I drive 40 miles a day for work. On weekend, maybe 20 miles a day. So went it said keep the car plugged in at home for optimize battery, does that mean plugged in and charge to 80% each day? I prefer to keep it at 80% in case of emergencies. even with my gas cars, I would fill when it reaches half tank.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Maybe over thinking here.
- Thread starter daybreakca
- Start date
Eric33432
Member
Yes, it is OK to leave it plugged in. In fact, Tesla recommends it.
But with your driving only 40 miles or less a day it would be better to only charge it to 50%, you will get slightly less battery degradation. For daily driving I normally use 10 to 30% of the battery, so having it at 50% every morning is more than enough.
I used to charge it to 80% but now that I comfortable with it I realized that is not necessary for my use case.
If I am going to be going out of town I charge to whatever I think I will need the night before.
If you are uncomfortable with charging to less than 80%, then don't worry about it and charge to 80. From what I have read, while there will be a increase in degradation will not be much.
Our Tessies are so much fun to drive, I find I am driving a lot more than I used to.
Plug in every night. Every night. It becomes a pattern that won't ever leave you in need of battery juice...
...unless you forget!!!
...unless you forget!!!
Plugged in doesn't always mean charging, but charging always means plugged in.
I always plug in because I drive roughly 50 miles a day and charge to 60% (departure setting) just prior to leaving the house. When you charge to 80%, it's less of a need to plug in all the time, because you've got that range but it's tougher on the battery to leave it sitting there with high SOC all the time. I am usually at around 50% or slightly below most of the time.
I always plug in because I drive roughly 50 miles a day and charge to 60% (departure setting) just prior to leaving the house. When you charge to 80%, it's less of a need to plug in all the time, because you've got that range but it's tougher on the battery to leave it sitting there with high SOC all the time. I am usually at around 50% or slightly below most of the time.
ATPMSD
Active Member
I agree with this logic. In my ICE car I used a 1/4 tank as my empty, which meant I could always run to the office, or to my kids, or the hospital without any concern. I apply the same logic to my EV, which for me means a minimum of 37%. I also add a bit more to ensure I keep the car’s minimum SOC in double digits, so this all comes to 45-50% as my personal minimum at home.
It is true that the “optimal” battery target is 50%, so in my case as I consume about 40% on a typical day, the best range for me would be to charge to 70% arriving at home with 30%, and the charge back to 70% when I get home.
Or, don’t overthink it. Just charge to 80% each night then relax and enjoy your car. This is what I actually do.
ATPMSD
Active Member
You have to get much closer to 100% before this has any real impact.
ATPMSD
Active Member
Is 80% better than 90%? Probably. In fact anything away from 50% is the likely worse than 50%. The question is to what degree?
My advice is don’t overthink this. If you really care there are literally thousands on posts on the HV battery.
