Does Preconditioning Really Matter?

sockmeister

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
1,879
Reaction score
2,992
Location
Pennsylvania
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E4x
Occupation
SW Engineer
Country flag
The former: I have a preset departure time of 6:15 set on day 1 and based on my ChargePoint it looks like I unplugged at 6:21 so I was a tiny bit late. You can tell from the CP graph that it wasn’t charging for an hour before though.
Ok! So you're actually preconditioning. That is useful information to know. I would think energy used for this on the road would fall under "Ext Temp" then - though it seems there was no change. Just a guess.
Sponsored

 

Dnorwood98

Well-Known Member
First Name
D
Joined
Mar 18, 2021
Threads
14
Messages
272
Reaction score
215
Location
WA
Vehicles
2021 Carbonized Gray AWD Ext Range
Occupation
Education/Healthcare
Country flag
Agree with what the OP has shared. I also find that if I PC the car, the GOM increases my expected range as well.
 

available_username2

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2019
Threads
27
Messages
414
Reaction score
461
Location
USA
Vehicles
Cmax energi
Country flag
well obviously preconditioning doesn't save electricity writ large. It just shifts it so you use electricity from the wall to heat up the car before you leave and save the energy in the battery so you can drive further. If you aren't going to be reaching the limits of the cars range preconditioning isn't necessary.
 

4TangledKites

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2020
Threads
12
Messages
56
Reaction score
49
Location
Kentucky
Vehicles
Honda Pilot, Acura RDX
Country flag
I was surprised by that and also surprised that my driving efficiency was higher without. It was in the garage both days and the garage stays about 50 degrees.
For what its worth, I'm not convinced the battery preconditioning works unless the temp is low enough. Not exactly sure what that temp is, but thinking its <40F. I've drawn this conclusion by neurotically watching Fordpass (sketchy I know) and my charger for a few hours before my departure times. The cabin preheats 15-30min prior to departure, but I can only get indication the battery is preconditioning when its been very cold or the car is outside (<30F).
 

Cjpayne

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Apr 27, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
328
Reaction score
362
Location
Auburn, IN
Vehicles
21 Ford Mach E GT. 69 Mustang Convertible, 15 MKX
Occupation
General Manager in manufacturing
Country flag
Nice Work!

It definitely makes a difference in terms of available power. On the”powerbar” in the GT I get about 33% of gray bars in the power side until the system warms up. It Only get 1 if any at all if I precondition.
Same here in Indiana. After sitting outside for 10 hours at work, unplugged and the in low 30"s I had about 30% gray bars. This morning after being plugged in while in our heated garage and about the same temp outside I have 0 gray bars. Interestingly, when I left work yesterday I gunned it on the highway just to see what the power loss felt like. I reached 75 mph and backed off to 60 mph. Looked down soon thereafter and only had about 10 -15% gray bars. SOC was 60%. Interesting that just a short burst reduced the power reduction?
 


Carsinmyblood

Well-Known Member
First Name
Mitch
Joined
May 2, 2021
Threads
126
Messages
1,333
Reaction score
1,995
Location
Western NC
Vehicles
'53 XK120, '58 MGA, '66 E-Type, MME Prem, EX, awd
Occupation
Self employed
Country flag
As you found, the power comes through the meter whether it's used to pre-condition before unplugging, or to use the battery to condition.
 

AlbanyIan

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ian
Joined
Aug 29, 2021
Threads
15
Messages
120
Reaction score
217
Location
Albany, NY
Vehicles
Current: 2021 Mach-E GT, Former: Toyota Highlander
Occupation
Engineer
Country flag
How much of an impact does preconditioning make? Here is a quick test: same route, same climate settings, and roughly the same 20 degree temps, on two different days. The first I have PC set to Medium and no PC the second. As you would expect, I saw 9% decrease in efficiency without PC.
A5EF8260-50F3-4DBB-89B2-A6F926C8E616.png


Preconditioning definitely improves your Mi/kWh efficiency and driving range, but does it save electricity? Probably not. If I add the .67kWH that it took to precondition, my energy from that first drive would be 5.73kWh, a 2.9% increase over no PC. That $.07 is a small price to pay for a warm butt and arguably better battery life, but if you are going for maximum efficiency, it is something to consider.

717C73FB-A016-4156-AB66-A406270E4DF0.jpeg


367755A9-EAEB-4C94-9F1B-48B57406B4ED.jpeg


EC2726FD-300F-402C-8DBF-FE4AACA0EBE0.jpeg
Thanks, this is interesting info. I’ve been running all over and not had time to do much in the way of controlled measurements but this has generated good discussion.
Curious about the cost per kWh you used (I also have a ChargePoint). Is $0.07 what you actually pay for a kWh (though it looks like there are pics with .07 & .11)?
I’m at about 0.18 which includes a per kWh delivery charge on top of the actual electrons. But I can charge for 0.15 at work which makes the calculations to determine the most cost effective charging strategies tricky but probably comes down to how much I want to be warm when I get in the car.
But if it’s actually beneficial for the battery to be warm while driving, PC the entire vehicle is a good idea. My efficiency appears to have gone to crap in the recent cold snap (teens) but like I mentioned, I’ve been racing around a lot. My educated guess is that optimally, I would PC the entire system on the 110 charger that came with the car and then charge/PC at work before going home to get the cheaper rate…. What that boils down to in savings is probably tough to ultimately determine accurately.
BTW. I’ve put 7300 miles on the car since mid September. ?.
 
