Driving in RANGE MODE all the time

[mknox]

I tried out range mode for AC yesterday and found I didn't like the slow fan speeds. In normal southern ontario weather it'd be fine but it was full sun and ~30C yesterday. I even had the car precooling for ~5 minutes (it was the hottest I had seen the interior before, mobile app said 49C).

That's my biggest beef. The fan hardly draws any power at all compared to the compressor anyway.

I used to live in Florida (was born in Ft. Lauderdale) and can say Southern Ontario summers are nothing to sneeze at. We get fairly high temps, but the killer is the humidity we can get here. I have found Range Mode is okay when it's just me in the car, but my wife will complain and I'll typically switch to Normal when she's in the car.

 

[brianman]

@mnx and @mknox
There are times when I put the controls on auto and then manually set the fan speed to something like 7.

Does this not match what you're wanting? Elaborate please. Thanks.

 

[NigelM]

Nigel, I've been using range mode 100% of the time with no problem, as long as I use the app to cool the car before I get in (at least 10 min before). It keeps me perfectly comfortable, even with our crazy temps. And it stays parked in full sun all day.

Hmmm, maybe I'll give it a go then although we rarely use up full battery capacity with our daily driving; I wonder what the power trade-off is with pre-cooling versus running in range mode?

 

[mnx]

@mnx and @mknox
There are times when I put the controls on auto and then manually set the fan speed to something like 7.

Does this not match what you're wanting? Elaborate please. Thanks.

Ahhh I didn't mess with manual fan controls while in range mode. The fan went from 10 in standard, to something much less in range. Setting the fan to 7-8 might have worked pretty well.

 

[ElSupreme]

I was running really low on juice yesterday and switched to RANGE MODE. Noticed a subtle difference in AC operation but, little change (if any) in driving dynamics/performance.

After I topped up, decided to continue to drive in Range Mode full time. The AC (which now displays ECO ON instead of AUTO or CUSTOM) has been just fine even when it's been hot out here; in fact, the fan speed and temperature (set to 70 degrees when it's 85-ish outside) seem to be just right whereas the climate control goes bonkers at fan speed 10 if I were to turn off Range Mode.

So, what gives?! Subjectively speaking, I'm seeing slightly better Wh/mile numbers (difference of 10-20 Wh/mile) when driving in Range Mode full-time.

Anyone else tried doing this?

I used range mode last weekend on my 250 mile day, just to be safe (I still was going to drive 65-70 on the interstate). I did pre-cool the car (on shore power) but nocited the much calmer fan, and compressor action while driving. And the car kept a comfortable temperature my whole drive.

So I have kept it that way, and love the much quieter AC and fan. And the car does maintain a comfortable temperature for me.

Permanently driving in range mode is just not possible here in the summer months (unless you like sweating) but definitely worth trying in winter.

Range/Eco mode does not cool the car well. I normally run windows down for the first 1-2 miles (then start AC as I enter the interstate, and quickly close the windows) the car takes about 3-4 minutes to cool to comfortable levels, but it isn't much hotter than windows down at any time. Yesterday it was upper 90s and I was considering changing out of range/eco mode, but by the time I finished my internal debate it was already cool enough in the car.

So dead of summer it might not be that great. And in the winter I had issues with it similar to Sparrow, in that the HVAC was choosing to do things that I didn't want/like. I think the powerful sun, but cold outside temperatures we get in Atlanta mess with the decision making of the HVAC.

 

[zax123]

I guess a good practice if using range mode would be to pre-cool/pre-heat the car with the smartphone app before getting in. That way it's had time to stabilize the cabin to the right temperature and then range mode HVAC only has to maintain as opposed to deal with the potentially big shift in cabin temperature. Plus, if you're plugged into shore power, you don't use the battery for that time...

 

[brianman]

Ahhh I didn't mess with manual fan controls while in range mode. The fan went from 10 in standard, to something much less in range. Setting the fan to 7-8 might have worked pretty well.

Non-range climate control goes to 11, while range goes to 8. IIRC.

 

[NigelM]

The fan went from 10 in standard....

These go to eleven.

(That was too good to pass up....)

 

[mknox]

@mnx and @mknox
There are times when I put the controls on auto and then manually set the fan speed to something like 7.

Does this not match what you're wanting? Elaborate please. Thanks.

What I have found is that in Auto mode, I have to do this all the time whereas in all previous cars with Auto HVAC, I could just set the temperature and the car handled itself just fine. I also find with the Model S I have to set the temperature much lower just to maintain a comfortable cabin.

In other word, yes, I can make it work as you describe, but the way Auto (doesn't) work, I might as well just have a manual a/c system.

