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Yeah he seems to not understand the importance of aerodynamics, as demonstrated by his complaint that you need extra power to run the AC because of the sloped w
by modeless 4y ago
Yeah he seems to not understand the importance of aerodynamics, as demonstrated by his complaint that you need extra power to run the AC because of the sloped windshield. The Tesla Semi will be consuming around 100 kW at cruising speed. Air resistance is the largest single contributor to that consumption. AC is likely to take something like 6 kW even at the highest setting. I'd bet that even in worst case heat the difference in AC consumption between vertical and sloped windshield (1 kW? less?) will be totally swamped by the improved aerodynamics. And then in the winter extra heat capture will be an advantage rather than a disadvantage.
There are some good points in here but there's clearly a strong bias.
- rootusrootus 4y ago> you need extra power to run the AC because of the sloped windshield My impression was the the complaint about the sloped windshield was primarily about snow; the air conditioning complaint had more to do with the enormous size. It's a big glass greenhouse.
- modeless 4y ago> "The angled windscreen means [...] cab overheating [...] You can solve it with A/C of course. Which will use even more power, shortening your range." He is explicitly claiming that the angled windshield will increase power consumption and shorten range. I think it's pretty clear that the opposite is true even in the worst case.
- simondotau 4y agoA larger but well insulated cab could have a lower A/C energy cost than a smaller but less well insulated cab. More air volume doesn't dramatically change the energy footprint when a stable temperature is being held for a long period of time. With sufficient insulation, the main consequence will be greater hysteresis, i.e. bringing the cab to temperature might consume more energy.
- modeless 4y agoWhat you say is true but I interpreted his complaint as being about the increased sunlight heating up the cab, rather than changes to insulation or air volume.
- faitswulff 4y agoIt will increase power consumption if you are using the AC to melt accumulated ice or snow.
- modeless 4y agoMelting 2" of accumulated snow from a 2m^2 area would take ~2 kWh which is roughly 1 mile of range or 0.2% of the battery, if my very approximate calculations are correct. Or, exactly 0 miles of range if you are plugged into a charger at the start of your journey. But I think the original thread is right that you'll need to manually clean ice and snow off the windshield which, unlike the AC thing, definitely seems like a legitimate complaint against sloped windshields (though I have no personal experience on this point).
- yreg 4y agoSnow is a non-issue, you just open the app before the ride and heat up the cabin.
- Dah00n 4y agoYou have never seen much snow if you think it can be removed by heat from inside the cab! You would need a shovel and a broom or a cab heated up at least hours before the ride. Not everywhere is cali.
- yreg 4y agoWell I live in a country where it snows and have been with a Tesla in the mountains when it snowed. It takes only a little while and the snow easily falls off as soon as it's not freezed to the glass. At most you need to give it a nudge.
- yibg 4y agoHave you tried waiting for the heat from a car to melt snow in a cold place on a regular car with a regular car sized windshield? On a cab like that it'll take hours.
- yreg 4y agoYes I did and it was quick. Even if it took hours, so what? You can automate it. Still saves more energy than having a non-aero cabin.