OP
OP
Colorider

Colorider

Well-Known Member
First Name
Kristian
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
96
Reaction score
200
Location
Colorado Springs
Vehicles
Standard AWD
Country flag
Thanks, this is interesting info. I’ve been running all over and not had time to do much in the way of controlled measurements but this has generated good discussion.
Curious about the cost per kWh you used (I also have a ChargePoint). Is $0.07 what you actually pay for a kWh (though it looks like there are pics with .07 & .11)?
My utility cost is $0.105 per kWh and I recorded .67 used so that charge session used $.07 of energy.
 

Ride_the_lightning

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2021
Threads
6
Messages
546
Reaction score
1,070
Location
Midwest
Vehicles
Mach E Premium SR AWD
Occupation
Engineer
Country flag
It actually costs me more to precondition, because then I use power during normal power prices instead of super off peak. It’s marginal, so I still do it, but something to think about.
 

67 Stang Convertible

Well-Known Member
First Name
Rich
Joined
Jan 27, 2021
Threads
40
Messages
1,095
Reaction score
1,461
Location
Georgia, USA
Vehicles
1967 Mustang, 2013 Kia Optima, 2018 Kia Sportage
Occupation
Physician
Country flag
1st off thanks for the great info.

2nd, if you do precondition for let's say a 7:30 departure, however you have the car set to charge from Midnight to 6am (to take advantage of cheaper electricity); will the car allow it to take "Juice" from my Juice Box to precondition the battery after 6am?
 

RickMachE

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2021
Threads
200
Messages
13,129
Reaction score
17,842
Location
SE MI
Vehicles
2022 Mach-E Premium 4X, 2022 Lightning Lariat
Country flag
1st off thanks for the great info.

2nd, if you do precondition for let's say a 7:30 departure, however you have the car set to charge from Midnight to 6am (to take advantage of cheaper electricity); will the car allow it to take "Juice" from my Juice Box to precondition the battery after 6am?
Yes, and this is the "flaw" in allowing the car to control charging. Your preconditioning, or remote starting, will kick the charger into action, even if you're at peak electrical cost.

This is why I set my JuiceBox to NOT charge during my peak times (11AM - 7PM). Nothing the car can do about it. Of course if I want to, I can go in the JuiceBox app and override it to charge, and then when I precondition it will pull house current.
 

NewGuy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2021
Threads
18
Messages
386
Reaction score
552
Location
NJ
Vehicles
Ready to order
Country flag
I wonder how much of that energy difference happens in the first few miles. I'd think that you'd see most of the difference in the first 10 miles, but miles 10-20, 20-30, etc. would be the same for both situations.
 

Mach-e4x

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Sep 2, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
155
Reaction score
103
Location
Oneonta, NY USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-e 4x, 2016 Mazda CX5
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
How much of an impact does preconditioning make? Here is a quick test: same route, same climate settings, and roughly the same 20 degree temps, on two different days. The first I have PC set to Medium and no PC the second. As you would expect, I saw 9% decrease in efficiency without PC.
A5EF8260-50F3-4DBB-89B2-A6F926C8E616.png


Preconditioning definitely improves your Mi/kWh efficiency and driving range, but does it save electricity? Probably not. If I add the .67kWH that it took to precondition, my energy from that first drive would be 5.73kWh, a 2.9% increase over no PC. That $.07 is a small price to pay for a warm butt and arguably better battery life, but if you are going for maximum efficiency, it is something to consider.

717C73FB-A016-4156-AB66-A406270E4DF0.jpeg


367755A9-EAEB-4C94-9F1B-48B57406B4ED.jpeg


EC2726FD-300F-402C-8DBF-FE4AACA0EBE0.jpeg
I see the PC lasted for 15 min. Can it be done in 7 min? This is good information, thanks.
 

Neil4Real

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2021
Threads
15
Messages
3,223
Reaction score
2,919
Location
Southern California
Vehicles
Mach-E GT Performance Edition - Shadow Black
Country flag
I wonder how long the precondition is good for? My mornings are a bit sporadic when I sometimes leave for work at 7am, 8am, 9am, etc. If I set the departure time to just 7am every day, will it still be fine or would most of the battery cooled/heated up too much from sitting for a few hours if I leave at 9am or 10am? I guess it would probably still be better than it not preconditioning at all and sitting for over 12 hours without anything.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RLW
OP
OP
Colorider

Colorider

Well-Known Member
First Name
Kristian
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
96
Reaction score
200
Location
Colorado Springs
Vehicles
Standard AWD
Country flag
I wonder how much of that energy difference happens in the first few miles. I'd think that you'd see most of the difference in the first 10 miles, but miles 10-20, 20-30, etc. would be the same for both situations.
Yes I think that is 100% true. Also it depends on what the trip looks like. Normally I drop my daughter off at school which is 3 miles away and the car sits cold for 5 minutes, I drive 5 miles and the car sits for 5 when I drop my son off and then I drive 10 miles to the office. I think that would negate much of the advantage. For this test I only had my son so the stop was further away and it was only one.
Sponsored

 
 




Top