- How briskly can an EV cost after sitting in freezing temperatures for half a day?
- That is what one Canadian Tesla Mannequin 3 proprietor wished to seek out out.
- Regardless of the bitter chilly, the end result was shocking.
Freezing temperatures and electrical automobile batteries aren’t besties. That’s not information by any stretch of the creativeness, however opposite to widespread perception, issues have improved vastly over the previous decade.
There’s no getting round the truth that EV batteries lose an excellent chunk of their vary when the temperature dips beneath freezing, however relating to charging them again up, there ought to be subsequent to no points—not less than within the case of EVs which have actively cooled and heated battery packs.
Take the Tesla Mannequin 3. The pre-facelift mannequin additionally had a battery preconditioning system, so there’s no large leap ahead right here. It ensures the pack is sweet and toasty when arriving at a Supercharger in order that house owners spend as little time as doable charging and as a lot time as doable on the street.
However what occurs when the automobile has been sitting exterior for a number of hours in temperatures as little as -26 F (-32 C)? How does a brand-new Tesla Mannequin 3 Lengthy Vary All-Wheel Drive deal with the tough Canadian winter and the way does it fare when it’s time to place again some power into the battery? These are all questions which were answered within the FrozenTesla video embedded beneath.
The Tesla was parked exterior for roughly six hours. When the proprietor hopped inside, the battery’s state of cost was all the way down to 25%. He selected a close-by Supercharger and began driving there; this activated the automobile’s preconditioning system, guaranteeing that the battery temperature was as much as spec when it was time to plug in.
The journey to the Supercharger was simply eight miles (13 km) lengthy and took about quarter-hour, but it surely was sufficient to eat by 7% of the battery degree–thanks in no small half to the battery heating that makes use of fairly a little bit of power. The regenerative braking didn’t work in any respect throughout the brief journey, which works to point out that the battery was loads chilly. In the meantime, the cabin temperature was set to 68 F (20 C).
All this being stated, after arriving on the Supercharger, issues couldn’t have gone extra easily, regardless of the bitter chilly. The cost door opened mechanically with none challenge and the automobile began charging instantly. In the beginning of the session, the automobile was taking in round 50 kilowatts however ramped as much as 130 kW inside a minute.
4 minutes in, the cost charge dropped barely to 119 kW, whereas the state of cost share went from 17% to 27%. Quick-forward one other 12 minutes and the SoC was already at 49%. In the meantime, the cost charge dropped down once more to barely lower than 100 kW.
The take a look at ended after 35 minutes. The automobile’s battery went from a 17% state of cost to 77%, with 48 kWh of power going into the battery. This implies the typical charging pace for this explicit charging session was 82.2 kW.
Whereas not record-breaking, it’s a strong efficiency contemplating the very low temperatures. And it proves that regardless of vary losses, winter is hardly a complete dealbreaker while you’re driving electrical.
