I only drive my car 1-2 times a week. The manual and most of what I read online says that when your car is not in use, it should be plugged in. So does that mean I should have my car plugged into my garage's 240v wall charger 24/7 when the car is not in use? Even when the battery is charged at 80% should I still leave the car plugged in 24/7 and only unplug the car when I'm driving it?
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Leaving Charger Plugged in at Home? Is this ok...
- Thread starter gatx
- Start date
fiehlsport
Tire Guy
Yes, there's no reason to unplug it until you drive it, unless you have a reason like getting the cord out of a walkway, etc. The car will maintain 80% when plugged in.
Unplugging it after it's done charging is just extra work and plug/unplug cycles, if you're walking up to the car to drive it, that's usually a convenient time to unplug.
Unplugging it after it's done charging is just extra work and plug/unplug cycles, if you're walking up to the car to drive it, that's usually a convenient time to unplug.
The answer to the question in the thread title is "yes, this is ok".
Note that "plugged in" doesnt have to = "constantly charging". You could set your charge level to whatever level you feel comfortable setting it to, but still plug it in every time its in your garage.
Thats what I do. Its also not "necessary" to do this, but there isnt any technical reason not to, either.
If you leave Sentry mode set to be on when parked at your home location this will consume ~5 to 6 kWh every 24 hours, so yes leave the Tesla vehicle plugged in to maintain the desired level charge, i.e. 80%. If Sentry mode is turned off at home then the power usage is minimal; once charged the state of charge would only drop ~1% every 7 days when not plugged in. Plugging and unplugging multiple times each day is generally unwarranted, causes additional wear to the charge port and charging connector. Plug in once a day after you arrive home for the day.
Leaving the Tesla Model Y plugged in until the next time you drive is fine. Consider unplugging the Model Y in the event of close electrical storms in your area. The risk damage from lightning or a voltage surge is small but there is the potential for significant damage to the Tesla vehicle's systems.
Leaving the Tesla Model Y plugged in until the next time you drive is fine. Consider unplugging the Model Y in the event of close electrical storms in your area. The risk damage from lightning or a voltage surge is small but there is the potential for significant damage to the Tesla vehicle's systems.
davewill
Active Member
Really, any pattern of plugging in the car that keeps the battery level where you need it to drive around will work. I plug it in every time because if I didn't, I'd forget to plug it in before I go to bed, and wake up to a low battery. If you want to plug it in a couple of times a week, and that works for you, that's OK, too.
My personal suggestion for someone like you is to lower the charge level rather than plug the car in less often.
I'm the same way, only use the car a couple times a week for short drives.
I changed my charge limit from 80% down to 55%. So my battery ranges between 45%-55% state of charge. If I'm planning a decent length round-trip drive, then I'll top it off to 80%.
I also like to keep the charge on the low side. Because then I can be opportunistic if I'm someplace with free charging, then I'll have lots of extra capacity in the battery to fill up for free.
I changed my charge limit from 80% down to 55%. So my battery ranges between 45%-55% state of charge. If I'm planning a decent length round-trip drive, then I'll top it off to 80%.
I also like to keep the charge on the low side. Because then I can be opportunistic if I'm someplace with free charging, then I'll have lots of extra capacity in the battery to fill up for free.
For me, it is inconvenient to leave the car plugged in as the Wall Connector is near the main panel which is about 3 feet in front of the car.
To charge the car, I have to roll out the long cable to the charging port at the rear (left) to plug in. Once it's done, I roll the cable back to the Wall Connector. This is better as the cable is mostly hidden and does not interfere with my walking around the car.
Initially, I also back the car in the garage, so the cable is only rolled out 6 feet. Trouble is the cable lays where I walk thru quite often during the day.
Moving the wall connector near the garage door is a solution but many storage cabinets with no space for the Wall Connector. Moreover, if I buy a second EV, the same Wall Connector & cable can serve this second EV too.
To charge the car, I have to roll out the long cable to the charging port at the rear (left) to plug in. Once it's done, I roll the cable back to the Wall Connector. This is better as the cable is mostly hidden and does not interfere with my walking around the car.
Initially, I also back the car in the garage, so the cable is only rolled out 6 feet. Trouble is the cable lays where I walk thru quite often during the day.
Moving the wall connector near the garage door is a solution but many storage cabinets with no space for the Wall Connector. Moreover, if I buy a second EV, the same Wall Connector & cable can serve this second EV too.
