

If there is an option for you to use 110V, regular house receptacle that may even work for your needs.

 

[m3m3m2]

You may also want to reconsider leaving it plugged in to a public charger (I assume its public since it's in a public lot) for extended periods of time. There may be others that would like to charge their cars but are unable to due to you idling on a charger for longer than necessary.

Hey, thanks for the reply. Pretty sure you reserve a spot with a charger as a monthly customer but I have to look into it more. If not, I'll probably just turn on sentry mode anyway. Thx!

 

[m3m3m2]

You likely mean plugged in at Level 2 chargers, not superchargers (which are a tesla specific thing of Fast DC charging, all tesla charging is not supercharging).

Sentry mode uses between 1-2 miles an hour of range (rounding to what you will see in the vehicle), so like 20-48 miles a day depending on what else is on in your vehicle like cabin overheat protection, etc.

Leaving it on will be the equivalent of driving 20 ish miles a day, on your battery, as far as energy used. Whether that matters or not is up to you. Over the course of a year, its a lot of additional energy used, but wouldnt be any different than if you were driving the car 24 miles a day. Many people drive much more than that.

As long as you are talking about "your apartment complexes level 2 chargers" and not actual superchargers (which charge idle fees, etc), its just a matter of being ok with roughly 24 mile a day of battery usage. If it sentry makes you feel better, then you should enable it, energy usage be darned.

Yep, pretty sure I meant level 2 chargers. Thanks, this helps a lot!

 

[m3m3m2]

Welcome to the forums. Hope you've got the 'Tesla grin' as wide as I still do.
There's no issue with what you suggest. You'll use a bit more energy than with Sentry disabled, but should something happen to the car, you'll have a record of it. With the car plugged in, it'll keep the battery topped up so you'll never notice the energy use. There's no significant practical wear to the car or battery doing this.

I have been smiling every time I step near it for days!!! Thank you!

 

[trintrax]

I have found this in the UK manual for LFP batteries. I don’t know why Tesla recommends that deep sleep with sentry mode off is better for the battery if charged to 100% as it should be taking the electricity from the grid and not the battery(or do they mean when it is not plugged in?)


“If your vehicle is equipped with an LFP Battery, Tesla recommends that you keep your charge limit set to 100%, even for daily use, and that you also fully charge to 100% at least once per week. If Model 3 has been parked for longer than a week, Tesla recommends driving as you normally would and charge to 100% at your earliest convenience.

In addition, a best practice is to allow Model 3 to "sleep" regularly by parking it with Sentry Mode disabled, when possible. Consider using the Exclude Home, Exclude Work, and Exclude Favorites settings to prevent Sentry Mode from automatically activating at locations it is not needed (see Sentry Mode).

 

[jjrandorin]

I have found this in the UK manual for LFP batteries. I don’t know why Tesla recommends that deep sleep with sentry mode off is better for the battery if charged to 100% as it should be taking the electricity from the grid and not the battery(or do they mean when it is not plugged in?)


“If your vehicle is equipped with an LFP Battery, Tesla recommends that you keep your charge limit set to 100%, even for daily use, and that you also fully charge to 100% at least once per week. If Model 3 has been parked for longer than a week, Tesla recommends driving as you normally would and charge to 100% at your earliest convenience.

In addition, a best practice is to allow Model 3 to "sleep" regularly by parking it with Sentry Mode disabled, when possible. Consider using the Exclude Home, Exclude Work, and Exclude Favorites settings to prevent Sentry Mode from automatically activating at locations it is not needed (see Sentry Mode).

They likely recommend that because the BMS (battery maintenance system) calculations work best when the car gets some time to "sleep". Sentry mode doesnt allow the car to sleep, so prevents that. For more than that, I would suggest participating in the LFP battery specific thread, where owners of teslas with that battery are discussing battery use, etc:

Model 3 SR+ LFP Battery Range, Degradation, etc Discussion

Here is another data point from yesterday. I left home in 17F outside temp. Car was parked in my driveway, scheduled for a full charge and preheated. Battery average temp was 67 F. I drove with 67 F interior temp with jacket on, heated seat set on Auto and steering heat. When I got to work...

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