Nightly Charging With Minimal Daily Mileage?

Kerpazm

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I'm trying to figure out how often I should charge my MME. I've searched online, and I can't seem to find a clear answer to this question. Is it better for the battery to top off every night, or is it better to run it down (not all the way, obviously) to a lower percentage and just charge it at longer intervals?

I purchased my MME on the 13th, charged it when I got home (~80 miles of driving from the dealership to home). I have level 2 charging at home, so it charged just fine overnight. I did charge it to 100% that night, but I have since updated the car to only charge to 90%, per Ford's recommendation. Since that charge, I did slightly more than my typical driving, and didn't charge it again until last night (8 days of driving), and I was at around ~33% battery charge. So, I can clearly get away with a week of driving in most circumstances without charging and not have any issues.

Obviously, my mileage right now is a bit lower due to COVID, but my regular mileage is basically taking my kid to daycare M-F (~7 miles roundtrip), and maybe a few errands over the weekend. Even pre-pandemic, my loop between daycare, work, and home was only 17-18 miles, and I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home 2 days a week, so I was looking at ~65 miles per week (M-F).

Now, I get that I won't get the cabin pre-conditioning if I don't plug in every night, but since I live in Southern California, and my car is parked in a garage most of the time, the interior doesn't really hit either extreme when I'm at home. Also, my wife still has a gas car, so, in emergency circumstances, we still can make a long drive if the MME is low on charge.

So, back to the original question, given my typical driving habits, is it better for me to charge every night, or should I charge when I need to (mostly weekly, aside from planned longer drives)? Does either method affect the longevity of the battery either way?
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stmache

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I think the only time it needs to be plugged in is if the car suggests it due to cold weather. Living in California, I would say you won't have to do that too often. From my reading and understanding, I would not worry about charging it every night but, at least, once a week or if you get to 20% or less of charge.
 

milepost1

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why not just leave it always plugged in? keep it topped off and used electricity rather than battery if/when it wakes up.
 

CHeil402

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In general, lithium batteries prefer smaller charge cycles and dislike deeper discharges. I would recommend leaving in plugged in every night and setting the max charge to 80-90%. Note that you're already not charging it to 100% even if you set it that was as there is a reserve 11 kWh blocked off through software.
 

zvez

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This will be my wife's car it's unlikely to be driven more than a 100 miles a week. Will be using the 120v charge. For me I don't see the point of hooking it up every nite if it's only been driven ten miles or so. I may change my mind on that once we have the car.
 

louibluey

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I leave my EV's plugged in 24/7 when not driving, except for thunderstorms. That way when I pre-condition, either heat or a/c, I'm running off of my L2 charge station.

Of course like @stmache, I'm in cold territory too (although warmer this year again, and it seems the midsection of the country got our super cold temps this year!).

I really like that MME does some temperature management of the traction battery when plugged in. Some of my past EV's just charged, then played dead, even if still plugged in.
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