Improving Lightning range in cold weather

[nightowl]

Trying to share and consolidate EV cold weather range factors, so please share your's too.


Things that apply to all vehicles:

Proper tire pressure, knowing that for every 10 degrees F decrease, you'll lose roughly 1 PSI; gradual time PSI loss applies as always.

Garaged vehicles generally are warmer and need less time and energy to defrost/deice/clean off

A heated steering wheel is more comfortable than gloves on longer trips- yeah a luxury

Winter and 3 peak all season tires reduce range but greatly improve road grip - worth the trade off, and mandated in some regions.

EVs:

Unlike ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, where roughly 70% of energy is produced as heat, that energy has to come from the batteries in an EV.

Using heated seats are roughy 60 times more efficient than heating the cabin. Cloth is more contact forgiving. in the Pro model, buy cigarette lighter powered ones online? Heating uses far more energy than cooling.

Whenever possible, keep the vehicle plugged in to keep the battery from a deep cold soak, which will greatly effect range and regenerative braking. Essentially a trickle charge to keep your vehicle battery happy. In a ice storm you'll be glad your charge port isn't frozen shut.

Precondition your vehicle using a date and time option if available. This will warm your battery to optimal operating condition and the cabin as selected. When plugged into a 240V, 120V in a pinch, this will draw power from the wall source, not the vehicle battery, giving you the greatest possible range and comfort. Without exhaust fumes to worry about, this can be done in a closed garage.

Remotely preconditioning when not plugged in may be helpful too. If you need to defog or deice, you'll need to do this anyway, and this will help wam the battery and allow for regenerative braking earlier in your trip.

Parked outside facing the sun, use a black or dark color windshield shade/cover to absorb sunlight. Every little bit helps.

When possible "precondition" the battery approximately 1/2 hour prior to needing to fast DC charge on a cold weather trip. I'm not sure how this might be setup in the upcoming Lightning. Mach E owners could provide some current data. Tesla will do this automatically if a Supercharger site is selected in advance, Porsche allows by selecting "precondition battery"? Ideally, if you select a DC fast charging site, Ford will perform this too.

Drive at slower speeds always reduces battery consumption, and use one pedal regenerative braking as much as possible. On solid ice, you may want to use less regenerative braking for safety reasons; experiment in a safe location. With winter tires I've never had a problem, even in ice.

These have worked well for me with plugin hybrid and electric cars.

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[RickLightning]

Good points.

Preconditioning for the Mach-E takes longer than 30 minutes.

There is no preconditioning option for the Mach-E prior to hitting a DC charging area, although a Ford engineer told one consumer, at a DC charging station, that in fact that was exactly what he was working on that day.

There is no proof that setting a departure time, without plugging in the car, preconditions the battery. And, in fact, if it did it may reduce the range so much that doing so yields no net gain.

 

[metroshot]

Trying to share and consolidate EV cold weather range factors, so please share your's too.


Things that apply to all vehicles:

Proper tire pressure, knowing that for every 10 degrees F decrease, you'll lose roughly 1 PSI; gradual time PSI loss applies as always.

Garaged vehicles generally are warmer and need less time and energy to defrost/deice/clean off

A heated steering wheel is more comfortable than gloves on longer trips- yeah a luxury

Winter and 3 peak all season tires reduce range but greatly improve road grip - worth the trade off, and mandated in some regions.

EVs:

Unlike ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, where roughly 70% of energy is produced as heat, that energy has to come from the batteries in an EV.

Using heated seats are roughy 60 times more efficient than heating the cabin. Cloth is more contact forgiving. in the Pro model, buy cigarette lighter powered ones online? Heating uses far more energy than cooling.

Whenever possible, keep the vehicle plugged in to keep the battery from a deep cold soak, which will greatly effect range and regenerative braking. Essentially a trickle charge to keep your vehicle battery happy. In a ice storm you'll be glad your charge port isn't frozen shut.

Precondition your vehicle using a date and time option if available. This will warm your battery to optimal operating condition and the cabin as selected. When plugged into a 240V, 120V in a pinch, this will draw power from the wall source, not the vehicle battery, giving you the greatest possible range and comfort. Without exhaust fumes to worry about, this can be done in a closed garage.

