Question & Poll on Winter Driving experiences : Watts / km (or Watts/Mile)

[David29]

I've driven to and from work in NJ since it snowed on Sunday. My wh/mi going to work in the morning coming off the charger was about 220wh/mi, which is slightly higher than normal, but still not bad. Coming home on a cold soaked battery, my range drops to about 260-285wh/mi when it usually is 240ish. This is without running the heat though and using the seat heater if necessary. Yesterday and this morning were slightly worse due to flat tire I got on Wednesday night, so I've been driving on 13 aeros and a 19" wheel in the back.

Parking out in the cold will reduce battery charge since the car needs to keep the battery warmed to a certain temp. Driving with the heat on or where the battery is cold and regen is severely limited will also decrease range quite a bit.

220Wh/mi is incredibly low consumption, so I am startled when you say that is "slightly higher than normal." But maybe you have a Model 3? The EPA rating for most Model S cars was 290 Wh/mi or more before the ravens were introduced....(292 was the rating for my 70D, about the most efficient Model S before the Ravens came.)

 

[scubastevo80]

220Wh/mi is incredibly low consumption, so I am startled when you say that is "slightly higher than normal." But maybe you have a Model 3? The EPA rating for most Model S cars was 290 Wh/mi or more before the ravens were introduced....(292 was the rating for my 70D, about the most efficient Model S before the Ravens came.)

Yes, sorry - I'm a Model 3 driver. I haven't done enough tracking of my wife's Model S consumption, but we park her car outside overnight and she's a heavy heat user, so I'm sure hers will have gone way up from what we saw in spring/summer/fall driving with temps above 50 degrees.

 

[vpblur]

We just did a 940 mile round trip from Boulder, CO to Mt Rushmore and the Black Hills in SD. It was the Wed-Fri of Thanksgiving week so we left CO with a massive amount of snow still on the roads and it pretty much continued like that to SD. Hardly efficient driving conditions. It didn't get above freezing for the entire trip and got as low ~8 degrees F. We are in a 12/14 P85D+. With the HVAC set to ~74 degrees, three seat heaters running at various times, range mode on and in sport mode we averaged 360Wh/mi for the entire trip. This is with 19" Michelin X-Ice tires.

I didn't really know what to expect other than diminished range but all in all I was rather impressed. And especially now when I look at the poll results and some of the comments in the thread.

 

[David29]

We just did a 940 mile round trip from Boulder, CO to Mt Rushmore and the Black Hills in SD. It was the Wed-Fri of Thanksgiving week so we left CO with a massive amount of snow still on the roads and it pretty much continued like that to SD. Hardly efficient driving conditions. It didn't get above freezing for the entire trip and got as low ~8 degrees F. We are in a 12/14 P85D+. With the HVAC set to ~74 degrees, three seat heaters running at various times, range mode on and in sport mode we averaged 360Wh/mi for the entire trip. This is with 19" Michelin X-Ice tires.

I didn't really know what to expect other than diminished range but all in all I was rather impressed. And especially now when I look at the poll results and some of the comments in the thread.

That is indeed rather impressive! That energy use is about the same as what I experienced in my 70D yesterday in a round trip of about 90 miles with temps in the high 20s/low 30s. I did not use range mode, I was alone in the car, set the HVAC at 69F, and used the front seat heater off and on. Roads were dry, I have all-season Michelin tires, and weather was sunny on the first leg of the trip (sun had set for the return). You did better than i, consider your more adverse conditions.

 

[IndyToronto]

On a 7-9C clear road, clear day with some minor drizzle, I observed 201Wh/km (323Wh/mile). Seat heater on, 20C climate, Range mode off. winter tires. PARKED INDOORS!

A huge difference going from 300+ to 201 /km between snow+slush @ -10C and clear @ 9C. (Also parked indoors vs outdoor)...

 

[dark cloud]

There, how do you like dem apples?

(multiply by 1.6 to get wh/mi)

 

[David29]

There, how do you like dem apples?

(multiply by 1.6 to get wh/mi)


View attachment 491455

Ouch! Considering it was a reasonably long trip, that is very high! Temp? Terrain (hills?) Snow or rain? Speed? Curious what the conditions were. Looks like a Model S, right?

 

[dark cloud]

Ouch! Considering it was a reasonably long trip, that is very high! Temp? Terrain (hills?) Snow or rain? Speed? Curious what the conditions were. Looks like a Model S, right?

slowed down to take the pic; average 120km/h, -12 c, no snow though; dry roads, yes uphill. Would have been higher if battery wasn’t warm though.