Scheduled preconditioning really helps

[CapsEngineer]

On most

Get used to the abbreviations. I joined 10 months ago and they make me tired. Here’s a short list. Tesla terms and abbreviations

Thanks for the link. Every program I’ve worked on has a LAMAA (List of Acronym, Mnemonic, And Abbreviations) and I have been looking for one for this forum.

 

[03BAT]

In Southern California there are multiple TOU electric utility rate plans. Look up TOU 5, I believe that plan offers some of the lowest rates for the hours between 1200 and 0600.

I think you mean between 0000 and 0600. 1200 is midday.

 

[jcanoe]

Perhaps but in the US other than the military we don't typically refer to having a 24 hour clock.

 

[juicevibes]

Get used to the abbreviations. I joined 10 months ago and they make me tired. Here’s a short list. Tesla terms and abbreviations

Awesome! Thanks.

 

[KDeanCville]

Does pre-conditioning apply only doing cold weather conditions? If the vehicle is in a garage, not exposed to the elements, is there any benefit?

Our MY is new and so far, with no longer trips, the battery hasn't been below 50%. My initial reading says this is OK. I don't want to cause issues later on by repeatedly charging from 65% to 81%.

Thx

 

[jcanoe]

Does pre-conditioning apply only doing cold weather conditions? If the vehicle is in a garage, not exposed to the elements, is there any benefit?

Our MY is new and so far, with no longer trips, the battery hasn't been below 50%. My initial reading says this is OK. I don't want to cause issues later on by repeatedly charging from 65% to 81%.

Thx

Any time, any temperature. When you precondition the most recent climate control settings activate by default unless you change the climate control settings via the Tesla app. Preconditioning is great for those warm days so you never have to enter a sweltering hot vehicle even if the Tesla is parked inside a garage. In winter I precondition for typically 20 to 30 minutes. In summer perhaps 10 minutes to cool down the interior of the Tesla vehicle. In summer the temperature inside of my garage can climb well above 90F. Related but separate from Preconditioning; Cabin Overheat Protection, when set On, the Tesla will run the AC to maintain the cabin temperature below 105F as required when the Tesla is parked (Cabin Overheat Protection remains active for up to 12 hours after the Tesla has been parked. There is also a setting so that Cabin Overheat Protection will only run the HVAC fan to attempt to cool down the Tesla cabin.

 

[KDeanCville]

Interesting! So specifically then, how do you pre-condition? Do you wake the car using the Tesla app?
I know it's possible to schedule a departure time from within the car but I don't usually know when I'm going to be leaving. Using the app would be much easier. Or is there another way to do this? Thank you!

 

[jcanoe]

It is perfectly fine to maintain the battery charge between 50% and 81% (even up to 90%.) Periodically it is a good practice to charge above 94% and run the battery charge down below 30% so the Tesla's battery management system can properly calibrate. Also, don't leave Sentry Mode or Summon active when parked at home all of the time. If these services remain active the Tesla vehicle never goes into sleep mode. The Tesla vehicle periodically needs to enter sleep mode to measure the open cell voltage (OCV) of the cells within the battery pack.

 

[jcanoe]

Interesting! So specifically then, how do you pre-condition? Do you wake the car using the Tesla app?
I know it's possible to schedule a departure time from within the car but I don't usually know when I'm going to be leaving. Using the app would be much easier. Or is there another way to do this? Thank you!

Yes, I precondition my Tesla Model Y usually several times each day before driving via the Tesla app on my phone. There are also some third party apps including the Apple Watch Tesla App that may enable you to start/stop preconditioning.

Preconditioning will wake up the Tesla vehicle. The Tesla vehicle does not need to be plugged in to use the Preconditioning feature but if you are charging at Level 2 (240V) and at least 32 amps then the battery charge will be maintained during preconditioning with no loss of driving range. (Even if not plugged in preconditioning typically uses just a few percent of the battery charge when warming the battery pack, heating the cabin.)

In winter preconditioning the Tesla vehicle will also warm the battery pack. This can take more than 20 or 30 minutes depending on the outside temperature. The battery needs to be warmed so that a) the battery can be charged, b) so full power is available, c) so some regenerative braking is available. When the battery is cold regenerative braking can be reduced to the point that you don't feel like the Tesla has any regenerative braking. After the battery pack has been warmed, while somewhat reduced, the level of regenerative braking available is still quite effective at slowing the Tesla vehicle when you lift your foot off of the accelerator pedal.

Tests have shown that preconditioning in winter can improve the Tesla vehicle's efficiency by ~10% as compared to not preconditioning, not warming the battery pack before driving. This is true if you will be driving more than 10 miles. For shorter drives the energy used to precondition the Tesla will be greater than the energy saved while driving with a warmed battery pack.

 

[KDeanCville]

Yes, I precondition my Tesla Model Y usually several times each day before driving via the Tesla app on my phone. There are also some third party apps including the Apple Watch Tesla App that may enable you to start/stop preconditioning.

Preconditioning will wake up the Tesla vehicle. The Tesla vehicle does not need to be plugged in to use the Preconditioning feature but if you are charging at Level 2 (240V) and at least 32 amps then the battery charge will be maintained during preconditioning with no loss of driving range. (Even if not plugged in preconditioning typically uses just a few percent of the battery charge when warming the battery pack, heating the cabin.)

In winter preconditioning the Tesla vehicle will also warm the battery pack. This can take more than 20 or 30 minutes depending on the outside temperature. The battery needs to be warmed so that a) the battery can be charged, b) so full power is available, c) so some regenerative braking is available. When the battery is cold regenerative braking can be reduced to the point that you don't feel like the Tesla has any regenerative braking. After the battery pack has been warmed, while somewhat reduced, the level of regenerative braking available is still quite effective at slowing the Tesla vehicle when you lift your foot off of the accelerator pedal.

