Urban Superchargers (Mostly Great, Slightly Bad)

[lupend88]

First let me say, as a city dweller myself, I am more than excited to hear of these new Superchargers coming to urban areas. That being said...

Doesn't Tesla recommend you plug in your car every night and as often as possible to slow down degradation? Does this mean that us city dwellers will have slightly (hardly noticeable but still present) degradation compared to people that get to plug in every night?

 

[Galve2000]

Doesn't Tesla recommend you plug in your car every night and as often as possible to slow down degradation?

I don't think Tesla's recommendation to plug in every night has much to do with degradation. It is a "best practices" strategy so you don't leave your house with too few rated miles "in the tank" and and then blame Tesla for not hammering home that its best to recharge the car as often as possible.

I'm not sure this is the latest battery chem thinking, (and it is somewhat outside the scope of this forum topic) but from earlier posts on the subject, the battery is happiest (from a battery degradation point of view) when the battery cells are at 50% capacity.

That said, you will never hear Tesla advocating that the battery only be charged to 50% capacity b/c the likelihood of people getting stranded b/c of not enough miles "in the tank" would skyrocket.

still, you will find many owners with short commutes do only charge to 70% or 80%. I too have a short daily commute. and yet I keep my slider at 90% for daily driving.

set it and forget it.. BUT.. don't forget to plug in whenever you can.

 

[Reciprocity]

First let me say, as a city dweller myself, I am more than excited to hear of these new Superchargers coming to urban areas. That being said...

Doesn't Tesla recommend you plug in your car every night and as often as possible to slow down degradation? Does this mean that us city dwellers will have slightly (hardly noticeable but still present) degradation compared to people that get to plug in every night?

Dont kill your self trying to figure out how to save your battery for decades. A couple of simple rules is all you need. Dont charge to 100% and let the car sit for hours, meaning plan to leave as soon as you hit 100%. Dont let the battery run to 0. Dont let the car sit at under 5% for any long period of time. In general, dont let it sit for long periods of time.

All the stuff in between is pointless to worry about. You will lose 2% in the first 1-2 years and 1% over couple of years after. In 10 years, your 120KWh replacement pack will cost $500 installed and charge from 0 to 100% in 3.5 minutes. Your car will fall apart before you need a third pack.

 

[boaterva]

Also, the 'Urban Superchargers' are for a special case. People that absolutely can't do the 'best practice' of plugging in all the time at home. So, they will charge a couple of times a week and commute (or whatever), and perhaps charge more for road trips, etc.

This is why the special new type of Supercharger, different max current, and Tesla's recent shift to: We need to take care of all the Model 3's owned by people that don't have garages/can't install dedicated charging now or perhaps ever.

 

[Galve2000]

So, they will charge a couple of times a week and commute (or whatever), and perhaps charge more for road trips, etc.

I do this exact thing currently as I am a condo dweller without a dedicated charging spot. the only difference being I presently charge at destination chargers as needed rather than SuperCharger or these new urban/metro chargers. Still it works out very well for my needs.

 

[chargeshare]

Hopefully Tesla has a solution for avoiding the urban chargers with large parking fees when road tripping. It would be pretty annoying to have to pay $10+ for parking in addition to free/cheap supercharging.

 

[TexasEV]

Hopefully Tesla has a solution for avoiding the urban chargers with large parking fees when road tripping. It would be pretty annoying to have to pay $10+ for parking in addition to free/cheap supercharging.

They're not intended for road tripping. They're intended for people who live in large cities. That's the whole point. Your solution is to charge at the superchargers located along highways, as you always have done, if you don't want to pay to park downtown. But if you're paying to park downtown anyway while on a trip, now you can charge at the same time.

 

[Jason S]

..snip... In 10 years, your 120KWh replacement pack will cost $500 installed and charge from 0 to 100% in 3.5 minutes. Your car will fall apart before you need a third pack.

HAHA! I sure hope so (but it isn't looking likely at this point)!

 

[Maaz]

Has nothing to do with degradation.

