Stupid questions from EV newbie

[dbsb3233]

So for experienced EV owners, what kind of percent increase can i expect my monthly electric bill to increase by? I didn't think it would be quite that high.

% is hard to say because it depends on what you pay now. But based on typical averages... 1000 miles/mo at roughly 3 miles/kWh = 333 kWh per month. You can look at your electric bill to see your rates, but $0.13/kWh is a reasonable estimate for SC. That would be $43/mo more on your monthly bill.

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[Dan G]

Question: I'd appreciate more clarification on charging best practices for optimal battery life. What does Ford recommend? If you plug in every night, will the car decide how much to recharge for best health, or will it always charge to 100% unless you choose a different setting? Why would you ever choose a different setting?

Ford recommends only charging to 90%. Most people I know charge to 80%. I keep my Ioniq around 50-60% unless I know I'm going to need the range.

I do routinely charge to 100%, but when I do, I'm driving for a fair bit almost immediately. I do not let my car sit at 100% charge for very long. You can manage this by telling the car what time you want to leave. It'll finish charging and conditioning the cabin to be ready at that time.

The car also has a setting (I think) where you can limit the charge to a certain percentage. So you can set up your charging preferences and then just plug in and let the car handle the rest.

 

[jhalkias]

Lots of good answers but here is another way to think of it: if you plan to drive the same as you drove your ICE vehicle, plan to spend on electric to charge your car at home about 1/3 what you spent on gas to drive the ICE vehicle. That will vary, of course, based on your local cost of electricity and local weather but 1/3 is a good rule of thumb (at least it was for me with both my Bolt and my Leaf).

This is the math that I have done . . . tell me if you think I am wrong, but 1/3 can be too optimistic.

Right now, my Escape gets very close to 25mpg (most of my driving is Highway). Last night I filled up (with a discount for using my direct debit to bank account at a local station that also ties to my grocery store) at $1.83 a gallon. So . . . $1.83 to go 25 miles.

A lot of the recent experience with the Mach E from reviewers shows about 2.5 miles/KWH for the AWD ER. As I mentioned most of my driving to and from work is Highway, going on average 75 mph, so I think that 2.5 miles / KWH is probably a good rough number - as an average - higher in summer here, lower in winter.

My local electricity provider here in Ohio does not offer "off peak" rates, or any incentive for BEV owners. Our cost is fairly low, but the price is the price. All in with all costs and taxes on my bill, I am paying about .13 per KWH. So If I multiply 2.5 X 10 to get the 25, and likewise multiply .13 X10 my "gas price equivalent per gallon seems to be about $1.30. Even assuming gas prices will go up again - say to around $2.50 per gallon, I am saving somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of cost . . . not 2/3.

As they say . . . YMMV, and it is still a great savings, and good for the environment. I know you put a disclaimer in your post, but just wanted to share my own math.

 

[dbsb3233]

This is the math that I have done . . . tell me if you think I am wrong, but 1/3 can be too optimistic.

Right now, my Escape gets very close to 25mpg (most of my driving is Highway). Last night I filled up (with a discount for using my direct debit to bank account at a local station that also ties to my grocery store) at $1.83 a gallon. So . . . $1.83 to go 25 miles.

A lot of the recent experience with the Mach E from reviewers shows about 2.5 miles/KWH for the AWD ER. As I mentioned most of my driving to and from work is Highway, going on average 75 mph, so I think that 2.5 miles / KWH is probably a good rough number - as an average - higher in summer here, lower in winter.

My local electricity provider here in Ohio does not offer "off peak" rates, or any incentive for BEV owners. Our cost is fairly low, but the price is the price. All in with all costs and taxes on my bill, I am paying about .13 per KWH. So If I multiply 2.5 X 10 to get the 25, and likewise multiply .13 X10 my "gas price equivalent per gallon seems to be about $1.30. Even assuming gas prices will go up again - say to around $2.50 per gallon, I am saving somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of cost . . . not 2/3.

As they say . . . YMMV, and it is still a great savings, and good for the environment. I know you put a disclaimer in your post, but just wanted to share my own math.

2.5 miles/kWh is probably a fair estimate for ~75 MPH highway driving in the AWD in less-than-perfect weather, but the assumption is that that isn't the bulk of most people's driving. For overall average throughout the year, I'd stick closer to 3.0 when making a general prediction. But in your specific case, sounds like you do mostly highway miles so you're savings would be lower than average.

When I did the math, the assumptions I used were 3.0 miles/kWh, 25 MPG in my Escape, and a gas price of $2.50 (currently it's around $2 here too but I assume that'll go back to around $2.50 post-COVID). My incremental electricity rate is $0.10/kWh.