Tests have shown that preconditioning in winter can improve the Tesla vehicle's efficiency by ~10% as compared to not preconditioning, not warming the battery pack before driving. This is true if you will be driving more than 10 miles. For shorter drives the energy used to precondition the Tesla will be greater than the energy saved while driving with a warmed battery pack.

Thanks for the follow up info and details - and also the patience with a Newbie!
Found similar info in this thread when I searched for pre-condition - Any direct control to battery pre-condition? You rock @jcanoe !!

 

[jcanoe]

Thanks for the follow up info and details - and also the patience with a Newbie!
Found similar info in this thread when I searched for pre-condition - Any direct control to battery pre-condition? You rock @jcanoe !!

You will really enjoy preconditioning the Tesla vehicle in summer. As long as you remember to turn on the climate control via the app you will never have to get into a vehicle that feels hotter than a sauna again. Of course you can also set the climate control to remain on after you exit the vehicle (this option must be set each time you exit the vehicle.) This feature is great if you are just running into a store to pick up a few items. It does use some additional power to keep the climate control running but you'll soon get spoiled and wonder how you ever got along without it.

 

[everydaychris]

I still don't get it.
with SCE, so cal, you can only choose 2 rate plans. For me, we did 4-9 is the highest prices and in the summer any other time is the same price.

When I precondition the car, it turns on climate control. I don't understand the off peak charging because it only gives me one time. Should I do 4 pm or 9 Pm haha.

For now what's been working is scheduled departure at our normal time 4 AM. haha

 

[jcanoe]

I still don't get it.
with SCE, so cal, you can only choose 2 rate plans. For me, we did 4-9 is the highest prices and in the summer any other time is the same price.

When I precondition the car, it turns on climate control. I don't understand the off peak charging because it only gives me one time. Should I do 4 pm or 9 Pm haha.

For now what's been working is scheduled departure at our normal time 4 AM. haha

If I understand, your SCE time of use (TOU) rate plan peak rate period is 4PM to 9PM. Anytime after 9PM until 4PM the next day the rate is lowest. (You won't want to start charging after 4PM and before 9PM as this is the costliest time. If you select Scheduled Charging from the Charging Screen you can press the button to toggle between Scheduled Departure and Scheduled Charging, then edit the Scheduled Charging settings.

You can set Scheduled Charging to start charging at 9PM if you desire. Since you leave your house at ~4 AM (at least on weekdays) you can alternately set Scheduled Charging to always complete by 4 AM. This can be slightly more efficient than charging earlier in the evening because by charging as late as possible the battery pack will still be partially warmed from the charging session. (In SC this charging strategy may not save you much energy/efficiency if the temperature does not drop below 30F or even 40F overnight most nights even in winter.)

You have set Scheduled Departure for 4AM, the Tesla will automatically wake up (if not already awake as when charging) and start preconditioning. If it is cold enough preconditioning will warm the battery pack, else warm or cool the cabin to the previous set cabin temperature, also seat heater settings. Depending on the outside temperature preconditioning will start 20 to 30 minutes prior to the Scheduled Departure time. (You might want to stagger the end of the Scheduled Charging time (when charging will be completed) and Scheduled Departure time by 30 minutes so that the preconditioning does not take place during the last 30 minutes of the charging session. If you charge at 240V/48A preconditioning will not noticeably extend the charging time but if you charge at 240V/32A the preconditioning might slightly extend the time needed to complete charging.

The Scheduled Charging and Scheduled Departure settings are kind of wonky. If you can't get back to the option you want then delete the Scheduled Charging, Scheduled Departure settings and start over.

 

[everydaychris]

If I understand, your SCE time of use (TOU) rate plan peak rate period is 4PM to 9PM. Anytime after 9PM until 4PM the next day the rate is lowest. (You won't want to start charging after 4PM and before 9PM as this is the costliest time. If you select Scheduled Charging from the Charging Screen you can press the button to toggle between Scheduled Departure and Scheduled Charging, then edit the Scheduled Charging settings.

You can set Scheduled Charging to start charging at 9PM if you desire. Since you leave your house at ~4 AM (at least on weekdays) you can alternately set Scheduled Charging to always complete by 4 AM. This can be slightly more efficient than charging earlier in the evening because by charging as late as possible the battery pack will still be partially warmed from the charging session. (In SC this charging strategy may not save you much energy/efficiency if the temperature does not drop below 30F or even 40F overnight most nights even in winter.)

You have set Scheduled Departure for 4AM, the Tesla will automatically wake up (if not already awake as when charging) and start preconditioning. If it is cold enough preconditioning will warm the battery pack, else warm or cool the cabin to the previous set cabin temperature, also seat heater settings. Depending on the outside temperature preconditioning will start 20 to 30 minutes prior to the Scheduled Departure time. (You might want to stagger the end of the Scheduled Charging time (when charging will be completed) and Scheduled Departure time by 30 minutes so that the preconditioning does not take place during the last 30 minutes of the charging session. If you charge at 240V/48A preconditioning will not noticeably extend the charging time but if you charge at 240V/32A the preconditioning might slightly extend the time needed to complete charging.

The Scheduled Charging and Scheduled Departure settings are kind of wonky. If you can't get back to the option you want then delete the Scheduled Charging, Scheduled Departure settings and start over.

awesome. That sums it up better. I was so confused. I think the best for me is the scheduled departure time.
Thank you!