Wondering about charging best practices.

[johnny5]

Hello all,

I've been charging the vehicle to 90% nightly per the owner's manual.

My driving patterns are very regular and usually very light.

Most week days I only drive about 15 miles (kids to and from school and to and from sports). On the weekends, I'll have more usage, maybe 100 miles but it's planned.

Would it be better to only charge to 90% once a week? Or should I go from 90%->8x%->90% each night?

Thanks,

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[breeves002]

I work in an engineering environment that does a lot with lithium batteries. We don't design the batteries, we design small lithium systems. I don't do anything over 300Wh (the ER Mach e is 99,000Wh), but the same principals apply.

I've read many studies that show a lower state of charge is easier on a battery (until you get too low). One specific study I remember did a test where they took batteries from 100-50% and then a second set from 50-0% for 1000 cycles. They found the 50-0% batteries had more capacity remaining at the end of the test than the 100-50% batteries.

So if you're only driving 15 miles per day, have it only charge to maybe 70% at home. You'll get longer life out of the battery. It may not be much compared to going to 90% but it will extend the life. If you know you'll need more range one day, allow it to charge more.

Personally I charge to 80% at work, and only 50% at home. I rarely need over 50% battery.

In reality charging to 90% nightly is probably fine and won't degrade the pack much, but if you want to keep this car 200k miles then I would recommend being very nice to the battery.

 

[johnny5]

I work in an engineering environment that does a lot with lithium batteries. We don't design the batteries, we design small lithium systems. I don't do anything over 300Wh (the ER Mach e is 99,000Wh), but the same principals apply.

I've read many studies that show a lower state of charge is easier on a battery (until you get too low). One specific study I remember did a test where they took batteries from 100-50% and then a second set from 50-0% for 1000 cycles. They found the 50-0% batteries had more capacity remaining at the end of the test than the 100-50% batteries.

So if you're only driving 15 miles per day, have it only charge to maybe 70% at home. You'll get longer life out of the battery. It may not be much compared to going to 90% but it will extend the life. If you know you'll need more range one day, allow it to charge more.

Personally I charge to 80% at work, and only 50% at home. I rarely need over 50% battery.

In reality charging to 90% nightly is probably fine and won't degrade the pack much, but if you want to keep this car 200k miles then I would recommend being very nice to the battery.

Ok thanks for the advice. 50% would be sufficient. How about not charging nighlty?

I could probably get by with 2-3 chargings per week rather than nighlty.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Ok thanks for the advice. 50% would be sufficient. How about not charging nighlty?

I could probably get by with 2-3 chargings per week rather than nighlty.

Unless I have a longer trip planned, I set my home charger to 90% and don't recharge unless I'm below 50% -- often lower. 100 mile range (~40%) is more than enough for most days. However, if I'm not on a road trip, I really prefer to stay above 20% (~50 miles range).

 

[fmcgirt]

Unless I have a longer trip planned, I set my home charger to 90% and don't recharge unless I'm below 50% -- often lower. 100 mile range (~40%) is more than enough for most days. However, if I'm not on a road trip, I really prefer to stay above 20% (~50 miles range).

I have a slightly different question. I have installed a JuiceBox 40 which is on wifi and I wonder about the interaction , if any, between its app for scheduling, the FordPass app and the scheduling one can do in the car. I believe I can set the charge in the JuiceBox app and ignore everything else. Do you do a similar thing for your home charger?

Thanks for any help.

 

[krafty81]

Just use the app to set your charging times. It will only take juice when told to. Can do it in the car too.

 

[generaltso]

I believe I can set the charge in the JuiceBox app and ignore everything else. Do you do a similar thing for your home charger?

You can set charge times in the JuiceBox app, but not charge percentages.

 

[fmcgirt]

Just use the app to set your charging times. It will only take juice when told to. Can do it in the car too.

Ok, thanks for the response. I'll give it a try.

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