Sentry Mode battery usage 7% per day

[kishkaru]

A 360 camera on the ceiling is interesting. What do you mean by "top brace"? Model Y has a single pane of glass, so the camera would need to stick to it.
Unfortunately due to the strong summer heat overhead, suction mount won't work, and even 3M VHB tape won't hold for long in my experience, with using a front dashcam in other cars.

 

[derotam]

I sure hope not! I only lose about 1% per day when Sentry Mode disabled vs. 7% with it enabled. I do hope all the computers/cameras onboard are shutoff!


But it's already taking a hit on my wallet right now . And the environment, with using 2.555 MWh of energy per year.

My biggest concern is those uneducated people that always leave Sentry Mode on and leave the vehicle plugged in at home/work. It's using all this energy unnecessarily if security is not required in a known location. They might think that the car pulls energy from the wall to run battery conditioning or cabin overheat protection, but in reality it's to keep Sentry Mode running. Even if it applies to only 50% of its customers in the fleet, and they've sold 1M cars capable of Sentry Mode thus far, that's 500k * 2.555 MWh = 1.277 TWh of energy wasted in a year for the fleet!

Tesla should do a better job at educating its customers about the pitfalls of Sentry Mode, especially considering their goal of "accelerating the world to sustainability".

They are fighting against fossil fuel vehicles really though...Even with leaving sentry mode on, you are still doing way better than you would if you had an ICE.

We can nit-pick to death if you want...don't use the heat in the winter, wear a coat and gloves, don't use the A/C in the summer, always hypermile, don't precondition the car for charging by routing to a supercharger.....etc etc.

It's a dance, and people dance differently based on their own preferences and scenarios...we are still doing better than if we were driving an ICE though!

 

[MarcEMarc]

Typically I don’t worry much about Vampire Drain since I travel a lot and typically charge often. At home, I have a home charger so often plug in there too.

However, on this trip since April 2021, I’ve been in the Bronx, NY where there are very few chargers and all are pay-to-charge. So, kind of been charging only as needed.

I’ve noticed that my 2017 100D Model S seems to loose around 10-15 miles a day just sitting. I don’t open my app and the app isn’t running in the background. At that kind of drain, my MS won’t last more than a week without charging.

So, my question is what do I do since I’ve read all the online forums and ideas. I don’t have Teslfi and there isn’t a ‘Energy Savings’ setting that I can find. My MS is on software 2020.48.37.1. I typically do have Sentry mode active - it’s NY

I’d appreciate any ideas.

PS. Be kind as I didn’t see this was a Model 3 thread until I posted. I had searched for Vampire Drain.

 

[jombolo]

Typically I don’t worry much about Vampire Drain since I travel a lot and typically charge often. At home, I have a home charger so often plug in there too.

However, on this trip since April 2021, I’ve been in the Bronx, NY where there are very few chargers and all are pay-to-charge. So, kind of been charging only as needed.

I’ve noticed that my 2017 100D Model S seems to loose around 10-15 miles a day just sitting. I don’t open my app and the app isn’t running in the background. At that kind of drain, my MS won’t last more than a week without charging.

So, my question is what do I do since I’ve read all the online forums and ideas. I don’t have Teslfi and there isn’t a ‘Energy Savings’ setting that I can find. My MS is on software 2020.48.37.1. I typically do have Sentry mode active - it’s NY

I’d appreciate any ideas.

PS. Be kind as I didn’t see this was a Model 3 thread until I posted. I had searched for Vampire Drain.

I’ve seen some people attribute what you are describing as maybe a failing 12v battery. It could be that the battery needs to be charged more often than in the past and your battery pack has to keep charging the 12v battery. Don’t know how much merit there is with that theory but worth considering.

 

[Zcd1]

Sentry mode is likely at least part of the issue.

 

[jsmay311]

Typically I don’t worry much about Vampire Drain since I travel a lot and typically charge often. At home, I have a home charger so often plug in there too.

However, on this trip since April 2021, I’ve been in the Bronx, NY where there are very few chargers and all are pay-to-charge. So, kind of been charging only as needed.

I’ve noticed that my 2017 100D Model S seems to loose around 10-15 miles a day just sitting. I don’t open my app and the app isn’t running in the background. At that kind of drain, my MS won’t last more than a week without charging.

So, my question is what do I do since I’ve read all the online forums and ideas. I don’t have Teslfi and there isn’t a ‘Energy Savings’ setting that I can find. My MS is on software 2020.48.37.1. I typically do have Sentry mode active - it’s NY

I’d appreciate any ideas.

PS. Be kind as I didn’t see this was a Model 3 thread until I posted. I had searched for Vampire Drain.

