Does Tesla's Sentry Mode Consume a Lot of Power?
2 Answers
From actual usage, Tesla's Sentry Mode does consume a significant amount of power. The power consumption and functions of Sentry Mode are as follows: Power consumption of Sentry Mode: Actual test on Model 3: When parked at 10 PM, the Tesla displayed a remaining range of 322 km. By nearly 8 AM the next morning, the remaining range was 310 km, meaning approximately 12 km of range (about 3 kWh) was consumed over 10 hours. Additionally, the more frequently Sentry Mode is triggered, the greater the power consumption. Functions of Sentry Mode: In this mode, the car remains in a standby sleep state, but the onboard cameras and sensors continue to operate, continuously monitoring the surrounding environment for potential threats, thereby enhancing the vehicle's safety. If the car detects someone approaching, it switches to an alert state, where the interior screen lights up red and warns the approaching individual. If someone breaks a window, the car will automatically play a loud sound through the internal speakers and send an alert to the owner's phone. This feature is very convenient for security and reduces the risk of car theft.
There are several Teslas in our neighborhood, and during the last property meeting, everyone talked about how the Sentry Mode does consume quite a bit of power. I've specifically observed my own car—if it's left on continuously for 24 hours, it drains about 10-15% of the battery, which is roughly equivalent to losing 30-40 kilometers of range. For short-term parking, I usually don't activate it since our neighborhood has plenty of surveillance cameras. However, I always turn it on when staying at hotels during business trips, especially since I have my child's car seat and laptop in the car. I remember one time in a shopping mall's underground parking lot, it actually captured footage of someone scratching my car door, and we were able to identify the person thanks to the recording. My suggestion is to use this feature in places where charging is convenient, or activate it while plugged into a home charger—the electricity cost is far more economical than repair fees.
