Cold spell, 27 F and 20-25 mph wind, really chilled the car. This slows charging as it first has to warm up the battery. Even then, charging rate is reduced because the warmed up battery is still cool. So the local, CCS-1 DC charging went from ~48 kW to initially 9 kW with heater off. The cabin heater added 2-3 kW load. What would normally be about 30 min grew to an hour. The extra charging cost negates savings from a lower motel rate. The best approach on the road is to stay at a motel with free charging even if others are cheaper. Use motel grid charging to warm up the battery and car. This gives near warm performance. Bob Wilson
Great to see the number of motels with free guest charging have been increasing over the years and is a great mutual benefit.
This was recently in the news... https://media.choicehotels.com/2024-02-06-Choice-Hotels-to-Offer-Access-to-Tesla-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-Stations-at-Participating-Hotels-Across-the-United-States
