New tidbits from the facts page

[dsm363]

Is there any information on how the battery heating/cooling happens i.e. what range of temperature will S maintain ? Also, what kind of range penalty heating has and does it have a heat pump or a traditional A/C ?

I beleive Roadster doesn't lose much of range in cold weather (above freezing) - but S being a much larger car would be a different beast. I think we can expect 20% or more loss of range in cold weather.

I don't think it will be 20% but don't have any personal experience driving the Roadster in cold weather. This is on the official Tesla forum
Batteries in cold weather | Forums | Tesla Motors

 

[brianman]

Maybe all of us cold weather Model S buyers could go in on a group order of the gloves with the Tesla Motors logo on them. Or maybe that could be a special perk that Tesla throws in for Signature owners: branded, silver threaded gloves = well worth $3500. :wink:

Would we have the same 4 color choices?

 

[Trnsl8r]

There is also going to be voice control for many activities. I hope it's programmable so I can say, "open the pod bay doors HAL" and it will open my garage door.

"I'm sorry Goyogi, I'm afraid I can't do that."

 

[Doug_G]

I beleive Roadster doesn't lose much of range in cold weather (above freezing) - but S being a much larger car would be a different beast. I think we can expect 20% or more loss of range in cold weather.

Although I don't drive my Roadster in the snow, I do have some experience with cold weather driving. I'd estimate a 10% loss in range in typical cold weather highway driving.

You may get a little more range loss at the start of the trip, if the pack is well below freezing. I once drove my Roadster after cold-soaking the pack in -26C weather. It took about 15 minutes for the pack to warm up, and during that time it was drawing more power than normal. That is to be expected with cold batteries; fortunately the "wasted" energy goes into heating the pack up. I estimated an extra 10 ideal km lost during that warm-up period. This can be avoided by plugging in the car, as it will maintain the battery just above freezing.

The Roadster's cabin heater, when running full blast, could consume 5% to 10% of your range. It depends on how fast you are going; for the same range you spend less time driving if you're going faster. On the other hand, when driving slower your range is much higher, so you can still gain range driving slower even though the heater is running longer. Fears about running out of power when stuck in traffic jams are unfounded.

At colder temperatures the air is thicker; I'm told that can result in about 5% less range at highway speeds. I don't have clear data to confirm or refute that, but it sounds reasonable. Driving through snow can also increase rolling resistance.

There are some reasons to think the Model S could be worse; e.g. the cabin is much larger and will require more heat. But I believe it uses a heat pump, not just simple resistive heaters, so it may also be more efficient. So I'm thinking (hoping) that it won't be as bad as 20%. We'll find out next winter...

 

[EVNow]

I don't think it will be 20% but don't have any personal experience driving the Roadster in cold weather. This is on the official Tesla forum
Batteries in cold weather | Forums | Tesla Motors

Thanks for the link.

The Tesla store person went so far as to tell me - since the battery is liquid cooled/heated, there won't be any effect on range - obviously anyone beleiving that will be sorely disappointed. When it comes to cold weather - there is simply no free lunch. Efficiency will decrease. It is just a question of how much. So, when someone is figuring out the "real world" range, winter is something to keep in mind. Even where the winters are mild - as it is here in Seattle.

 

[jcstp]

Is there any information on how the battery heating/cooling happens i.e. what range of temperature will S maintain ? Also, what kind of range penalty heating has and does it have a heat pump or a traditional A/C ?

one of the screens on the touchscreen shows that heat is exchanged between motor, battery and hvac via liquid
So i do not think much energy will be needed to keep the car heated

 

[jcstp]

Thanks for the link.

The Tesla store person went so far as to tell me - since the battery is liquid cooled/heated, there won't be any effect on range - obviously anyone beleiving that will be sorely disappointed. When it comes to cold weather - there is simply no free lunch. Efficiency will decrease. It is just a question of how much. So, when someone is figuring out the "real world" range, winter is something to keep in mind. Even where the winters are mild - as it is here in Seattle.

on the Ovms shows that the roadsters engine can get over 50°C! This is not liquidcooled!
In the model s the car is liquidcooled! This heat can be used for heating other parts of the car!


Open Vehicle Monitoring System

 

[jkirkebo]

on the Ovms shows that the roadsters engine can get over 50°C! This is not liquidcooled!
In the model s the car is liquidcooled! This heat can be used for heating other parts of the car!

Only if you drive it hard. In that case you are not concerned much about range. If you drive carefully to maximize range, no usable heat will be available from the motor or inverter.

 

[vfx]

Perhaps I'll just need to switch over my gloves ....

Car $80,000.00 plus
20 pair of gloves $400.00

 

[NigelM]

Car $80,000.00 plus
20 pair of gloves $400.00

Eric's humor....priceless