Remotely preconditioning when not plugged in may be helpful too. If you need to defog or deice, you'll need to do this anyway, and this will help wam the battery and allow for regenerative braking earlier in your trip.

Parked outside facing the sun, use a black or dark color windshield shade/cover to absorb sunlight. Every little bit helps.

When possible "precondition" the battery approximately 1/2 hour prior to needing to fast DC charge on a cold weather trip. I'm not sure how this might be setup in the upcoming Lightning. Mach E owners could provide some current data. Tesla will do this automatically if a Supercharger site is selected in advance, Porsche allows by selecting "precondition battery"? Ideally, if you select a DC fast charging site, Ford will perform this too.

Drive at slower speeds always reduces battery consumption, and use one pedal regenerative braking as much as possible. On solid ice, you may want to use less regenerative braking for safety reasons; experiment in a safe location. With winter tires I've never had a problem, even in ice.

These have worked well for me with plugin hybrid and electric cars.

WOW!

You are very correct if you live in a cold weather state.

I have a PHEV and have never had to any of the above steps in order to get maximum daily range on EV. My daily average is 55 miles per charge and use that up daily without having to dip into the fuel tank.

Even now in winter, I get the advertised full range +10%

Then again, I live in hot southern California where we use our windows for ventilation or A/C.

 

[nightowl]

RickLightning thanks for the update and input. Metroshot, your weather makes me envious.

I should clarify my interpretation and experiences with "preconditioning".
I am glad to hear that Ford is currently working on battery preconditioning for improved DC fast charging.

Battery preconditioning is often entirely separate from cabin temperature preconditioning, to the point where many manufacturers don't yet offer it. For the battery to optimally DC fast charge, it needs to be at near body temperature. In cases of moderate to severe cold, and severe heat, also known as Cold/Hot gating ,the charging time is often very prolonged. All manufactures alter the charging curve to protect the battery from thermal damage. Tesla is probably the most advanced here, because they have reams of data and their own charging stations that are directly providing data. With a Tesla, if you select a charging station as part of your destination, it will automatically heat or cool the battery as needed for an optimal charge, provided there is enough time before arriving at the Supercharger; advantages of vertical integration of software and hardware. Ford and others have to contend with roughly 16 different major EV charging suppliers, with numerous different hardware providers, making it all that more complicated. Still, having the ability to request on demand, or by selecting a DC fast charging station, in most cases will help reduce charging times. If you in a temperate place like Metroshot does, this isn't probably a big deal.

Preconditioning the cabin, heating or cooling, while plugged in or not, might not only improve cabin temperature, but may also precondition the battery enough to improve your regenerative capabilities. With a scheduled departure time, even on 120V, a Tesla will do just that, often warming the battery, then the cabin temperature, using plug power, improving range for even shorter trips. I have had good success with preconditioning, even when not plugged in, at improving range and comfort. I would experiment to see if it works for you.

A great source for actual range and charge testing are YouTube videos from State of Charge, Insideevs, and Bjorn Nyland over in Norway.

I am glad to hear that Ford is trying to adopt as many EV best tech practices as they can. I think the Mach E and the Lightning are just what new and previous EV buyers are looking for.

 

[sotek2345]

One thing to note is that preconditioning doesn't work on a 120V EVSE (at least for the Mach-e) - not enough juice. If you live in a cold climate a 240V home EVSE is a need.

Everything said, the best way to increase range is to control your speed. Too fast and you get too much wind resistance. Too slow and you used too much energy heating per mile driven.

 

[nightowl]

One thing to note is that preconditioning doesn't work on a 120V EVSE (at least for the Mach-e) - not enough juice. If you live in a cold climate a 240V home EVSE is a need.

Everything said, the best way to increase range is to control your speed. Too fast and you get too much wind resistance. Too slow and you used too much energy heating per mile driven.

Spot on!

With a Tesla you can, but 120V (definitely not the best or fastest way) often equates to well more than an hour. I've used this when 240V isn't available.

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