$2.50 / 25 MPG = $0.10 per mile in the Escape.
$0.10 / 3.0 MPK = $0.033 per mile in the Mach-E.

So for me it should average about 3:1. But electricity prices vary quite a bit around the country (as do gas prices), so it really just depends on that. As well as your mileage in the MME. Cold weather states will be a bit worse.

 

[Regularmache]

Well I paid roughly $30k more for a Nicer 4 Door F150 4x4. Sure, I've got a lot of nice features, but a 4 Door 4x4 XL trim and would meet our transportation needs just fine. No more gas stations, no more oil changes,brake pads that virtually go forever like our Prius, it's a convenience for us and it's a great looking car.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Thanks guys, good advice. I would try it and see. Then I'll worry about aftermarket.

I just did not see that big a difference between 21 and 30 miles/hr in an overnight charge.

And I'm not sure why I would take the Ford charger around on a road trip, with no place to plug in. You can go 25 miles out of Vegas, and you are in the middle of nowhere, LOL.

Case 1: While driving up into PA with my Leaf (100 mile range), I hit a detour. An accident had closed the interstate, pushing me well off my route so that I was potentially going to come up short of my planned charging station. I stopped at a Wally World (no charger) and plugged my slo-mo charger into a nearby quick lube store's outside outlet. It gained me just enough to have a couple of miles to spare when I got to my destination.
Case 2: I was going to a conference in upstate NY. While they didn't have any chargers, they had an outlet on the outside of a building specifically planned for folks to plug in if they needed to. Sure, it took about 20 hours to charge but I was at the conference for 3 days, so no problem.

 

[NotSoJon]

Case 1: While driving up into PA with my Leaf (100 mile range), I hit a detour. An accident had closed the interstate, pushing me well off my route so that I was potentially going to come up short of my planned charging station. I stopped at a Wally World (no charger) and plugged my slo-mo charger into a nearby quick lube store's outside outlet. It gained me just enough to have a couple of miles to spare when I got to my destination.
Case 2: I was going to a conference in upstate NY. While they didn't have any chargers, they had an outlet on the outside of a building specifically planned for folks to plug in if they needed to. Sure, it took about 20 hours to charge but I was at the conference for 3 days, so no problem.

These are great reasons. Hadnt thought about the conference angle, mostly because it's been forever since we've been allowed to travel.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume we can purchase a second travel charging adaptor, right? I'm thinking just a spare so we can use one at home and travel with the other? I'd assume that would be cheaper than the fancy home chargepoint.

 

[dbsb3233]

These are great reasons. Hadnt thought about the conference angle, mostly because it's been forever since we've been allowed to travel.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume we can purchase a second travel charging adaptor, right? I'm thinking just a spare so we can use one at home and travel with the other? I'd assume that would be cheaper than the fancy home chargepoint.

Of course. There's quite a wide variety of EVSE's available.

Many of us bought a Grizzl-E for home. It's a good solid wall-mount charger with a heavy cable for only $400. Sunbtract the 30% tax credit and it's just $280. For that price, it was better just to put that in the garage and leave the included Ford Mobile Charger in the car.

 

[shutterbug]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume we can purchase a second travel charging adaptor, right? I'm thinking just a spare so we can use one at home and travel with the other? I'd assume that would be cheaper than the fancy home chargepoint.

I haven't seen the price on Ford's travel charger, but most of the ones I see on Amazon aren't UL approved and still cost upward of $300. Better to get a charger that isn't portable and cost about $400, but is UL approved.

 

[NotSoJon]

Another dumb question - let's say I park at an airport outdoor for a week in the middle of winter. Any idea how much charge I'd lose having it just sit there?

 

[trutolife27]

Another dumb question - let's say I park at an airport outdoor for a week in the middle of winter. Any idea how much charge I'd lose having it just sit there?

 

[NotSoJon]

That sheet of paper is absolute madness, but I love the dedication! So 11 days, 9-11% or so. Just need to make sure I can lose that and get home before I drop it off. Thanks!

 

[CHeil402]

First off, another not dumb question. Secondly, thank you @trutolife27! Personally this was one of my biggest concerns also reading through several Tesla forums. Pre-COVID, I flew for work all the time and coming home to a dead car would be a deal breaker.

I think Tesla mismanaged their standby loads not taking this into consideration because they have too many "features" running in the background. So happy to see this exact scenario was thought out by Ford, and further evidence the MME was the right choice.

 

[macchiaz-o]

So happy to see this exact scenario was thought out by Ford, and further evidence the MME was the right choice.

How do those handwritten notes help sway you, though? They're purportedly from three years ago.

 

[s7davis]

Car most likely be dead so valet so they will charge it