Preconditioning Battery when being charged overnight on a timer?

[CameraCarl]

My first winter season with my Mach-E is upon me here in Minnesota. I would like to precondition the battery and interior when I leave home, but I've signed up with my electric utility for an off peak charging schedule that turns the charger on at midnight and off at 6 am. Is there any way to do this without overriding the schedule since daytime charging rates are significantly higher? I don't have any set daily departure times; rarely before mid-morning, although I usually do drive the car at least once a day.

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[Maquis]

No, you can’t precondition when the EVSE is off.

There‘s minimal benefit to preconditioning anyway unless you need maximum range for a long trip. If you can complete your daily commute without preconditioning, you avoid the cost of electricity used to precondition.

You can remote start to warm the cabin a few minutes before departure, but that will use battery power.

 

[Deleted member 19354]

I still wish there was some indication of when preconditioning is happening and then the process is complete

 

[RickMachE]

My first winter season with my Mach-E is upon me here in Minnesota. I would like to precondition the battery and interior when I leave home, but I've signed up with my electric utility for an off peak charging schedule that turns the charger on at midnight and off at 6 am. Is there any way to do this without overriding the schedule since daytime charging rates are significantly higher? I don't have any set daily departure times; rarely before mid-morning, although I usually do drive the car at least once a day.

As Maquis said, no. You need electricity, but you have it turned off. But, as he also said, if range doesn't matter it doesn't matter.

I still wish there was some indication of when preconditioning is happening and then the process is complete

While it's happening you can see it in FordPass.

 

[Deleted member 19354]

As Maquis said, no. You need electricity, but you have it turned off. But, as he also said, if range doesn't matter it doesn't matter.



While it's happening you can see it in FordPass.

I “preconditioned “ yesterday and saw nothing

 

[RickMachE]

I “preconditioned “ yesterday and saw nothing

Just telling you reality. If, while it's happening, you open FordPass, it tells you what it is doing.

 

[Mauser]

I've read somewhere that preconditioning the battery will stop if you set the cabin to heat? Something about two separate pre-conditions, one for the battery, then the cabin? Is this true?

Now I'm not sure if I'm actually pre-conditioning the battery when I've got my cabin warming schedule set...

Can anyone shed some light on this?

 

[CameraCarl]

Thanks, all. That is what I figured (i.e., no electricity, no preconditioning), but I was hoping that there might be some workaround such as set departure time for 6 am and hope the car retained enough warmth in the garage for it to be somewhat more comfortable when I left later in the morning.

So, I guess there is no reason for me to set a schedule for departure times in my Ford Pass app since the charger timer precludes anything from happening after 6 am.... right?

 

[RickMachE]

Thanks, all. That is what I figured (i.e., no electricity, no preconditioning), but I was hoping that there might be some workaround such as set departure time for 6 am and hope the car retained enough warmth in the garage for it to be somewhat more comfortable when I left later in the morning.

So, I guess there is no reason for me to set a schedule for departure times in my Ford Pass app since the charger timer precludes anything from happening after 6 am.... right?

You can do what you suggest, and if you are leaving a few hours later some heat is retained. But unless you are going on a trip where range matters, just do a remote start before leaving to warm the cabin.

 

[RickMachE]

I've read somewhere that preconditioning the battery will stop if you set the cabin to heat? Something about two separate pre-conditions, one for the battery, then the cabin? Is this true?

Now I'm not sure if I'm actually pre-conditioning the battery when I've got my cabin warming schedule set...

Can anyone shed some light on this?

A departure time includes warming or cooling the cabin.

If you have a departure time set, and it is running, and then you remote start, I suppose it would cancel the departure time.

 

[Mauser]

A departure time includes warming or cooling the cabin.

If you have a departure time set, and it is running, and then you remote start, I suppose it would cancel the departure time.

But does the departure time also include battery preconditioning? I think that's where I'm confused.

 

[HuntingPudel]

But does the departure time also include battery preconditioning? I think that's where I'm confused.

Departure time includes the battery if the vehicle is plugged in and the EVSE is active. ??

 

[Mach-Lee]

Thanks, all. That is what I figured (i.e., no electricity, no preconditioning), but I was hoping that there might be some workaround such as set departure time for 6 am and hope the car retained enough warmth in the garage for it to be somewhat more comfortable when I left later in the morning.

So, I guess there is no reason for me to set a schedule for departure times in my Ford Pass app since the charger timer precludes anything from happening after 6 am.... right?

I really hate those off peak programs that completely disable the EVSE outside of the off peak hours because then you can't use the wall power to warm up the car or battery. You want to be able to use power during the day if needed. The amount of power to heat up the battery and cabin is minimal (less than $1 per day) compared to bulk charging, so I don't mind the slight extra cost.

In that case, you could set a battery-only departure time for like 5:55AM, that will keep the battery warm for some time afterwards. But I would only do this if you drive regularly, otherwise it's sort of a waste.

I drive almost every day and always use a departure time because I like a warm car and battery in the winter. The battery can get sluggish if it's cold.

You may want to read my topic about preconditioning for all the strategies: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/mach-lees-cold-weather-charging-strategies.24548/

But does the departure time also include battery preconditioning? I think that's where I'm confused.

A departure time heats battery+cabin. Unless you set it to only do the battery (HVAC off).

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