Nice article on winter driving. Some I just learned

[Deleted member 19354]

https://www.zeta2030.org/insights/optimizing-electric-vehicles-for-cold-weather-driving

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[TheVirtualTim]

For the Mach-E, if you want to pre-condition the batteries (warm them in advance of driving the car) you have to use the schedule departure feature (and leave the car plugged in).

Some period of time before your planned departure time the car will start heating the battery pack (using house power). The specific time depends on how cold it is. I've seen it start 40 minutes early ... I've seen it start heating about 1 hr 15 mins early -- just depends on temperature.

Pre-starting the car (e.g. using the remote-start feature in FordPass) doesn't have enough time to warm the packs. It will warm the cabin, but it doesn't heat the battery.

I have a remote-job -- I don't have a normal daily routine. I've asked if we can get a feature to pre-condition the battery ad-hoc (e.g. either tell it to start pre-conditioning now ... or tell it have the car ready to go at a specific time (as a one-time event) -- without having to create a recurring schedule.

Currently, if I need to go somewhere and it is cold, I'll create a departure "schedule", let the car get ready for the drive, and then right after the trip I go back in and delete the scheduled departure. I'd really like a quicker way to pre-condition for a non-recurring event.

 

[Deleted member 19354]

For the Mach-E, if you want to pre-condition the batteries (warm them in advance of driving the car) you have to use the schedule departure feature (and leave the car plugged in).

Some period of time before your planned departure time the car will start heating the battery pack (using house power). The specific time depends on how cold it is. I've seen it start 40 minutes early ... I've seen it start heating about 1 hr 15 mins early -- just depends on temperature.

Pre-starting the car (e.g. using the remote-start feature in FordPass) doesn't have enough time to warm the packs. It will warm the cabin, but it doesn't heat the battery.

I have a remote-job -- I don't have a normal daily routine. I've asked if we can get a feature to pre-condition the battery ad-hoc (e.g. either tell it to start pre-conditioning now ... or tell it have the car ready to go at a specific time (as a one-time event) -- without having to create a recurring schedule.

Currently, if I need to go somewhere and it is cold, I'll create a departure "schedule", let the car get ready for the drive, and then right after the trip I go back in and delete the scheduled departure. I'd really like a quicker way to pre-condition for a non-recurring event.

Oh thank you. Unfortunately I’m in 120V. My panel for level 2 is over 1000 feet away and would be over $3000 to install. Will the preconditioning work on the trickle charge?

 

[TheVirtualTim]

I believe users that have tried that report it doesn't work.

120 volts at 12 amps (which is 80% of a 15 amp circuit) is only 1.4 kW (120 x 12 = 1,440). That's not much power to run the battery heater.

Is there any way you can do some of the work to install 240 power yourself?

We have a detached garage with only a single 120v circuit. To save on costs... we did a lot of the work ourselves. Our electrician gave us the rules for what we'd need to do to be compliant with code. We did all the parts that wouldn't require a licensed electrician.

The IRS will give you a tax credit for 30% of the cost to get equipment and have it installed ... but it is capped at $1000. (e.g. a $3000 install would translate into a $900 tax credit -- ultimately being a $2100 install). But if you can do some of that work yourself ... you might get it down to a more affordable price.

 

[Deleted member 19354]

I believe users that have tried that report it doesn't work.

120 volts at 12 amps (which is 80% of a 15 amp circuit) is only 1.4 kW (120 x 12 = 1,440). That's not much power to run the battery heater.

Is there any way you can do some of the work to install 240 power yourself?

We have a detached garage with only a single 120v circuit. To save on costs... we did a lot of the work ourselves. Our electrician gave us the rules for what we'd need to do to be compliant with code. We did all the parts that wouldn't require a licensed electrician.

The IRS will give you a tax credit for 30% of the cost to get equipment and have it installed ... but it is capped at $1000. (e.g. a $3000 install would translate into a $900 tax credit -- ultimately being a $2100 install). But if you can do some of that work yourself ... you might get it down to a more affordable price.

?. Oh heck no. And I’d only have it done professionally

 

[ctenidae]

Those are pretty much just good winter driving ideas, regardless of vehicle type.

Also, a big old "Second" on the on-demand departure time idea. As it is, I think my car always thinks it's about to leave because FP fails at some point during every use and I don't always manage to delete one-off settings...

 

[Mach-Lee]

https://www.zeta2030.org/insights/optimizing-electric-vehicles-for-cold-weather-driving

If you want more details, see my past posts:

Mach-Lee's Cold Weather Charging Strategies

Preconditioning Improves Range up to 20% [Ford Brochure]

Oh thank you. Unfortunately I’m in 120V. My panel for level 2 is over 1000 feet away and would be over $3000 to install. Will the preconditioning work on the trickle charge?

Perhaps it might be easier to drop a new service from the power line closer to your parked location? This can be cheaper than trenching long distances.

Preconditioning doesn't work well on 120V. You only get a tiny amount of heat. You'll want to leave it plugged in all the time with a 24/7 charge schedule so it can keep up.

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