The OP's question was, "Is it OK?" Yes, it is more than OK, and it is recommended. My usage is also irregular and I used to wait until the charge level dropped below a certain level before plugging in. Now, I don't think about it, I just plug it in. I find that the car will take power directly from the wall when it needs it (if I get in the car and the heater comes on, I'm pre-heating/cooling before departure, open the trunk a few times, etc.) therefore keeping the battery at it's fullest charge.
Let me add that our utility charges a penalty for high usage from 4 to 8pm, and the car has never drawn enough in that period to incur any extra fees.
Let me add that our utility charges a penalty for high usage from 4 to 8pm, and the car has never drawn enough in that period to incur any extra fees.
Kind of related - anyone know how preconditioning the car while plugged-in at home is displayed in the Tesla app or more specifically, the Tessie app? I understand that it doesn't use the battery when plugged in. Is current used for preconditioning captured by either app? If so, is it rolled into the charging numbers?
When manually Preconditioning via the Tesla app the fan icon illuminates in white. (Not sure if the icon illuminates if you open the Tesla app while Scheduled Preconditioning is taking place.) If battery warming is required while Preconditioning then there will be an orange graphic of a resistance heating grid (3 vertical squiggle lines) displayed next to the battery while battery warming via stator heating is taking place. Normally battery warming will take place while Preconditioning and plugged in whereas the battery temperature must be colder before Preconditioning while not plugged in can result in some battery warming. The current Tesla software seems to perform much less battery warming than in the past. One reason may be that the option to blend the friction brakes with regenerative braking when regenerative braking is reduced as when the battery is cold makes extended periods of battery warming unnecessary.
It depends on the battery temperature but I have observed that battery warming will only take place for ~15 minutes (I used to spend up to ~40 minutes preconditioning my Tesla Model Y on cold mornings. This was more than twice as long as was needed to fully warm the passenger cabin in an attempt to warm the battery and recover some of the regenerative braking capability lost to the battery being cold. With the blended friction braking option enabled there is no longer any need for extended Preconditioning to warm the battery before driving.)
Charging Stats within the Tesla app capture the daily/30 day/12 month energy consumption in kWh while plugged in, charging. Battery warming required for charging would be included in the energy consumption. Unknown whether the energy used for Preconditioning for Supercharging shows up except as part of the overall kWh usage while driving, since last charge.
The % of the battery charge used used for standard (non-Supercharger) Preconditioning shows up on the Energy display under the Parked Energy Consumption heading.
I normally charge at a 6kW rate. When Preconditioning in colder temperatures, (i.e. 35F to 40F) while not charging the energy consumption while Preconditioning is ~2kW. When Preconditioning while charging the effective charging rate is 1/3rd less as this power is being diverted to Preconditioning. (How much of the available power that gets used for Preconditioning depends on the ambient temperature and the temperature of the passenger cabin and the temperature of the Tesla vehicle's battery. At colder temperatures it is possible that the power demand for Preconditioning and may exceed the available power from the grid and some of the power used for Preconditioning will be taken from the battery, at least initially, until the Tesla vehicle and battery have sufficiently been warmed.)
Last edited:
Eric33432
Member
zoomer0056
Active Member
I just discovered that NEC 2020 now requires whole-house surge protection:
230.67 Surge Protection.
This SPD is in a subpanel downstream of the service. The SPD is not required to be in the service equipment as permitted in (B) if located at each next level distribution equipment downstream toward the load.
www.electricallicenserenewal.com
Thank you for the detailed info. Apologies for the delayed reply. New to the forum - guess a setting needs to be updated for email notifications.
That's a lot to take in. Going to take awhile. In the interim, think I answered my initial question. Preconditioning the cabin while plugged in (Tesla wall connector), in my situation, doesn't 'register' as charging in Tessie. Started unplugging it every morning to precondition (warms up FAST. ~41 - 71 degrees in 3-5 minutes). Helps add to the overall charging/consumption picture.
Once you have the data you desire regarding charging and consumption while preconditioning it would be more efficient in the long term to precondition the Tesla vehicle while it is plugged in whenever possible than to rely on the battery power for preconditioning. Charging the battery at 240V is approximately ~90% efficient. Drawing power from the battery for preconditioning will end up using ~10% more energy than would otherwise be consumed if the Tesla vehicle is plugged in.
Valid point, noted. Didn't think of that. Will leave it plugged in. 5-10 minutes of preconditioning x 5-days per week is pennies. Guess it's fine to let them fall between the cushions.
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