 

[brianman]

(1)In other word, yes, I can make it work as you describe, (2)but the way Auto (doesn't) work, I might as well just have a manual a/c system.

(1) Ok, good.
(2) That's a bit of an exaggeration IMO, but I get your point (and agree).

 

[ken830]

I tried Range Mode during the Atlanta Winter. I too didn't like the lower maximum fan speed, but the main reason I shut it off was that it forced the heater to be on when i turned the fan on. The temps were in the low 40s, but it was bright and sunny and I had to turn the fan off and roll down the windows to be comfortable. Once I shut Range Mode down I could once again drive the car with the windows shut and the fan on without any heat to bother me. I thought it was very strange that Range Mode would force you to waste energy on heat when you didn't want it. I am wondering if Tesla fixed this issue in subsequent updates.

Why is this? You can't set the temp to LO?

 

[jerry33]

Why is this? You can't set the temp to LO?

My guess would be that LO isn't very low in the same way that HI isn't very high so it always uses either too much a/c or too much heat. (I have only verified the too much a/c part, hasn't gotten cold enough to verify the heating.)

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I've been driving in range mode here in Phoenix since I got the car a week ago. 105ºF and hotter temps w/ pano roof, range mode and absolutely no issues with AC not being adequate. I'm downright freezing in the car when set to 72º. Even when range mode is off, the car's compressor noise is not loud at all - it's certainly a fraction as loud as the compressor in my Prius. I don't know if Tesla changed anything on recent production runs, but I don't have the compressor noise that others are talking about.

 

[ken830]

My guess would be that LO isn't very low in the same way that HI isn't very high so it always uses either too much a/c or too much heat. (I have only verified the too much a/c part, hasn't gotten cold enough to verify the heating.)

Sparrow claimed that the heater cannot be disabled. The only sure way to disable the heater would be the LO setting.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Sparrow claimed that the heater cannot be disabled. The only sure way to disable the heater would be the LO setting.

Isn't this the default behavior in most cars (I know it is in my ICE car)? You can turn off the AC completely, but the only way to turn off heat for sure is to set the temp to the lowest setting with the AC off. I've had times where I forget to do that and then start feeling warm air blowing on a cool day.

 

[yobigd20]

I've been driving in range mode here in Phoenix since I got the car a week ago. 105ºF and hotter temps w/ pano roof, range mode and absolutely no issues with AC not being adequate. I'm downright freezing in the car when set to 72º. Even when range mode is off, the car's compressor noise is not loud at all - it's certainly a fraction as loud as the compressor in my Prius. I don't know if Tesla changed anything on recent production runs, but I don't have the compressor noise that others are talking about.

Mine is so embarrassing loud, even on range mode with temp set to 73, that I'd rather sweat it out than turn the A/C on at all (especially when driving through NYC streets). I dont want people to hear this sound so i'll just roll all the windows down instead. (which also creates of lot of random people walking by pretty much sticking their head through the window and say "wow this car is awesome!") Ive also had several people tell me "the engine sounds funny" due to the loudness of the A/C compressor even in range mode so I just keep it completely off when I'm in NYC. They need to fix this... Is there a TSB for this yet?

 

[yobigd20]

That's extremely interesting. My Wh/mile decreased using Range Mode. I wonder what the difference is.

A heavier foot probably.

 

[jerry33]

Sparrow claimed that the heater cannot be disabled. The only sure way to disable the heater would be the LO setting.

The problem is that the LO setting is likely not very low just like the HI setting is not very high. As an example (don't know the low) if the LO setting in range mode is 68 F, and the lowest setting in regular mode is 65 F, range mode would run more than regular. I know that for the a/c HI in range is only about 24C, while the max non-range setting is over 32.5 C. This makes the a/c run harder than it should. (On a really hot day (41 C for example) the setting can be 26 C. so that the compressor won't run all that hard. As the car cools the setting can be lowered more without making the compressor run hard.

 

[taraquin]

I think I`m starting to understand RANGE MODE now, but I wonder about one thing? Is the temperature limit for when cooling of the battery kicks in higher with range mode? That would be a real downside, especially in real hot climate for battery longevity. In cold climate, especially on short trips range mode helps a lot unless you have to brake often.

 

[scaesare]

I think I`m starting to understand RANGE MODE now, but I wonder about one thing? Is the temperature limit for when cooling of the battery kicks in higher with range mode? That would be a real downside, especially in real hot climate for battery longevity. In cold climate, especially on short trips range mode helps a lot unless you have to brake often.

I'm not sure anybody knows this for sure, but I'd be interested in that data.

That having been said, I don't think that Tesla is going to allow anything the user can select/configure in the car to adversely affect the battery... so I wouldn't worry about that.