School Me on Preheating the Battery

[Archimedes]

So I’ve read some of the posts on here on the topic, but not sure exactly what to do or if I’m doing it right. My understanding was that if you selected a charger as a destination in the app/nav and then used route guidance, the car would automatically pre-heat the battery. I just did a test of that using a charger about 4 miles from my house and it didn’t do anything. Battery temp didn’t rise at all from 49 degrees and the car charged at 53kw on a 150kw charger. What am I doing wrong?

Also, what battery temp range is optimum for DC fast charging?

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[Scandinavian]

So I’ve read some of the posts on here on the topic, but not sure exactly what to do or if I’m doing it right. My understanding was that if you selected a charger as a destination in the app/nav and then used route guidance, the car would automatically pre-heat the battery. I just did a test of that using a charger about 4 miles from my house and it didn’t do anything. Battery temp didn’t rise at all from 49 degrees and the car charged at 53kw on a 150kw charger. What am I doing wrong?

Also, what battery temp range is optimum for DC fast charging?

I think 4 miles is equal to nothing. When I have used it on long trips it has kicked in more than 30 to 45 minutes before. The battery is 700 kg and if you start with a cold car and drive 4 miles, the cabin will get all the heat produced.

 

[bsclywilly]

Your method is correct but 4 miles is too short of a drive for preconditioning to be noticeable. It’s usually about a 20-30+ min drive to see battery temps rise with preconditioning and depends on your starting temp and ambient.

If you need to warm up your battery as quickly as possibly putting it in sport+ mode will do that the most aggressively.

That chart also notes 86F as the ideal battery temp but for charging that varies a bit. But generally to max charging rates you need about ~76F and above.

 

[Hirschaj]

I recall reading a post on here about having the charger as a waypoint to another destination. I have no idea if that is needed but it’s certainly possible. I’ve only ever preheated when the charging station was a waypoint on a trip to my actual destination. Maybe this weekend I’ll set the EA station an hour from my house as a destination and see what happens.

 

[W1NGE]

So I’ve read some of the posts on here on the topic, but not sure exactly what to do or if I’m doing it right. My understanding was that if you selected a charger as a destination in the app/nav and then used route guidance, the car would automatically pre-heat the battery. I just did a test of that using a charger about 4 miles from my house and it didn’t do anything. Battery temp didn’t rise at all from 49 degrees and the car charged at 53kw on a 150kw charger. What am I doing wrong?

Also, what battery temp range is optimum for DC fast charging?

4 miles is too close!

Was your Charging Planner active?

Did you add as a stopover or end destination?

What was the power of the EVSE?

This is the only practical way to heat to around 32C ideally. Only needed for DC charging.

 

[W1NGE]

I recall reading a post on here about having the charger as a waypoint to another destination. I have no idea if that is needed but it’s certainly possible. I’ve only ever preheated when the charging station was a waypoint on a trip to my actual destination. Maybe this weekend I’ll set the EA station an hour from my house as a destination and see what happens.

It should work the same way stopover or destination BUT the Charging Planner must be active

 

[Archimedes]

I selected the station in the NAV as my destination and used route guidance. Probably too short, however, this may all be moot as, during my last trip, my battery was always at 85-90F when I charged and I still didn’t see high charging speeds.

 

[W1NGE]

I selected the station in the NAV as my destination and used route guidance. Probably too short, however, this may all be moot as, during my last trip, my battery was always at 85-90F when I charged and I still didn’t see high charging speeds.

You don't need to preheat / precondition - handy but non essential.

The early stages of charging will heat the battery regardless and if more power is available then you'll get the benefit. The more powerful the EVSE the quicker this will occur.

Max power / speed can be limited by many other factors out with your control.

 

[smohr33]

You'll see the remaining range in the middle tube gain a little plug when you select a location for preheating.

As others above have said, it's useless unless you are on a long trip. Best way to put heat into the battery on a short trip is to throw it into sport plus and do repeated launches with launch control. Still won't help that much though.

 

[Archimedes]

It sounds like it won’t matter, as my battery is already getting in the optimal range anyway. Was just hoping there was something that I could do to get faster charging rates than I’m seeing during road trips.

 

[W1NGE]

It sounds like it won’t matter, as my battery is already getting in the optimal range anyway. Was just hoping there was something that I could do to get faster charging rates than I’m seeing during road trips.

It's the infrastructure that is letting you down and not the car.

 

[Archimedes]

It's the infrastructure that is letting you down and not the car.

That was my initial conclusion after my last trip. This was an attempt at testing it. But, as I originally concluded, the 150/350 monikers are a joke, as are all the commercial claims of 15-20 minute charge times.

 

[wurzitup]

Preheat the battery with charger navigation, charge from low SOC (2-20%), utilize a 350kW charger thats not being split with another car, and charge speeds of 250-265kW and 20 mins for 80% are very doable. Done it myself.

 

[Archimedes]

Preheat the battery with charger navigation, charge from low SOC (2-20%), utilize a 350kW charger thats not being split with another car, and charge speeds of 250-265kW and 20 mins for 80% are very doable. Done it myself.

I’ve done that (low SOC/350kWh/battery 85-90F) thrice and the best I got was 87kWh. As others have said, it’s not the car. I’ll be trying again on a road trip this weekend just for grins, but I’m not counting on anything different.

BTW, that last part is laughable, ie that claimed charging speeds would assume there’s nobody else at the charger and you have the entire facility to yourself.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

BTW, that last part is laughable, ie that claimed charging speeds would assume there’s nobody else at the charger and you have the entire facility to yourself.

It's an upper limit, not a statistic. I'd say, though, that on truly long trips the difference from ideal charging time is immaterial, and on shorter ones it's the "early adopter" tax/cost. (Yes, I did say that with a straight face. Clearly it's early for the non-Tesla ecosystem - cars, chargers, drivers etc.)

Good luck with the trip.

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