Cold Batteries?

[Camper Van Someren]

With this recent discussion of size change for garage vs outdoor parking I wanted to get some more info re: cold batteries.

I have heard that EVs suffer range loss in the cold but want to know how it works. Does it prevent it from fully charging or will it shrink the capacity of an already charged battery? I would assume the latter based on experience with my smartphone when skiing.

Can it be prevented by keeping the truck plugged in constantly (and running current to keep it warm) or by “pre-conditioning” battery several hours prior to departure? How much energy does this take?

Will it cause any long term degradation to battery or will a cold battery bounce back to peak performance when it warms up again? Any EV owners on here who park outside in freezing temps?

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[Devix]

Taslas have a very good battery thermo-regulation system.
anyway, from my experience, in winter you lose an average of 10-15% of range.

 

[Camper Van Someren]

Taslas have a very good battery thermo-regulation system.
anyway, from my experience, in winter you lose an average of 10-15% of range.

Ok but does it need to be plugged in constantly to use this thermoregulation system?

Do you garage yours or park outdoors overnight?

I’m trying to gauge downsides of parking outdoors vs garage.

 

[SEER]

Lots of Teslas in Norway. Many parked outside. Search YouTube Bjorn Nyland.

 

[ajdelange]

Basic physics says that things slow down when they get cold. Thus a cold battery cannot be discharged nor charged as fast as a warm one. The battery management system on the Teslas is very sophisticated in this regard and has evolved with the evolution of the models. In the 2-3 years before these trucks hit the street there will, presumably be further evolution.

In the current models the main "problem" seems to be with charging manifested in two ways. If you take a cold car to a Super Charger the charge time will be prolonged relative to a warm one as the battery has to be warmed before being charged at the higher rates of which the charger is capable. The charge rate limitation also applies to charging from regenerative braking so that is reduced or eliminated until the battery pack warms.

The current cars have battery heating capability. Implementation depends on the model. If you use the car's navigation system to take you to an SC the car anticipates that you are going to be charging and turns on the battery heater so that you will be able to take on charge at the full rate when you arrive at the SC. If you charge at home, as most do most of the time, the car manages battery warming in accordance with the charging capacity available. The strategy that most owners who park outside (or in unheated garages) seem to use is to set charging start times so that charging completes just before you depart for the day. This means the battery is as warm as possible and full regen braking is available even when the weather is cold.

Who knows what Tesla will come up with in 2 years?

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