Automatic Preconditioning Without Departure Time Set - Electricity Consumption?

[DigitizedMe]

The car is left plugged in after topping up the HVB and it seems to be preconditioning itself occasionally. Even on days I don't plan to go anywhere, I still hear the fan kick on and the charger start up. The app displays "preparing cabin and battery for departure."

I'm wondering if anyone might know how much juice this uses? Maybe it's a better idea to unplug after topping up. I only have the Ford EVSE at the moment.

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[RickMachE]

This is usually the result of a departure time you scheduled, and you haven't gone in and removed it.

If you have no departure times scheduled, during very cold weather, the car can pull a small amount of power to warm the battery, on the order of a few kWh. In my experience over 3 winters, it rarely does.

 

[DigitizedMe]

Thanks for the reply! There's definitely no departure time set, but we have been below zero Fahrenheit for a couple of days.

 

[hybrid2bev]

The car is left plugged in after topping up the HVB and it seems to be preconditioning itself occasionally. Even on days I don't plan to go anywhere, I still hear the fan kick on and the charger start up. The app displays "preparing cabin and battery for departure."

I had a similar experience yesterday morning. The car was still plugged in from the night before. I hit the climate on button in FordPass. I see the blue spinning fan and the Climate On message so I locked my phone and continued getting ready. About 10 minutes later when I got out to the garage the car sounded like it was charging, I could hear the coolant pump running. I open FordPass and the climate fan is not spinning and I see the “preparing cabin and battery for departure" message. The car was stone cold inside. It was about 19F outside but closer to 29 degrees in the garage.

It was within my charging schedule window even though the battery was at my set level already from the night before, so basically wall power was allowed at the time I did the Climate On.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

I have a monitor on my electric panel and a display in my den … so I always know when a car is pulling power from the house.

I’ve seen this happen both in cold weather (when I suspect it is taking care of battery temperature) and I have also seen this happen when I haven’t used the car in days. Based on the power draw it isn’t nearly as much as it draws when charging or even when it’s pre-conditioning for departure … so I suspected it may have been charging the 12v battery.

When this has happened, I checked the Ford Pass app and it showed the car was pre-conditioning … even though no departure was scheduled.

 

[DigitizedMe]

I've been digging around a bit. FMC posted something recently too. I love this forum.

"When the vehicle is plugged in, the vehicle’s battery temperature is kept above freezing temperatures to help optimize battery performance; this occurs regardless of whether or not the vehicle is actively charging while plugged in."

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/ice-easy-winter-driving-tips-from-ford.41050/

 

[bburk00]

Mine is doing the same thing today:

 

[DigitizedMe]

My plan is to unplug my car if I don't plan to use it for a couple of days. No reason to waste the electricity maintaining battery temps if I don't plan on going anywhere. I understand having to maintain the LVB, but battery temp seems unnecessary in my situation.

 

[CarlSagan82]

Mine did this the other day while it was under 10 degrees here. Didn’t drive it for the day and don’t use departure schedule. I’m currently plugged with L1 not L2. Just keeping the battery warm I guess. ?

 

[avdonr]

Can confirm this is a thing. My car also randomly does the "preparing cabin and battery for departure" without a departure time set. I believe this is actually just keeping the battery warm when it is very cold out. I notice it whenever its below 0.

 

[Mach-Lee]

The car is left plugged in after topping up the HVB and it seems to be preconditioning itself occasionally. Even on days I don't plan to go anywhere, I still hear the fan kick on and the charger start up. The app displays "preparing cabin and battery for departure."

I'm wondering if anyone might know how much juice this uses? Maybe it's a better idea to unplug after topping up. I only have the Ford EVSE at the moment.

The amount of energy used for a scheduled departure time (battery+cabin) varies depending on how cold the car is. Usually, I see somewhere around 3-7 kWh used. In the summer, it might only be 1-2 kWh.

And yes, the car will periodically heat the battery to keep it above 0ºC while you are parked and plugged in. You will hear the battery coolant pump running and see "Preparing Cabin and Battery for Departure" in FordPass when this occurs, even though the cabin won't be heated. It only heats the battery, so the electricity consumption of the automatic maintenance heating is a lot less than a regular departure time. In the photo below, you can see a couple automatic heating events over a several-day period: the first heating event used 2.2 kWh, and the second one used 1.9 kWh. They occurred roughly 24 hours apart. At the end of the period is a scheduled departure time for comparison. I park in an insulated garage (temp was about 25ºF), so the automatic heating doesn't occur as often as if I were to park outside in below-zero conditions.

So to summarize, the automatic battery heating will run as often as necessary to keep the battery temperature above 0ºC during preferred charging hours, and will use about 2 kWh each time it runs (which costs me about 20¢, minor). This is why Ford wants you to keep the car plugged in during below-freezing weather so the battery can stay warm. If you aren't going to drive the car for several days, then you can unplug it so heating doesn't happen, but usually the added expense is only minor unless you are parked outside in extreme cold conditions. Parking inside a closed garage will minimize the amount of energy used to maintain the battery temperature compared to parking outside.

Keep in mind if you leave the car unplugged, then the battery won't be warm when you need to use it.

 

[exit74chris]

Well this answers a lot of questions! I woke up during the night and the EVSE popped a notification that is was charging - when the battery was fully charged. The car showed "preparing for departure".

 

[DigitizedMe]

The amount of energy used for a scheduled departure time (battery+cabin) varies depending on how cold the car is. Usually, I see somewhere around 3-7 kWh used. In the summer, it might only be 1-2 kWh.

And yes, the car will periodically heat the battery to keep it above 0ºC while you are parked and plugged in. You will hear the battery coolant pump running and see "Preparing Cabin and Battery for Departure" in FordPass when this occurs, even though the cabin won't be heated. It only heats the battery, so the electricity consumption of the automatic maintenance heating is a lot less than a regular departure time. In the photo below, you can see a couple automatic heating events over a several-day period: the first heating event used 2.2 kWh, and the second one used 1.9 kWh. They occurred roughly 24 hours apart. At the end of the period is a scheduled departure time for comparison. I park in an insulated garage (temp was about 25ºF), so the automatic heating doesn't occur as often as if I were to park outside in below-zero conditions.

So to summarize, the automatic battery heating will run as often as necessary to keep the battery temperature above 0ºC during preferred charging hours, and will use about 2 kWh each time it runs (which costs me about 20¢, minor). This is why Ford wants you to keep the car plugged in during below-freezing weather so the battery can stay warm. If you aren't going to drive the car for several days, then you can unplug it so heating doesn't happen, but usually the added expense is only minor unless you are parked outside in extreme cold conditions. Parking inside a closed garage will minimize the amount of energy used to maintain the battery temperature compared to parking outside.

Keep in mind if you leave the car unplugged, then the battery won't be warm when you need to use it.

Thank you so much for taking the time to gather the data and write this up!

I had planned to leave the car charging outside, rather than dragging it into the garage with snow, salt, and sand. I live in the extreme northern US, it's always cold and the roads are messy. I wanted to leave my glacier gray frozen solid.

 

[Bakahump]

Had some recent “strange behavior” been quite cold (Maine) around 5-15 degrees. Set to charge to 85%. Go int drive 2 -3 miles got on the highway another half mile and charge went UP to 86%. Wife also drove to work drove 4 miles in 10 degree weather and got to left work went to get lunch 3 ish miles away drive back and car said 84%. Both times before leaving she has departure and cabin prep. Wondering if the car while pulling to warm to cabin and battery also charged the battery just a tad more. Not complaining just curious.

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