Are there long-term benefits for preconditioning?

[Mach-Lee]

I am under the impression that simply keeping the car plugged in will keep the battery from getting dangerously cold. That’s why we get the “It’s cold outside, plug me in.” Message.
If that’s true, just being plugged in is as good or better than preconditioning.

I also didn’t think it was possible to completely disable regen?

Plugging in has a different temp set point than preconditioning. Plugging in when told to will keep the battery around 0°C (32°F) I believe, while using preconditioning heats it to 15°C (59°F). The pack isn’t actively heated while driving (at least I haven’t seen that yet), so it cools off as you drive unless you are using a lot of power or regen. Therefore a preconditioned pack will stay above the critical temp of 0 °C for longer while driving in the cold.

Whisper disables lift-off regen, but yes you still get some regen with braking. Neutral completely disables regen.

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[Maquis]

Plugging in has a different temp set point than preconditioning. Plugging in when told to will keep the battery around 0°C (32°F) I believe, while using preconditioning heats it to 15°C (59°F). The pack isn’t actively heated while driving (at least I haven’t seen that yet), so it cools off as you drive unless you are using a lot of power or regen. Therefore a preconditioned pack will stay above the critical temp of 0 °C for longer while driving in the cold.

Whisper disables lift-off regen, but yes you still get some regen with braking. Neutral completely disables regen.

I never considered switching to N before braking. That would definitely avoid regen.

 

[generaltso]

I never considered switching to N before braking. That would definitely avoid regen.

This comes in handy to clean the rust off the rotors.

 

[Maquis]

This comes in handy to clean the rust off the rotors.

I always brake hard enough to dry the brakes after a car wash. If I switched to N, I wouldn’t need to mash the pedal as hard! ?

 

[Shayne]

Today -15C (5F) and preconditioning kicked in for about an hour. 5KW heater most likely not running full blast so 4KWh (64 cents here max). My fordpass is locked right now in some sort of fleet mode but when it is not as it preconditions you watch your GOM grow big time in real time. The efficiency of the vehicle will be better if you precondition. Therefore that 64 cents is not a total cost as the efficiency is better which would reduce that cost. I find the car drives better and is more responsive for less than 50 cents and is something I do not think twice about using. I highway drive it over 50 miles every time it is out. Maximum time I have seen it precondition is 1.5 hours (-28C -18F) less than a buck and some recouped due to increase in efficiency. I have faith in the computer and those that programed it. New tech.

 

[hawkeye3point1]

Today -15C (5F) and preconditioning kicked in for about an hour. 5KW heater most likely not running full blast so 4KWh (64 cents here max).

Not to split hairs, but your heater is definitely maxed at that temp.. And the circulating pump is also drawing a fair amount of power.

The other day I charged at a 6 kWh Chargepoint. CarScanner was telling me the car was pulling 1.8 kWh from the HVB instead of adding 5+ kWh. Looked again and realized the HVB heater was pulling 5 kWh, never used to do that with L2. One of the OTAs since last Winter changed BECM behavior apparently. HVB temp was 40F something so not that cold. That continued until HVB temp reached 52F, maybe 15 min..

Warming the HVB is closer to 7 kWh.

BTW, wish I could get some of that more affordable CA hydroelectric here in New Hampshire, cheers.

 

[johnmark]

The pack isn’t actively heated while driving (at least I haven’t seen that yet), so it cools off as you drive unless you are using a lot of power or regen. Therefore a preconditioned pack will stay above the critical temp of 0 °C for longer while driving in the cold.

Was wondering about this. I preconned this morning and started driving at 20F. At first I was getting 3 mi/kWh going 60-70 mph. But then after about 20 minutes I noticed that the milage kept trending down until it ultimately reached 2.4. So is it better to drive faster and break harder in cold temps?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Was wondering about this. I preconned this morning and started driving at 20F. At first I was getting 3 mi/kWh going 60-70 mph. But then after about 20 minutes I noticed that the milage kept trending down until it ultimately reached 2.4. So is it better to drive faster and break harder in cold temps?

That efficiency drop is probably the heat having to ramp up as the cabin cools off from the preheat, the pack cooling down won’t affect the efficiency. I would say just drive normally to save energy but avoid a ton of regen if the pack cools off. Trying to drive hard to warm up the pack is kinda frivolous unless you’re headed to a DCFC, but it’s not going to help a whole lot.

