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Worst energy usage?
- Thread starter rick325
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
Welp. That failed. I forgot that you need the 4.0 software to use the SC. It just stared back at me blankly. Did make it home with 3 projected miles tho!
Here's a shot after we got to the mall, and a shot after we got home:
On the way home, I was being far more cautious (though still driving with the heat on in spurts), and it wasn't more efficient by very much. Myself, my wife in the back and our 10 month old back there as well.
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celter
Member
I never drive longer than 120 miles a day, from my home to my summer house. This is mostly highway. Can I be absolutely sure that I can make this distance in very cold weather, with a speed of 75mph and unlimited hard accelerationes? In my summer house I will be able to recharge. I will be getting the P85.
No one can say that there won't be some unforeseen circumstances (such as the road to your summer house being washed out and a 50 mile detour with a 2000 foot climb added) but because you'll know the amount of miles remaining from the display, you'll easily be able moderate your speed on the rare occasions that it's called for.
My thought is that if you are drive 75 mph on twisty roads to your summer home in winter conditions, running out of battery is not going to be your big problem. (This isn't meant to be snippy, just a practical matter).
This is difficult to "absolutely" assert. That said, it is fairly easy to assert that I would have zero concern with range anxiety doing 120 miles on a standard charge even in the 60 kWh unless going uphill in the arctic (or dealing with a significant firmware bug).
celter
Member
I see your point, but these are flat highway roads and usually the snow is cleared. I was mostly concerned about the fact that I am
travelling at high speed and would like to use the fantastic acceleration from time to time. In other words is it possible to drain the battery in 120 miles under these conditions?
Some streets are 60, others 65mph, ironically some of the major streets in irvine are wider than the 5 freeway, 4+ lanes on each side of the road, no feeder streets, turns only at lights, etc.. I guess that master planned community did something right.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
"Possible" is a strong word. Detours, headwinds, mountains, racing etc can all make some very wide variations.
But assuming nothing freakish, and assuming you don't WANT to run out charge, I don't think you will have a problem. Here's a rough chart I made showing best and worst ranges possible at each speed based on HVAC usage. At 80mph, even with HVAC going full blast the whole trip, it looks like you'll be well over 120 miles.
Of course you could fall short of 120 miles if you keep HVAC at full blast AND you drive less than 20mph. But then you would take over 6 hours to get there, and you'd probably be uncomfortably hot in the car.
I think you'd make it with a good reserve even going 130mph...
My cottage is 175 miles away in the Norwegian mountains, with a serious elevation gain too. I don't foresee any problems, even in 0degF weather.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
The green line (range vs speed) is data from a chart that Tesla posted. The bottom of the green shaded area is just subtracting the max HVAC draw that Cinergi measured, and calculating its effect at various speeds.
Of course max HVAC draw may change over time (for example, if a resistive unit turns off as a heat pump takes over). And it's a rough number anyway as Tesla doesn't have great instrumentation to show how much power is being drawn by accessories.
As most people don't have HVAC on max the whole trip, likely range falls somewhere inside the shaded area. At the left end of the chart when you are going slower, the HVAC takes a bigger hit because it's on longer. But when you are going that slow, most trips will be cut short by duration rather than miles traveled. Most people driving for several hours are going somewhere on a freeway, so they care more about the numbers at the right end of the chart, where HVAC doesn't matter as much as how fast you are driving - so if you do see a shortfall, you can still make it by slowing down.
Of course max HVAC draw may change over time (for example, if a resistive unit turns off as a heat pump takes over). And it's a rough number anyway as Tesla doesn't have great instrumentation to show how much power is being drawn by accessories.
As most people don't have HVAC on max the whole trip, likely range falls somewhere inside the shaded area. At the left end of the chart when you are going slower, the HVAC takes a bigger hit because it's on longer. But when you are going that slow, most trips will be cut short by duration rather than miles traveled. Most people driving for several hours are going somewhere on a freeway, so they care more about the numbers at the right end of the chart, where HVAC doesn't matter as much as how fast you are driving - so if you do see a shortfall, you can still make it by slowing down.
Ben W
Chess Grandmaster (Supervised)
It also makes a massive difference whether you have the HVAC on Recirculate. Would be interesting to see a chart of how much continuous power it takes to maintain the interior cabin at a temperature X degrees warmer/cooler than the outside.
1. Put on swimwear
2. Roll down all the windows
3. Open the pano roof
4. Turn on all your lights (including hazards)
5. Turn AC to HI/LO (HI if it's cold out, LO if it's hot out)
6. Floor it regularly
7. Use brakes heavily
8. Drive uphill into the wind
9. Turn the radio up to 11
10. Put something very draining into your 12V outlet (like a hairdryer on full blast)
11. Use both USB ports to charge your tablet/laptop and phone
There's lots you can do to burn energy. :wink:
Load up the frunk with lead or bricks.
Get 6 250 plus people in the car.
Fill up that back full of [bags of cement]
Doing all this the worst possible mileage the S could get is 120 miles?
2. Roll down all the windows
3. Open the pano roof
4. Turn on all your lights (including hazards)
5. Turn AC to HI/LO (HI if it's cold out, LO if it's hot out)
6. Floor it regularly
7. Use brakes heavily
8. Drive uphill into the wind
9. Turn the radio up to 11
10. Put something very draining into your 12V outlet (like a hairdryer on full blast)
11. Use both USB ports to charge your tablet/laptop and phone
There's lots you can do to burn energy. :wink:
Load up the frunk with lead or bricks.
Get 6 250 plus people in the car.
Fill up that back full of [bags of cement]
Doing all this the worst possible mileage the S could get is 120 miles?
FalconNinetyD
Active Member
That sucks! I wasn't aware that the older firmware couldn't Supercharge. I'd be banging on Tesla to get 4.x, even if there are some bugs. None are bad enough to outweigh the benefits of Supercharging IMHO.
I have 2500 on my car now, and I have found that the biggest contributor to energy usage by far is outside temperature. My daily drive is approximately 30 miles. Over the last few weeks, with the temperature averaging 30 degrees fahrenheit I averaged 411 wh/mi. With the temperature near 50 today, howerver, I averaged 360 wh/mi.
So if I'm reading this properly, and recognizing it's just an estimate, if I drove a consistent 50mph with the a/c blasting it would knock over 100 miles off my range?? The a/c really uses that much power relative to what it takes to propel the car? I find that mind blowing. Or am I just not reading this correctly?
That would happen if you ran the a/c on max cold for the entire trip. The A/C will hardly ever run that hard unless you force it to though. Don't have my Model S yet so I can't tell you the numbers, but in the Prius it knocks about 4 mpg off of 65 to 70 mpg--so 4% to 10% in 100+F weather. That's about what I'd expect the Model S' a/c to do too.
Todd Burch
14-Year Member
You won't be using A/C full blast for very long, unless you want to freeze to death. Once the cabin reaches a comfortable temperature, energy usage will drop off significantly