Sentry Mode is likely the main contributor to your high vampire drain. So if you’re not willing to turn it off, you’ll just have to accept 10-15 miles/day of vampire drain.

Cabin Overheat Protection is another feature that can increase vampire drain, but it’s likely not contributing significantly this time of year.

 

[jjrandorin]

Typically I don’t worry much about Vampire Drain since I travel a lot and typically charge often. At home, I have a home charger so often plug in there too.

However, on this trip since April 2021, I’ve been in the Bronx, NY where there are very few chargers and all are pay-to-charge. So, kind of been charging only as needed.

I’ve noticed that my 2017 100D Model S seems to loose around 10-15 miles a day just sitting. I don’t open my app and the app isn’t running in the background. At that kind of drain, my MS won’t last more than a week without charging.

So, my question is what do I do since I’ve read all the online forums and ideas. I don’t have Teslfi and there isn’t a ‘Energy Savings’ setting that I can find. My MS is on software 2020.48.37.1. I typically do have Sentry mode active - it’s NY

I’d appreciate any ideas.

PS. Be kind as I didn’t see this was a Model 3 thread until I posted. I had searched for Vampire Drain.

Sentry mode is almost all of that. There is nothing you can do, other than not run sentry mode or live with it. 10-15 miles a day with sentry mode on is quite good, at least for a model 3, no idea how that lines up for a model S.

TL ; DR, if you run sentry mode, your drain is Not considered "vampire drain" as that term is used to describe drain when you dont know where its coming from (a vampire comes in the night and sucks out energy). Yours is known, and understood drain of sentry mode, thus not vampire drain.

 

[coleAK]

Typically I don’t worry much about Vampire Drain since I travel a lot and typically charge often. At home, I have a home charger so often plug in there too.

However, on this trip since April 2021, I’ve been in the Bronx, NY where there are very few chargers and all are pay-to-charge. So, kind of been charging only as needed.

I’ve noticed that my 2017 100D Model S seems to loose around 10-15 miles a day just sitting. I don’t open my app and the app isn’t running in the background. At that kind of drain, my MS won’t last more than a week without charging.

So, my question is what do I do since I’ve read all the online forums and ideas. I don’t have Teslfi and there isn’t a ‘Energy Savings’ setting that I can find. My MS is on software 2020.48.37.1. I typically do have Sentry mode active - it’s NY

I’d appreciate any ideas.

PS. Be kind as I didn’t see this was a Model 3 thread until I posted. I had searched for Vampire Drain.

I would say sentry is playing a large part. Sounds like this is a new happening. Did it not do this before? Something change? Could you turn off sentry for a few days to see if that is it?

 

[Kirbster]

@kishkaru I have noticed very similar behavior when my car is in an underground garage with little to no cell phone signal and sentry mode is enabled. We have a time share two weeks a year at a ski resort where the car is in an underground heated garage and the car loses 7-8% a day with sentry mode enabled. If I disable sentry mode it loses 1-2% in a week.
When I’ve parked the car outside(even in subzero temps) where is has 3-4 bars of cell signal with sentry mode enabled it loses 1-3% a day depending on the outside temp. The only thing I can think of is since sentry mode is capable of being enabled even without a usb drove install is that the car is using maximum power on the cellular modem due to low signal strength to send sentry notifications up to Tesla and that is what causes the excess drain.

 

[Transformer]

If Sentry Mode does indeed use 7% per day, that's 7% * 75 kWh = 5.25 kWh/day * 365 days = 2.555 MWh of energy per year! 2.555 MWh * $0.36/kWh (supercharger rate in CA) = $920/year just to keep Sentry Mode on.

Good points, esp. about the fleet usage. The hardware wasn't designed for this.

How much of the drain is from the cell radio?

Could you mount a wide angle sentry cam on the garage ceiling?

Hopefully this makes you feel a tad better: 5.25 kWh/day * 365 days/year = 1,916 kWh/year; and that * $0.36/kWh = $690/year.

 

[SDRick]

The chance that having Sentry mode on will save you money is about zero. Saving money by using the system requires that the thief/vandal be identified, caught and forced to reimburse the car owner for damages.

Ya, good luck with that!

 

[kishkaru]

Good points, esp. about the fleet usage. The hardware wasn't designed for this.

How much of the drain is from the cell radio?

Could you mount a wide angle sentry cam on the garage ceiling?

Hopefully this makes you feel a tad better: 5.25 kWh/day * 365 days/year = 1,916 kWh/year; and that * $0.36/kWh = $690/year.

