Cold Weather range is no joke

[YeOldeTraveller]

I am a lifelong Michigander so cabin temp is not my main concern. Would I just set the departure time for 30 minutes in the future or is there another way to force the battery to warm?

ETA: I have not tried the above manual method, but it is worth a try.

I consider it a miss, but there is no way to ad hoc start just a battery conditioning before departure other than using the Departure Time method. I do not know what the lead time needs to be, and that likely depends on the temperature.

For normal use, I don't worry about it, and just understand that I will get poor efficiency until the battery is wormed up.

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[mdwinther35]

For reference this thread has some really good tips and is worth bookmarking:

https://www.macheforum.com/mach-lees-cold-weather-charging-strategies/

 

[sglewiswl]

You should get a smart phone

I have one, I just read all the comments on the formn stating the app isn't always correct.

 

[sglewiswl]

For reference this thread has some really good tips and is worth bookmarking:

https://www.macheforum.com/mach-lees-cold-weather-charging-strategies/

I've read through this and a lot of comments in the forum. Those of us who don't drive regularly just have different demands.
I suspect heating and cooling is the more complicated piece of EVs. Outside of battery lifetime finding the trade-offs between too cold and reducing range and too hot and possibly catching fire seems to be the challenge.

 

[Billyk24]

ETA: I have not tried the above manual method, but it is worth a try.

I consider it a miss, but there is no way to ad hoc start just a battery conditioning before departure other than using the Departure Time method. I do not know what the lead time needs to be, and that likely depends on the temperature.

For normal use, I don't worry about it, and just understand that I will get poor efficiency until the battery is wormed up.

Until the battery is warmed up........this "battery warmed up" needs to be revealed "more" by owners. In cold weather ( under 30f) I am not seeing the battery warming up while driving. Stop at a dcfc and charge even a 'little like 5kWh" the battery will rise in temperature and then fall colder.

 

[Graction]

Last road trip I took was 7+ hours hovering around 30F. I decided to play around with the temperature settings, incrementing by 1 degree at a time, to see the impact on energy use via the Trip screen.

My point of equilibrium (energy impact vs. risk of hypothermia) landed at about 3% of battery use. Less heat made me feel colder than I wanted to be, and more heat didn't really make me feel substantially better given the tradeoff.

Yes, I even tried turning the heat off. I suppose with a blanket and the heated seats & steering wheel on you could do it, but this pony ain't pulling a carriage through Central Park.

So play around with the temp settings and see what happens...

So what temperature was your sweet spot?

 

[Graction]

My 2024 GT is less efficient in cold than my 2022 GT was, at least for shorter drives. It seems that the heater is more aggressive in the 24 at the same medium auto setting.

 

[ChrisO]

Until the battery is warmed up........this "battery warmed up" needs to be revealed "more" by owners. In cold weather ( under 30f) I am not seeing the battery warming up while driving. Stop at a dcfc and charge even a 'little like 5kWh" the battery will rise in temperature and then fall colder.

I think it is a misconception that the "battery warms up as you drive", like you warm up an ICE car.
Driving actually cools the battery (the air flow over it).

The temperature it is trying to keep for optimal driving isn't the same temperature it will try to get to for fast charging.

 

[Mach-Lee]

So what would be the best way to get maximum range on a 20 F day? Let's assume I have the car plugged in because I know its cold and I decide I need to make an unexpected afternoon trip of 150 miles. The car is fully charged, but I want maximum range. I understand that could set the departure time, but can I just warm the battery up?

There are a couple different tricks, depending how much time you have. You could just go into the app and add a departure time about 30 minutes from now. 45 minutes ahead of time would be better.

You can also turn on the car while plugged in, shut off HVAC, and disable the auto shut down timer. That will cause the battery to heat if it’s cold, but you won’t get a warm cabin.

I would probably just do the first option (immediate departure time), and then slow down in order to stretch my range to 150 miles.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I think it is a misconception that the "battery warms up as you drive", like you warm up an ICE car.
Driving actually cools the battery (the air flow over it).

The temperature it is trying to keep for optimal driving isn't the same temperature it will try to get to for fast charging.

On the newer Mach-E's (2023.5 and later) the battery can slowly warm up while driving from the motor waste heat. I haven't been able to investigate this in winter conditions, however (my car is doesn't do that). It may be the case that the battery can only reach a certain temperature before thermal equilibrium between heat gained from motors and heat lost from convection over the pack is reached. Keeping the pack above about 4ºC is important to prevent Turtle Mode from happening at low SoC values, and the motor waste heat would likely be useful to maintain temps above 4ºC. The new heat pump may also help with this.

And don't get me started on the lack of thermal insulation in the battery pack...

 

[ChrisO]

Yeah, @Mach-Lee isn't that crazy that they don't insulate it?
I really wonder how much electricity they could save by insulating it.

It is interesting that that the motor heat can be used, do believe that most of the heat comes from the heater. And that the system is going to only heat it as much as its needs for optimal driving, which is different from optimal fast charging. And that can happen before you leave the house on AC. That is what I meant that the heating is different than in ICE cars.

 

[sglewiswl]

There are a couple different tricks, depending how much time you have. You could just go into the app and add a departure time about 30 minutes from now. 45 minutes ahead of time would be better.

You can also turn on the car while plugged in, shut off HVAC, and disable the auto shut down timer. That will cause the battery to heat if it’s cold, but you won’t get a warm cabin.

I would probably just do the first option (immediate departure time), and then slow down in order to stretch my range to 150 miles.

This was kind of my thought. First winter with the Mach-E. I have nowhere to go, but I like to be prepared in case I do. MI is kind of sketchy for chargers, but lots of Ford dealerships between me and other places.
I used to believe that 280-300 mile range it right for an EV, but I realize now 280-300 cold weather range is likely the ultimate standard.

 

[MellowJohnny]

So what temperature was your sweet spot?

About 21C.

But I find as the outside temp drops the car has a harder time staying warm - it always feels like cold air "leaks" in from the driver footwell / lower door area.

And at -15C it has a hard time keeping the car warm, and the software begins prioritising keeping the battery warm vs. the cabin. But that's only about two weeks out of the year here.

 

[sglewiswl]

What object in Car Scanner would you look at to see if the battery was being heated?

 

[RickMachE]

What object in Car Scanner would you look at to see if the battery was being heated?

Battery temp...

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