 

[FlatSix911]

Hard to believe that Tesla will be able to install 40+ Urban chargers in the Bay Area ... Better to charge at home

 

[David99]

Tesla said the urban Superchargers will not charge at the same speed as current Superchargers. So they are less harmful to the battery

 

[MP3Mike]

Tesla said the urban Superchargers will not charge at the same speed as current Superchargers. So they are less harmful to the battery

But even the CHAdeMO chargers, that are slower than the Urban Superchargers, trigger the new charging curve that has a lower maximum charge rate.

 

[nwdiver]

But even the CHAdeMO chargers, that are slower than the Urban Superchargers, trigger the new charging curve that has a lower maximum charge rate.

Has this been confirmed by Tesla? 'Cause I've got 117k miles, done A LOT of supercharging and I have no idea what you guys are talking about with this 'lower max charge rate'...

 

[eye.surgeon]

First let me say, as a city dweller myself, I am more than excited to hear of these new Superchargers coming to urban areas. That being said...

Doesn't Tesla recommend you plug in your car every night and as often as possible to slow down degradation? Does this mean that us city dwellers will have slightly (hardly noticeable but still present) degradation compared to people that get to plug in every night?

That recommendation is more of a CYA so people don't let their battery drain too low. I only plug mine in overnight in my garage once or twice a week because that's all the range I need. Battery will be fine. keep it between 20-90 and don't worry about it.

 

[FlatSix911]

Has this been confirmed by Tesla? 'Cause I've got 117k miles, done A LOT of supercharging and I have no idea what you guys are talking about with this 'lower max charge rate'...

Supercharging Cities

Supercharger stations in urban areas will be installed in convenient locations, including supermarkets, shopping centers and downtown districts, so it’s easy for customers to charge their car in the time it takes to grocery shop or run errands. They also have the same pricing as our existing Superchargers, which is far cheaper than the cost of gasoline.

Superchargers in urban areas have a new post design that occupies less space and is easier to install, making them ideal for dense, highly populated areas. To increase efficiency and support a high volume of cars, these Superchargers have a new architecture that delivers a rapid 72 kilowatts of dedicated power to each car. This means charging speeds are unaffected by Tesla vehicles plugging into adjacent Superchargers, and results in consistent charging times around 45 to 50 minutes for most drivers.

 

[MP3Mike]

Has this been confirmed by Tesla? 'Cause I've got 117k miles, done A LOT of supercharging and I have no idea what you guys are talking about with this 'lower max charge rate'...

Yes, Tesla has said it does. What kind of battery do you have? (This limitation doesn't apply to the actual 60, 70, and 85kWh packs. It applies to the 75, 90, and possible 100 kWh packs.)

 

[nwdiver]

Yes, Tesla has said it does. What kind of battery do you have? (This limitation doesn't apply to the actual 60, 70, and 85kWh packs. It applies to the 75, 90, and possible 100 kWh packs.)

I've got an 85... so that might explain it... but I still haven't seen anything official from Tesla.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

To increase efficiency and support a high volume of cars, these Superchargers have a new architecture that delivers a rapid 72 kilowatts of dedicated power to each car. This means charging speeds are unaffected by Tesla vehicles plugging into adjacent Superchargers, and results in consistent charging times around 45 to 50 minutes for most drivers. [/I]

I expect that the consistency was a big deal for Tesla since it'll help with idling fees.

 

[schonelucht]

I've got an 85... so that might explain it... but I still haven't seen anything official from Tesla.

See here If you fast charge, Tesla will permanently throttle charging for the full thread. Skip to the end to read the official Tesla statement or get it here Tesla explains why it limits Supercharging speed after high numbers of DC charges

 

[R.S]

Tesla said the urban Superchargers will not charge at the same speed as current Superchargers. So they are less harmful to the battery

They are 72kW which seems to be more, than the SR can even take. Assuming the SR pack has 60kWh usable, which it probably hasn't, and given the 120 miles in 30 minutes recharge, the average charging power is 65 kW. Assuming it has 50 kWh, it would be around 55 kW.

Now the LR will definitely charge slower at urban chargers and the SR might charge at a higher power initially, if they have a bad taper. But if the charging curve is similar to the S and X, a SR will see no difference between charging at the urban or the regular supercharger