DIY: Reflectix Roof Insulation to Reduce Heat Loss in Cold Temperatures

[Mach1E]

I use similar stuff to help cool our motorhome. It is usually behind a curtain so you don’t see it as I don’t think it is very attractive. I guess it would help in the winter too, but we are fair weather glampers.

The roof is one of the main reasons I purchased a select. If it had a retractable shade or made a functional sunroof I would feel differently. To me if it cannot open I have no use for it.

I personally think if you have to do things that retract from the appearance of the car to make it more functional there was an inherent design issue. After owning the Cadillac, and the Grand Cherokee Summit I expect more from a 50,000+ car.

I bought the car to enjoy, and not to reengineer for ford. None of us are being given our cars for feedback.

Did ford not take the car in cold climates and test it?

So my question is when you give someone a ride and they see the solar blanket over your head, what do they say and think? Glad I didn’t buy and electric car they are freezing to death trying to drive. They have a solar blanket on the roof and they don’t run the heat because it will use half the Tank / Charge.

Do you give your riders blankets too.

This is wild. Again I love my car, and I will buy some stuff for it, but we all need to tell Ford. Come On. Man!

Serious question (from a Floridian):

What do you wear when it’s 20 below zero and you drive?

Do people bundle up to go outside, get in the car and take all their clothes off or something?

I don’t really get it because I’ve only vacationed where it’s cold and that involves snow skiing and many layers. I wouldn’t need much heat in a car with what I have on in the cold.

That said, yes the heater should work. But I wouldn’t expect Ford (or anyone for that matter) to design a glass roof to do much in below zero weather. Because physics.

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[Mach-Lee]

So my question is when you give someone a ride and they see the solar blanket over your head, what do they say and think? Glad I didn’t buy and electric car they are freezing to death trying to drive. They have a solar blanket on the roof and they don’t run the heat because it will use half the Tank / Charge.

I'm not an Uber, but the people that have seen it know what it's for and agree it's dumb there wasn't a sunroof shade included with the car to cover it during the winter (most people leave their shades closed in the winter because of the cold drafts).

Serious question (from a Floridian):

What do you wear when it’s 20 below zero and you drive?

Do people bundle up to go outside, get in the car and take all their clothes off or something?

It varies, but most people are not going to wear full ski or arctic gear just to drive to work. To go to work, I wear casual pants+shirt in some form (with maybe a T-shirt underneath or sweater over), put on a thick jacket + gloves + hat + hiking boots. Some people also wear long underwear or leggings under their clothes. We leave our jackets on in the car, but most people like to take off their hats and gloves once the car is warmed up to be more comfortable (bulky gloves makes it difficult to use controls and touchscreens). If the cabin is too cold the hats and gloves will stay on obviously, but your legs and ankles start to have trouble keeping warm. Sometimes your face can start to feel cold too, especially if you get a cold draft off a window.

I'm fine being outside in -20F dressed like above for the couple minutes it takes to walk inside, but when you have to sit still in a cold car you can get the shivers quick from lack of movement. If I had to spend any significant amount of time outside at -20F, I would have wear way more gear and completely cover any exposed skin. That's overkill to cross a parking lot, so we wear an intermediate level for commuting and most errands.

What it comes down to is most ICE vehicles have enough heat at -20F so we are used to being warm in a car at those temps. When the Mach-E comes along and doesn't have enough heat at -20F, we see that as a deficiency since regular cars stay warm.

To me, -20°F should be the design temperature. In other words, the heater should be big enough to keep the cabin in the 65-70°F range while driving in -20°F. Colder than -20°F the cabin temps may dip, but they shouldn’t drop before that.

 

[Mach1E]

I'm not an Uber, but the people that have seen it know what it's for and agree it's dumb there wasn't a sunroof shade included with the car to cover it during the winter (most people leave their shades closed in the winter because of the cold drafts).