Thanks for the correction. I don't know where I miscalculated. With recent updated supercharging rates in CA it's:

1.916 MWh * $0.20/kWh = $383 per year
1.916 MWh * $0.40/kWh = $766 per year

Yeah, the hardware definitely wasn't designed for it. The idea probably came from a feature review meeting where someone said 'we have all these cameras for AP, why not use them while stationary?'.

The discussion about Sentry Mode with and without cell reception is interesting. Some say that the constant ~250W draw from the battery is to keep the main computer on, in which case a few watts to constantly search for cell reception is peanuts. On the other hand others report a huge difference with and without cell reception. I guess the easiest way is to park outside on the street without moving for 24h and record the battery % loss. I'd love to try this out but streets around me are sketchy. Any takers?

 

[jjrandorin]

Yeah, the hardware definitely wasn't designed for it. The idea probably came from a feature review meeting where someone said 'we have all these cameras for AP, why not use them while stationary?'.

Sentry mode was a direct outcome from Tesla car break ins in San Fran. It was "how can we help tesla owners who are getting their cars broken into in San Fran (and elsewhere but mostly San Fran).

 

[fortunex]

Any possibility of Tesla in the future decreasing Sentry Mode battery drain through efficiencies in software updates?

 

[smogne41]

Any possibility of Tesla in the future decreasing Sentry Mode battery drain through efficiencies in software updates?

Probably no dramatic improvements with the current hardware. The computer has to stay on to read the cameras, encode the files and store them to disk. Probably no way around that with the current architecture. ~5-10% improvements here and there? Totally believable. >50% improvement? Seriously doubt it.

 

[JPMcNown]

I have a radar detector (Escort 360 Redline), and a dual dashcam (4k forward facing, QHD capturing the front seat area), connected to a 5G hotspot I leave in the console. I leave these devices on 24/7, though the radar detector goes to sleep. I lose about 1 mile/day in charge. I got the extra cams because it bugged me to find out that I wouldn't be able to review Tesla video remotely, and I needed to record the interior as well as record audio too. I get that Tesla has an interior cam Tesla can monitor. Though I get that it's prob a legal issue, it also bugged me that Tesla cams don't record audio. It's hard to believe that these 3 devices draw sooooo much less power than Sentry mode, but they clearly do.

 

[fortunex]

I have a radar detector (Escort 360 Redline), and a dual dashcam (4k forward facing, QHD capturing the front seat area), connected to a 5G hotspot I leave in the console. I leave these devices on 24/7, though the radar detector goes to sleep. I lose about 1 mile/day in charge. I got the extra cams because it bugged me to find out that I wouldn't be able to review Tesla video remotely, and I needed to record the interior as well as record audio too. I get that Tesla has an interior cam Tesla can monitor. Though I get that it's prob a legal issue, it also bugged me that Tesla cams don't record audio. It's hard to believe that these 3 devices draw sooooo much less power than Sentry mode, but they clearly do.View attachment 691102View attachment 691105

Nice setup! I was looking at something similar because it would be even more secure to record audio. That plus an interior view would complete any security needs, especially for police traffic stops. Recording audio such as honking, crashes, and voices seems very worthwhile.

Maybe there is a possibility of Tesla giving us access to the interior cam as well as the microphone for voice commands in a future update.

 

[SuperchargEDD]

I'm one of those uneducated people who leaves Sentry Mode on at home and, indeed, plugged in. As my car is accessible to all people entering the carport (no fence), I don't see the advantage of turning of the protection off a rather expensive car.

Does the fact that it's plugged in affect the battery drain from Sentry Mode? In other words, does it still drain the battery, then just recharge from your power source, or is power drawn directly from the charger to support Sentry Mode?

 

[kishkaru]

That's an excellent question. If Tesla programmed their BMS properly, then it should draw the ~250W directly from the Onboard Charger, rather than from the battery.

The easiest way to test for this is for folks with something like a Juicebox (or Teslamate), which shows charging power over time while plugged in. If it shows a constant ~250W, then its directly pulling from the wall for Sentry Mode. If it goes up higher (say a few kW) for a few mins and then shuts off, and repeat, then its pulling the ~250W from the battery, and then topping up the battery once it gets a few % below the set %. In my experience, it's been the latter looking at my Juicebox stats.

See my post here for an example: Tesla wall connector gen3 overheating fix

 

[SuperchargEDD]

Ah, thanks for sharing your results @kishkaru - that's helpful. I was afraid that might be the case. Seems like a lot of wear on the battery over time, if you constantly have Sentry Mode on. Trying to decide what my best option for security is when I'm parked in my driveway - seems like installing a camera and motion detector light at the end of the driveway might be a better long-term solution than relying on Sentry Mode. Just ordered MYLR two days ago, so I'm guessing I have 4+ months to sort things out...