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Battery Charging Behavior

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Does anyone know of any information or surveys that have been done on charging behavior of Tesla owners, e.g. if they charge every night or only when the battery is low? Would charging behavior have any effect on battery charge retention? Thanks!
 
Does anyone know of any information or surveys that have been done on charging behavior of Tesla owners, e.g. if they charge every night or only when the battery is low? Would charging behavior have any effect on battery charge retention? Thanks!


Most people I know with Tesla's (Roadster and Model S) just plug in at night when they get home. I personally have mine set to start charging at 7pm when my Time of Use Electric Rates Kick In. People I know with Leafs, Mitsubishi I's, and other range crippled EV's, plug in any chance they get (home, work, or anywhere they see a outlet no one is guarding). I don't blame them with the range they get though.
 
I understand that Tesla recommends that customers leave their car plugged in when not in use, but what I was wondering is whether there is any concrete data on whether or not (or more likely, to what degree) Tesla owners actually follow this recommendation.
 
I understand that Tesla recommends that customers leave their car plugged in when not in use, but what I was wondering is whether there is any concrete data on whether or not (or more likely, to what degree) Tesla owners actually follow this recommendation.
If my car were to sit for a day, or longer, I would leave it plugged in. Most likely just plug it in to a 120v outlet. My car doesn't sit long enough though. But I'd do as tesla says and plug in when not using the vehicle. It would be overkill though to do this say, while at work. Don't go out of your way to plug it in, especially if your only using a fraction of the battery capacity during the day.
 
There hasn't been a poll and no one has talked about a survey either so concrete data is not there.

Why do you care?

There is plenty of concrete data on other EVs batteries and what charging with different techniques does.

Personally, my Leaf is in the garage not on the charger. I keep the battery below 50% SOC unless I need the range which the concrete data says is best for battery life. I typically plug in every 2 days or so. But I suppose if I had Tesla's slider for %SOC, I'd plug in almost every night.
 
Personally, my Leaf is in the garage not on the charger. I keep the battery below 50% SOC unless I need the range which the concrete data says is best for battery life. I typically plug in every 2 days or so. But I suppose if I had Tesla's slider for %SOC, I'd plug in almost every night.

Exactly, for daily driving in my 85, I just set the slider to 80%. That keeps the battery in a nice safe spot and leaves me with a little over 200 rated miles in the battery. I use a UMC on a 14-50 with 28 mph charge rate. If I am leaving for a long trip, I just set the battery to max, and set the charge start time to 4 hours before I leave. That way the battery is fully range charged an hour or so before departure.
 
I am curious if there is a reason to plug in if I don't need to charge at all. My daily drives are short so I keep the slider low like 60%. I can charge at work so I have found myself plugging in at work and going up to 80% just to save a few bucks. I can go for days with that amount of charge before I am back down to 60% again. Is this a good idea and why should I plug in if I have a higher soc than my slider setting?
 
I am curious if there is a reason to plug in if I don't need to charge at all. My daily drives are short so I keep the slider low like 60%. I can charge at work so I have found myself plugging in at work and going up to 80% just to save a few bucks. I can go for days with that amount of charge before I am back down to 60% again. Is this a good idea and why should I plug in if I have a higher soc than my slider setting?

The main reasons to plug it in are:

1. Reduce the cycle distance. (In general, the smaller the cycle the more cycles you can get out of it, and it's not linear.)

2. Have enough range for the next day.

3. Use shore power to preheat and cool.

4. Keep the battery (and the 12V battery) from going to zero.

5. Keep the temperature within range (extreme climates).

6. Keep the pack balanced (IIRC you need to be at 90% or more for this to be effective).
 
I understand that Tesla recommends that customers leave their car plugged in when not in use, but what I was wondering is whether there is any concrete data on whether or not (or more likely, to what degree) Tesla owners actually follow this recommendation.

There is tons of data. Every single one of our cars keeps a complete log of everything going on with it. The log is accessible to Tesla over the air 24/7. We all signed a document at time of purchase giving Tesla the right to access the car's data. They know everything going on with every vehicle. This is a bit Big Brotherish, but as long as they don't sell my data and use it for product improvement, then they will have yet another advantage over competing automakers. As a stockholder, I like this. They will get to know their customers and how their products perform in the field better than any other automaker.