Battery preconditioning on Tesla is like your car’s way of getting dressed appropriately for the occasion. It is an embedded feature in most recent Tesla cars.
Tesla battery preconditioning is very useful during extreme weather conditions. You can also do it before supercharging your car to reduce charging time and ensure a fuller battery.
What is Tesla Battery Preconditioning?
Preconditioning in layman’s terms, is a measure that ensures the battery is at the right temperature to work its best. It is making sure the battery and the cabin are in the right condition for a comfortable and efficient ride.
There are two types of Tesla battery preconditioning:
Cabin Temperature Control
One of the main advantages of preconditioning is a warm and comfortable cabin. Setting up preconditioning automatically heats up or cools down the cabin depending on the temperature.
It’s not just about chilly days. When it gets extremely cold outside and the cabin gets cold, preconditioning will heat the cabin for your comfort.
Imagine entering into a microwave when it is already hot as hell outside. It also cools down the cabin to give you optimal cabin temperature.
Optimal Battery Temperature
The kind of cold that makes you shiver also affects the battery. It takes more time for the battery to heat up and reach optimal performance levels. Preconditioning helps warm up the battery in advance.
On the flip side, the battery goes through a pre-cooling process during a scorching summer day. if the battery gets too hot it reduces acceleration, decreases the car’s overall performance and its lifespan gets shortened.
Preconditioning can mitigate this by cooling down the battery before you start your trip.
Tesla Battery Preconditioning: Why and When Preconditioning is Important?
Tesla battery preconditioning is a very important aspect of vehicle maintenance. The case is not that only electric vehicles that benefit from it.
Traditional combustion engine vehicles need to warm up in cold weather to improve fuel efficiency as well.
Here are some reasons why you should precondition your battery before starting your trip:
Performance Boost
A preconditioned battery easily provides quick and consistent power to the electric motors. It optimizes the battery’s temperature for the maximum power output.
It also works wonders for the regenerative braking systems in Tesla vehicles. You’ll always find it easier to gauge the braking force. It helps store the kinetic energy back into the battery while braking.
Battery Lifespan
The optimal temperature for longevity on a Tesla battery is around 70F. Lithium-ion batteries have a hard time dealing with extreme temperatures.
It has a comfortable range where it operates the best. A battery too hot or too cold goes through chemical and physical stress that leads to faster degradation. It also starts losing its capacity faster.
Preconditioning reduces the thermal stress put on a Tesla battery and improves its lifespan. Inadvertently it reduces the carbon footprint from changing batteries.
It’s a win-win situation. If you regularly precondition your Tesla car battery it may even last up to 200000 miles and in the process potentially save the cost of frequently changing the battery as well.
Improves Charging Efficiency
The Tesla battery also has the “best condition to recharge”. There is a definite use case for manually pre-heating the battery when you decide to supercharge.
If the battery is cold, The supercharge speed is usually around 130 kW or less. Even if you use a V3 250 kW station, it will take some time for the battery to warm up and be in a condition to accept the maximum power output.
Preconditioning heats the battery so it is ready to start charging at full throttle right from the get-go. Not only does it save time, it will make your life so much easier.
Maximize Range
Extreme temperatures heavily affect the performance output that you get from a single charge. The battery loses its efficiency in cold weather and there’s always the risk of overheating in summer.
Depending on the weather the preconditioning system can manage the temperature the battery is at and ensure a smooth ride. Range assurance is a big selling point for electric vehicles.
Using your car while the temperature is right ensures you get the maximum range from a single charge. Maximizing it means you can now plan long trips without worrying about recharging frequently.
Safety Considerations
Thermal Runaway is an extreme situation where the battery overheats and catches fire. This happens on very rare occasions but it happens nonetheless.
You can not stress the importance of preconditioning a battery enough. Even with all the safety precautions that Tesla has embedded in their car it never hurts to be extra careful.
You should always precondition the battery during scorching summer days to not have to worry about your precious car catching fire.
How To Use Tesla Battery Preconditioning?
You can precondition your Tesla battery based on your needs. There are quite a few ways to do it. Some are manual while one of the methods is automatic.
Let’s see what they are:
Scheduled Preconditioning; Tesla Mobile App
Tesla allows you to set a specific time when you plan to use your car. It will automatically precondition the battery and cabin. You can set the cabin temperature to your liking as well.
You can use the Tesla mobile app to set up scheduled preconditioning. Here’s how:
- Open the Tesla app and tap on “Schedule”
- Tap on the slider next to “Preconditioning”.
- Next, choose whether to set preconditions for the whole week or just the weekdays.
- Tap on the timer next to “Departure” to select the time of day you want to set your car to precondition.
- Set the time and your car will automatically precondition the battery and cabin before the departure times.
This is the easiest way to set the preconditioning times. If it’s plugged in it will draw the power from the outlet and top up the range.
Related Post: How Much Does A Tesla Battery Weigh?
Scheduled Preconditioning: Tesla Touchscreen
You can also set a schedule for preconditioning using the Tesla touchscreen. To set the schedule:
- From the main menu, tap on the “Controls” button which is a car sign on the bottom left or right corner.
- Tap on the “Charging” option.
- In the Charging menu, you will find the “Scheduled Departure at this location” option. Press on the “Schedule” button.
- Set the time using the clock wheel and press “Set”.
You will notice that setting the schedule on the touchscreen cancels the one you set using the mobile app. Make sure the correct time is set on both of these.
Navigation
Another good preconditioning method is using the navigation option. This is an automatic preconditioning setting that Tesla has implemented.
When you plan a long trip you will have to take breaks at supercharging stations. These stations are entered as one of the destinations in the navigation system.
The navigation system calculates when to start preconditioning the battery based on how long it will take to reach the station. So when you reach the station the battery is already at the best temperature to quickly recharge.
Related Post: Who Makes Tesla Batteries?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long do you precondition Tesla batteries?
Preconditioning depends on several factors. So, there isn’t a rule of thumb on the duration. However, for cabin climate control, Tesla recommends at least 30 minutes before departure.
What are the factors that affect preconditioning?
Weather conditions, departure time, navigation and charging plans, etc.
What are the reasons behind Tesla’s battery failure?
Extreme temperatures, irregular use, short trips, degradation, diminished capacity, etc.