 

[Shayne]

Not to split hairs, but your heater is definitely maxed at that temp.. And the circulating pump is also drawing a fair amount of power.

The other day I charged at a 6 kWh Chargepoint. CarScanner was telling me the car was pulling 1.8 kWh from the HVB instead of adding 5+ kWh. Looked again and realized the HVB heater was pulling 5 kWh, never used to do that with L2. One of the OTAs since last Winter changed BECM behavior apparently. HVB temp was 40F something so not that cold. That continued until HVB temp reached 52F, maybe 15 min..

Warming the HVB is closer to 7 kWh.

BTW, wish I could get some of that more affordable CA hydroelectric here in New Hampshire, cheers.

What do you pay per KWh there? We have off and on peak here. Following it they adjust the add on costs. It really does not matter when or how much we use it always comes down to and average 0.16/KWh.

So I will buy that. Lets split that down so it would be 7 KW not 4. @$0.16/KWh that would be $1.68 for 1.5 hours @ -20F. I have seen the GOM grow buy 25 to 35 miles as it does heat up. The batteries have to be in a better more efficient state after preconditioning. At least they feel to me like they are when driven. What would you think the off balanced for increased efficiency would take off my $1.68?

For me I no longer think twice and just set up a departure schedule if I can. If you can press remote start the schedule is not that much more and then it is all ready and waiting to be driven. Bought the car and now want to enjoy it. Here's my buck. ?

BTW, For me it looks like it varies the time it preconditions the vehicle for optimum based on ambient temps. Someone was thinking about it and programed it I guess. They most likely know a bit more about this stuff than us.

Math edit

 

[DarkStang]

Does anyone know if simply leaving the car plugged in will trickle draw power to keep the battery at a stable temp without full preconditioning? Or will it only draw power to heat with a departure time?

I was using departure times, but felt I was wasting electricity because my commute is only like 2 miles and it appeared to draw like 5kw for an hour before departure. So I stopped preconditioning unless going on a longer trip, but wondering if it’s better for health to leave plugged in without a departure schedule.

 

[generaltso]

Does anyone know if simply leaving the car plugged in will trickle draw power to keep the battery at a stable temp without full preconditioning? Or will it only draw power to heat with a departure time?

It will, but that temp is not as high as what preconditioning will do. And it's not really a trickle as the heater will kick on and off as the battery warms and cools. On a very cold night, it could use as much as 7kWh keeping the battery above freezing.

 

[DarkStang]

It will, but that temp is not as high as what preconditioning will do. And it's not really a trickle as the heater will kick on and off as the battery warms and cools. On a very cold night, it could use as much as 7kWh keeping the battery above freezing.

Thanks, so is that the threshold it’s trying to stay above, just freezing? I’m in a garage but it still gets down into the mid 30s in there. Rarely below freezing, so maybe it wouldn’t be doing much. I may plug in for a week and see if I notice anything significant in my utility provider’s app.

 

[generaltso]

Thanks, so is that the threshold it’s trying to stay above, just freezing? I’m in a garage but it still gets down into the mid 30s in there. Rarely below freezing, so maybe it wouldn’t be doing much. I may plug in for a week and see if I notice anything significant in my utility provider’s app.

According to @Mach-Lee above, the battery will be kept around freezing ( 32°F ) when plugged in. When preconditioning with a departure time, it will be warmed up to around 59°F . Seems about right to me.

 

[Mach1E]

Ha. Fair enough. But then who is the final authority on a question such as mine? And how do I contact them to ask?

How can you know the long term affect on something that hasn’t been around long term?

I do know the short term effect is that it’ll cost you $$ to precondition if you’re not driving a longer distance in the winter.

I would just take Ford’s advice and precondition if you need to.

 

[methorian]

Do folks just setup a departure schedule for the day of their trip if/when taking a longer trip where you want battery pre-conditioning? It seems it would be nice to have a one-time preconditioning event option, no? So that I don't have to remember to turn the departure schedule off after the planned trip?

My Mach-E is garaged, and I don't drive it every day. I don't always keep it plugged in, or "topped" off at 85%.

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