Warming up the battery before driving in winter conditions

[Doug_G]

If it's not showing any regen limits then you probably don't need to preheat.

 

[Bighorn]

At what temperature should you preheat? Today it was 3 in Toronto. My car, in the garage, was 7.5. Should I preheat?

Regen limits generally start showing up around 10C. Of course, preheating the cabin increases comfort and decreases the use of climate heat if you're stretching the battery.

 

[jerry33]

I preheat anytime when I would be cold just sitting in the car. That's usually 12C or less. As it gets colder, I preheat longer/warmer. My car is outside so it gets colder than a garaged car.

 

[mibaro2]

At what temperature should you preheat? Today it was 3 in Toronto. My car, in the garage, was 7.5. Should I preheat?

I preheated for 5 minutes this morning just to have more comfort and use shore power rather than the battery. I didn't have full regen, but a lot more than the past 2 weeks.

 

[Shawn Snider]

I plan to buy an S85D for my 31st Birthday next January and I have a question regarding Model S in cold weather/charging/pre-heating. I currently rent a bedroom in a 5-bedroom house and the garage is reserved for the owner, so I was planning on buying one of those 'car parking tent' things you can prop up in your driveway/wherever. Charging is not the problem as the SuperCharger here in Golden, BC is ridiculously close to where I live, I'm just wondering if not being in a 'sealed' garage will adversely affect the S (seeming as it would be slightly exposed to the elements in a car parking tent). I've read all the post's in this topic, it's just that most of you store your MS in your garage, and I plan to have it 'outside' in my 'tent'.

 

[wayner]

Thanks folks - I am just looking forward to spring and wondering when there is no longer any point in preheating. My current morning routine is to grab my phone and turn on preheating right after I wake up. I generally leave about 30 mins later.

 

[ecarfan]

Shawn, I understand there are even owners in Norway who keep their Model S outside in the winter, however they keep the car plugged in at night, and not on 110V but on 220/240V. I think that is important.

I'm just wondering if not being in a 'sealed' garage will adversely affect the S (seeming as it would be slightly exposed to the elements in a car parking tent). I've read all the post's in this topic, it's just that most of you store your MS in your garage, and I plan to have it 'outside' in my 'tent'.

 

[wayner]

Shawn, I understand there are even owners in Norway who keep their Model S outside in the winter, however they keep the car plugged in at night, and not on 110V but on 220/240V. I think that is important.

Where would they get a 110V plugin since in Europe the regular household voltage is 220/240.

 

[ecarfan]

@wayner thanks for the correction. I was trying to be clear to Shawn, who is in Canada, that he should not use 110V to plug into if his S will be outside during the winter.

 

[Doug_G]

Even in an insulated garage 110V barely charges the car on cold days.

I'd say preheating is at least somewhat useful up to about 10C. But it's much more useful the colder it gets.

 

[iKhalid]

And not any 240v! I use a 240v/15A and the car keeps stopping the charger when it's really cold (-15C and less). I woke up a few times and realized that the charging has stopped at some point in the middle of the night. To resume, I have to heat the battery using energy from the battery itself before the charging resumes and then stops after an hour or two (very frustrating). Some people reported the same behavior with NEMA 14-50 when the car is outdoor and the temperature is extremely cold.

 

[RiverBrick]

When it was between -20C and -25C I left the car plugged into 1kW (9A at 112V) for 36 hours and it managed to partially warm the battery. (Had 30kW of regen iirc instead of zero). No rated range added at night, but when it was sunny I even added about 1 km/hr as well.

 

[Jaff]

Shawn, other than keeping the snow off of your car, I'm not sure the tent will do too much good...given the choice, I would rather have the car plugged in and parked outside (even at 110v...better than nothing), than in the tent structure but not plugged in...

I plan to buy an S85D for my 31st Birthday next January and I have a question regarding Model S in cold weather/charging/pre-heating. I currently rent a bedroom in a 5-bedroom house and the garage is reserved for the owner, so I was planning on buying one of those 'car parking tent' things you can prop up in your driveway/wherever. Charging is not the problem as the SuperCharger here in Golden, BC is ridiculously close to where I live, I'm just wondering if not being in a 'sealed' garage will adversely affect the S (seeming as it would be slightly exposed to the elements in a car parking tent). I've read all the post's in this topic, it's just that most of you store your MS in your garage, and I plan to have it 'outside' in my 'tent'.