Tesla Cold Weather Test: Idle Battery Consumption
Teslas are famous for their energy efficiency. For example, LFP batteries (a subtype of the Lithium-ion battery) are famous for being more economical, having a longer lifespan, and slower degrading than their counterparts.
This made us curious to see their efficiency during winter when standing in one spot. So, we conducted a test using the LFP battery of our 2024 Model 3 Highland, in which the car remained stationary for 2 hours with all the features turned off.
[If you want to see the full test, watch the video below]:
Designing The Test
The test design was simple. We let the car fall asleep and left it idle for 2 hours with all the features turned off - this meant no climate controls, no Sentry Mode, nothing.
Using our S3XY App, we looked at the battery's remaining capacity before and after 2 hours had passed. We get this data straight from the Battery Management System (BMS), so we are pretty sure that the information is accurate.
This 2-hour test gives us a baseline from which we can conduct our future battery tests and compare the results to those of other types of EV batteries.
The Results
Now that we have laid out the ideas behind the test, here are the final results:
- Initial stats:
State Of Charge (SOC): 37%
Remaining Capacity: 23.4 kWh
- Final stats:
State Of Charge (SOC): 37%
Remaining Capacity: 23.2 kWh
This means that the total consumption for the 2 hours the car has been sleeping outside at 0 degrees Celsius is 0.2 kWh, and if, on average, you park for 12 hours overnight, this makes the total energy consumption 1.2 kWh having any of its systems on.
Conclusion
Those are pretty impressive numbers, further proving the efficiency of the LFP battery.
We're conducting more interesting tests where we'll put the battery through different scenarios, so stay tuned!
