Phantom Power

[nleggatt]

People tend to chat alot about how much it costs to charge a ModelS, but I'm curious about the standby Phantom power that is used while keeping the pack at the right temp etc etc. Having it plugged in over the weekend with no use, might that use a lot of power?

 

[strider]

If the temperature is not extreme the pack uses nothing. I live in a mild climate so I don't have the numbers off the top of my head but if it gets really hot or really cold the car will use energy to heat or cool the pack but otherwise it'll just sit there.

 

[Doug_G]

The pack loses about 3 ideal km (400 Wh) every day it sits idle, probably mostly power for the microprocessors that control and monitor the car (VDS etc.). In normal charging modes it will top the pack up daily.

In cold weather, while plugged in the car will heat the pack to keep it just above freezing. This heating is disabled if the car is put in Storage mode.

Reportedly in really hot weather it may run the A/C to keep the pack cool, but I've never seen that (we get hot weather but not THAT hot apparently). Of course it runs the A/C during charging to cool the pack.

 

[cinergi]

The Roadster uses a SIGNIFICANT amount of energy to keep the battery above freezing while plugged in if it's really cold (e.g. 0F) outside. I did the math on my logs last winter and it was 6.6 KWh over a 14 hour period.

 

[Doug_G]

The Roadster uses a SIGNIFICANT amount of energy to keep the battery above freezing while plugged in if it's really cold (e.g. 0F) outside. I did the math on my logs last winter and it was 6.6 KWh over a 14 hour period.

A good reason to keep it in the garage.

 

[cinergi]

A good reason to keep it in the garage.

:tongue: one of many. Now that I have a garage, I've also noticed how much more comfortable it is to drive the Roadster out into very cold weather when the Roadster hasn't been sitting in said weather -- the heat's enough to keep things relatively comfortable when it doesn't have to overcome a cold cabin and vent lines!