It varies, but most people are not going to wear full ski or arctic gear just to drive to work. To go to work, I wear casual pants+shirt in some form (with maybe a T-shirt underneath or sweater over), put on a thick jacket + gloves + hat + hiking boots. Some people also wear long underwear or leggings under their clothes. We leave our jackets on in the car, but most people like to take off their hats and gloves once the car is warmed up to be more comfortable (bulky gloves makes it difficult to use controls and touchscreens). If the cabin is too cold the hats and gloves will stay on obviously, but your legs and ankles start to have trouble keeping warm. Sometimes your face can start to feel cold too, especially if you get a cold draft off a window.

I'm fine being outside in -20F dressed like above for the couple minutes it takes to walk inside, but when you have to sit still in a cold car you can get the shivers quick from lack of movement. If I had to spend any significant amount of time outside at -20F, I would have wear way more gear and completely cover any exposed skin. That's overkill to cross a parking lot, so we wear an intermediate level for commuting and most errands.

What it comes down to is most ICE vehicles have enough heat at -20F so we are used to being warm in a car at those temps. When the Mach-E comes along and doesn't have enough heat at -20F, we see that as a deficiency since regular cars stay warm.

To me, -20°F should be the design temperature. In other words, the heater should be big enough to keep the cabin in the 65-70°F range while driving in -20°F. Colder than -20°F the cabin temps may dip, but they shouldn’t drop before that.

I appreciate the explanation.

I’m never moving north!

 

[0t60-3.5]

I live up north, but don't have that experience. Of course, depending upon where @Mach-Lee lives in Wisconsin, may be pretty close to the climate in east central Iowa where I live. I'm extremely lucky- we have a heated garage and it's set at 50 degrees. That helps a ton as well as only have a 10-15 minute commute. So, living up north isn't all that bad.

 

[Mach1E]

I live up north, but don't have that experience. Of course, depending upon where @Mach-Lee lives in Wisconsin, may be pretty close to the climate in east central Iowa where I live. I'm extremely lucky- we have a heated garage and it's set at 50 degrees. That helps a ton as well as only have a 10-15 minute commute. So, living up north isn't all that bad.

Totally unrelated note- I was shopping for garage doors yesterday (looking at a hurricane impact door) and the expensive ones are insulated.

I couldn’t figure out why anyone would insulate a garage door and pay thousands extra for it.

Now I know!

 

[Mach-Lee]

Totally unrelated note- I was shopping for garage doors yesterday (looking at a hurricane impact door) and the expensive ones are insulated.

I couldn’t figure out why anyone would insulate a garage door and pay thousands extra for it.

Now I know!

Yes, my garage doors are R13 insulated as are the garage walls. Uninsulated garage doors totally suck up here.

 

[AXNJXN]

It seems like using a Mach-e aftermarket roof sun screen as a template might be an easier solution than creating it from scratch. I can copy from a template better than create.

 

[Mach-Lee]

It seems like using a Mach-e aftermarket roof sun screen as a template might be an easier solution than creating it from scratch. I can copy from a template better than create.

True, but I didn't want to waste $50 on a sunshade just to use as a template. It only took me a couple hours total to make the template and install the Reflectix.

 

[mkhuffman]

Totally unrelated note- I was shopping for garage doors yesterday (looking at a hurricane impact door) and the expensive ones are insulated.

I couldn’t figure out why anyone would insulate a garage door and pay thousands extra for it.

Now I know!

My garage doors are insulated and it also helps keep the garage cooler in the summer, especially when the sun beats down on the doors.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I recommend you flip that one around so the shiny silver surface is facing inside during the winter which reflects the radiant heat back into the car. If the silver is facing outside it will reflect out some of the heat the sun brings in and be marginally effective reflecting the heat back into the car.

Yeah, but it "Use second-generation encrypted mesh fabric," so it must be good, right?

 

[mkhuffman]

Yeah, but it "Use second-generation encrypted mesh fabric," so it must be good, right?

That protects against hacks.

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