Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

charging only at supercharging stations bad for battery life?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
ok, ive read thru some of the threads that charging every night is the best way to go but havent seen an answer to this specific question. i was thinking, what if you live near a supercharger? would it be ok to just supercharge a few times per week (or everyday even) and save $ on your electricity bill?? will this greatly reduce battery life?? thx,
 
At my summer peak electricity rates it will cost me about $7.50-$8.00 to fill an entire 85kWh pack. Driving somewhere and waiting an hour or so isn't worth $8.00 to me. One of the main reasons I want this car is not to have to drive to a gas station (I always fill up en route but still it sucks), and although the Supercharger site won't have gas smell it will still be a hassle.
 
At my summer peak electricity rates it will cost me about $7.50-$8.00 to fill an entire 85kWh pack. Driving somewhere and waiting an hour or so isn't worth $8.00 to me. One of the main reasons I want this car is not to have to drive to a gas station (I always fill up en route but still it sucks), and although the Supercharger site won't have gas smell it will still be a hassle.

That's why Elon's next company needs to be Mr. Fusion.
 
Nobody actually answered his question. The topic starter is asking for the hypothetical situation where he only chargers at a Supercharger when he needs to and leave the Model S unplugged the rest of the time.

What would that do to the battery? Will it impact the life very much? Is is true that Tesla says you can SC as much as you want and it won't hurt the battery?

I get the point of keeping a SC slot free for a fellow traveler who might be in need of juice, but that is not the question in this case.
 
Nobody actually answered his question. The topic starter is asking for the hypothetical situation where he only chargers at a Supercharger when he needs to and leave the Model S unplugged the rest of the time.

What would that do to the battery? Will it impact the life very much? Is is true that Tesla says you can SC as much as you want and it won't hurt the battery?

I get the point of keeping a SC slot free for a fellow traveler who might be in need of juice, but that is not the question in this case.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

to most everyone else... NO **** about the cost and space and blah blah blah. WTF...

- - - Updated - - -

No ill affects, SC as much as you want, it's in the verbiage somewhere, too lazy this morning to look it up.

thank you, DD. i'll take your word for it.

OUT.
 
I still wonder about this. In general, quick charging can cause cell heating which can cause accelerated cell degradation.

For instance, see this:
http://www.americas.fujielectric.co...C Quick Charging in North America 8-13-12.pdf
Will Quick Charging Harm the Battery?
...
Cell and Module Overvoltage and High Heat will Damage Battery Systems
...

But Tesla Model S has:

  • Largest pack capacity in the industry.
  • Active cooling system.
  • Recent cell chemistry update.

So, maybe they have overcome issues that can affect other EVs?

I think this is a very valid question / concern, so hopefully Tesla is very clear if they think it is OK to use lots of Supercharging or not.

Also, the answer for 60kWh pack could be different for 85kWh pack.
 
I still wonder about this. In general, quick charging can cause cell heating which can cause accelerated cell degradation.

For instance, see this:
http://www.americas.fujielectric.co...C Quick Charging in North America 8-13-12.pdf


But Tesla Model S has:

  • Largest pack capacity in the industry.
  • Active cooling system.
  • Recent cell chemistry update.

So, maybe they have overcome issues that can affect other EVs?

I think this is a very valid question / concern, so hopefully Tesla is very clear if they think it is OK to use lots of Supercharging or not.

Also, the answer for 60kWh pack could be different for 85kWh pack.
I think size does matter.

With 85kWh you are looking at about 1C as the charge rate.

A Nissan Leaf has a 22kWh battery and gets charged with 50kW, so that is 2C. I assume that 2C puts much more stress on the pack then 1C does. Not to mention the lack of active cooling in the Leaf's pack.
 
I suspect they will probably reduce the wattage when supercharging the 60kWh pack, but I don't think they've really said.

I think they actually have as good as said in their recent email. See this excerpt.
Superchargers are designed to give road trippers half a charge in about half an hour. That's 150 miles of range with our 85 kWh battery.

They are stating half a charge in half an hour and are listing the miles specifically for the 85 kWh battery.
 
Yes, this was done to death in the SC announcement thread. Because the car and SC are constantly communicating, the car will tell the SC to ramp down if the temp starts to climb and as the charge level rises. The car will protect itself and keep the batteries cool no matter what charge method is being used. You can SC as much as you want.
 
I wonder how much it slows down as you near really high SoC?
I think with most (if not all) Li-Ion chemistries the amount of heat generated in the cell gets more significant as the cell nears full.
Lots of QC time quotes are like "to 80%" or "to 90%". If you insist on getting to 100% full I wonder if that last few % take a while...?