Hello all, i just got my model MYP and i live in WA it's really cold right now and the car is garaged. I have a level 2 Tesla charger. My commute is roughly 50 miles, Do you guys plug in daily and leave it plugged in until having to leave the next day or do you charge every few days when the battery gets down to 20-30%? Whats better for the battery? Thank you!
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Plug in Daily or as needed?
- Thread starter 206MYP
- Start date
Tesla recommends leaving the Tesla vehicle plugged in when not in use. With your 50 mile commute you can skip a day and nothing bad will happen. (You can leave the Tesla vehicle unplugged, parked at an airport for weeks with no issue.) You may decide not to charge on the weekend if you have not driven the Tesla vehicle or only for short trips. Some can charge at work so they take full advantage of the free charging and only charge at home when needed.
You can improve your driving efficiency by using the Scheduled Departure charging feature. You can program the Tesla vehicle to always complete charging in time for your normal commute. The battery will be warm from just having completed charging. A related feature is Scheduled Departure Preconditioning. When you set Scheduled Departure Preconditioning the Tesla vehicle will automatically be warmed (or cooled in summer) to your desired cabin temperature. You can set Preconditioning to occur on weekdays only or all week. You can also set a second preconditioning time using the Tesla app on your phone so your Tesla vehicle is warm when you leave work.
You can always precondition the Tesla vehicle manually using the Tesla app and tapping the fan icon on the main Tesla app screen. Depending on the temperature inside the garage this can take between 5 and 10 minutes or longer to warm the passenger cabin to the desired temperature. The seat heaters and steering wheel heater will come on at the most recent setting (the latest software release includes individual seat Auto setting for the seat heaters.)
For daily driving set the battery charge limit to anywhere between 50% and 90%, i.e. set to 80%, only charge above 90% when leaving on a trip.
You can improve your driving efficiency by using the Scheduled Departure charging feature. You can program the Tesla vehicle to always complete charging in time for your normal commute. The battery will be warm from just having completed charging. A related feature is Scheduled Departure Preconditioning. When you set Scheduled Departure Preconditioning the Tesla vehicle will automatically be warmed (or cooled in summer) to your desired cabin temperature. You can set Preconditioning to occur on weekdays only or all week. You can also set a second preconditioning time using the Tesla app on your phone so your Tesla vehicle is warm when you leave work.
You can always precondition the Tesla vehicle manually using the Tesla app and tapping the fan icon on the main Tesla app screen. Depending on the temperature inside the garage this can take between 5 and 10 minutes or longer to warm the passenger cabin to the desired temperature. The seat heaters and steering wheel heater will come on at the most recent setting (the latest software release includes individual seat Auto setting for the seat heaters.)
For daily driving set the battery charge limit to anywhere between 50% and 90%, i.e. set to 80%, only charge above 90% when leaving on a trip.
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Nosken
Active Member
The low voltage 12 V battery will last much longer if you plug in all the time.
Why not, you use the same amount of electricity either way.
Why not, you use the same amount of electricity either way.
ScoobyDoo82
Member
The 12V battery in the Tesla vehicle is charged as required using power from the main battery whether or not the Tesla vehicle is plugged in. Plugging in the Tesla vehicle is not like connecting a trickle charger as far as charging or maintaining the 12V battery. There is a DC-to-DC Converter, part of the Tesla vehicle's power conversion system (PCS), that provides 12V power to the Tesla vehicle's 12V systems when the Tesla vehicle is powered on. The DC-to-DC Converter maintains the 12V battery. Separately, the PCS converts AC to DC voltage to charge the high voltage battery when the Tesla vehicle is plugged in, charging.
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If only the manual asked and answered this question. (It does.) There isn't any benefit at all to intentionally running it low before recharging, and the manual states exactly that. So plug in as often as you like. But you don't have to be obsessive about it either. It's not necessary every single day if that's a little inconvenient, so if you go another day or two, it's not a big deal as long as you're not running it really low often and letting it sit there a lot. Staying in that general middle sort of range most of the time and not staying at the very high or very low end often for long periods is generally the main battery health kind of thing to watch for.
FWIW, I got to drive a '21 Hyundai Kona electric and the manual says something similar. Something like the car was designed to work at optimum efficiency when climate was set to ~72 degrees.
Not that high heat or low AC will hurt it, just reduce efficiency some. Makes sense.
Thank you everyone for the feedback, I've been plugging it in when i get home at night. limit at 80% I must say i love not having to go to the gas station
You can set Scheduled Departure - Preconditioning from inside the Tesla vehicle, again using the Tesla App for a second Scheduled Departure - Preconditioning.
Just leave it plugged in set it to 80%. Every so often let it run down to 10 and then refill. I initially set my charge higher and lost some range for a trip with super charging I’ll set it to 90 before departure. If your lead footed it’s an energy hog. But I personally like to have fun so it’s worth it to me that’s why the performance. I put a unplugged sway bars on the car and it makes a big difference at speed. Have fun congratulations!