Always plug in in your garage?

dssdmddmd

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I have had my Mach E premium AWD Extended for a week now, and generally happy. I have a Chargepoint 60 amp charger in the garage, and rarely expect to need public charging stations. Most of my driving will be local, and under 50 miles a day. I set the car to charge no more than 80%. I know that if the car is plugged in when parked in the garage, if I want it warmed up on a cold morning, the car does not drain the battery. Does that mean, every time I park in my garage, I plug it in, even if I only drove 30 miles that day. In short, from a battery life expectancy point of view, is charging from say 77 % to 80% regularly is both a good idea, and also not bad for the battery? I do not mind always plugging in the car when parked in the garage, but is that good when I use so little of the range each day? Woulkd I be better to drive for several days before plugging the car in, and live with using the battery to warm the car before leaving. I will always have enough battery to operate either way.
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RickMachE

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Plug in daily. Charge to 90%, not 80%.
 

mkhuffman

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It should be fine to charge to 90%, because 90% is actually around 80% of the battery capacity of 98 kWh. Ford limits use to 88 kWh. Charging does put stress on the battery, but you are not DC charging, so the impact should be minimal IMO.

I am charging to 90% whenever my battery drops below 80%. For example, if I drive around town and my battery does not drop below 80%, I don't charge. But as soon as it does, I plug it in and bring it back up to 90%.

If Ford unlocks more battery capacity like they are doing with the 2022 models, I might stop charging to 90%. Generally 80% (90% in a 2021 MME) is accepted as the max you want to charge to on a regular basis if you are concerned about battery life. The same is true for your phone and other battery powered devices. I charge my phone to 80% and my watch to 80% to protect the battery.
 

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I have had the car for three weeks and don't drive much during the workweek, but with the standard battery, it's still enough to go from 90% to 40%, and I plug it in before the weekend, and weekend driving again drains the battery to 40% or around it. I don't think it's a practice to follow, or something obviously wrong with it, but it works for me so far. When I start going to the office more often, I will charge in the middle of the week, but I'm still planning to charge at 40%
 


DYohn

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Plug in. That way if the vehicle needs thermal management or if, like you state, you want to precondition you don't burn battery range. Set your charging time to the best rates depending on your utility (usually after 11PM.) I agree with the rec to charge to 90.
 

Ravensfan1996

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I’m still working from home so drive very low miles. I charge to 90% but i let it get down to like 70% or less before i charge back to 90%. I feel like if i left it plugged in, it would be sitting at 90% all the time. I dont see a need to charge fro 88%-90%. SO i charge like once a week for now. Once i go back to the office ill be driving 120 miles a day and ill charge everyday.
 

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I have had my Mach E premium AWD Extended for a week now, and generally happy. I have a Chargepoint 60 amp charger in the garage, and rarely expect to need public charging stations. Most of my driving will be local, and under 50 miles a day. I set the car to charge no more than 80%. I know that if the car is plugged in when parked in the garage, if I want it warmed up on a cold morning, the car does not drain the battery. Does that mean, every time I park in my garage, I plug it in, even if I only drove 30 miles that day. In short, from a battery life expectancy point of view, is charging from say 77 % to 80% regularly is both a good idea, and also not bad for the battery? I do not mind always plugging in the car when parked in the garage, but is that good when I use so little of the range each day? Woulkd I be better to drive for several days before plugging the car in, and live with using the battery to warm the car before leaving. I will always have enough battery to operate either way.
I recommend you get into the habit of plugging in each day. Ends up being more convenient than trying to plan charge vs non charge days. The on board charging system does all the thinking for you in this case.

Enjoy your car.
 

AZBill

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Plug in daily. Charge to 90%, not 80%.
Nothing wrong with charging to 80% especially with extended range. This is what I have done since getting my car. I simply tell it in Ford pass to charge to 100% the night before a trip.

you do want it plugged in as much as possible to keep the battery at a good temperature in extreme heat and cold. Many short charges are better for the battery over fewer deep charges.
 

jeffdawgfan

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I charge to 100% in the garage twice weekly. Is that harming battery.....the car will be obsolete before the battery wears I out I think.
 

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I personally will let the car get down to 60ish% before I plug in, 45% is around the lowest I'll go because at less than that it won't charge in my 6hr window to 90%.

I don't like charging it only 5% here or 10% there because I've not driven it. Is it bad for the battery, I dunno, but from my childhood days I've always been told not to do that so I don't lol
 

SnBGC

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I charge to 100% in the garage twice weekly. Is that harming battery.....the car will be obsolete before the battery wears I out I think.
That is fine too. Battery is fine. Will last a long long time.
 

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Why only charge to 90%? I charge to 100% every single time and have with all three of my previous EVs.
 

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I charge to 90% every night. I don't charge to 100% because then the regen braking going down the 2 mile long hill from my house is jerky and 1PD sucks at 100%.
 

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I personally will let the car get down to 60ish% before I plug in, 45% is around the lowest I'll go because at less than that it won't charge in my 6hr window to 90%.

I don't like charging it only 5% here or 10% there because I've not driven it. Is it bad for the battery, I dunno, but from my childhood days I've always been told not to do that so I don't lol
Not much worrying about preconditioning a cold battery and heating a passenger cabin for you in sunny San Diego ?

In New England as winter is coming I'll be plugging in every night and suspect the OP will also.
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