Running AC in summer--love it!

[edcoble]

One of the best features of EVs (a Lightning!) in a hot summer is running the AC while the truck is parked. VERY little battery power is required. I love returning to my cool truck this time of year.

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[FloridaMan655321]

Here in FL, we started this a few months ago
Agree though, last few Saturdays we stopped at a few places during the day, just left it running so I could enjoy a nice cool cabin after walking across the blacktop parking lot.

 

[Vulnox]

Yeah, I had a PowerBoost before the Lightning and when waiting for the kids to get out of school being able to sit without an engine running while the A/C kept going was great. Same with stoplights and that where people usually complain about auto stop/start, the A/C kept going.

The Lightning is just a an even better version of that, as with enough time the PB had to cycle the engine, which just felt like wasting gas since the entire engine even idling was way more than enough to charge the battery for the A/C to keep going.

Reverse of this is in the winter where it's less waste when heating the cabin before leaving. I know people always just focus on range loss, but for most driving around town being able to preheat without feeling bad about burning gas to do it is just great.

 

[ddbrooke]

One thing to add to this discussion is that I installed a HEPA cabin filter last year and it killed my air flow from the A/C. We had mid 90's last week in PA and I couldn't cool the cabin down without running MAX A/C.
Went to Autozone and bought a K&N oiled cabin filter. They advertise 25% better air flow than OEM filters. They aren't lying! My truck feel like a meat locker now.
The take away is don't put a HEPA filter in the cabin even though that sounds like an upgrade.

 

[electricpig]

One thing to add to this discussion is that I installed a HEPA cabin filter last year and it killed my air flow from the A/C. We had mid 90's last week in PA and I couldn't cool the cabin down without running MAX A/C.
Went to Autozone and bought a K&N oiled cabin filter. They advertise 25% better air flow than OEM filters. They aren't lying! My truck feel like a meat locker now.
The take away is don't put a HEPA filter in the cabin even though that sounds like an upgrade.

I second this. Changed to a HEPA.filter very late summer early fall last year. Immediately noticed the drop in airflow. Left the HEPA filter in through winter, but changed it outid Paril before heat arrived. Won't be doing a HEPA again. Seemed logic and a good ideal, but wasn't

 

[hturnerfamily]

I've gone for days with the truck ON and air conditioning, or fans, or ProPower to our Camper... no more 'idling', even though, funny, DCFast Chargers post 'idling' fee notices : / STRANGE! : )

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

Funny, just the other day I was dealing with a moron on another social media platform who insisted that during the summer EV drivers must swelter in their vehicles when charging.

I am very impressed with both the cooling and heating of the Lightning cabin, and even more impressed by how little drain on the battery takes place when running the A/C. Of course, heat is a different matter (mine is a 2023, so it doesn't have a heat pump), but I make frequent use of the ability to start the climate control system before entering the truck on cold mornings while it is still on the L2 charger. It is great to get into a warm seat and comfortable cabin without any hit to range.

 

[davehu]

Funny, just the other day I was dealing with a moron on another social media platform who insisted that during the summer EV drivers must swelter in their vehicles when charging.

I am very impressed with both the cooling and heating of the Lightning cabin, and even more impressed by how little drain on the battery takes place when running the A/C. Of course, heat is a different matter (mine is a 2023, so it doesn't have a heat pump), but I make frequent use of the ability to start the climate control system before entering the truck on cold mornings while it is still on the L2 charger. It is great to get into a warm seat and comfortable cabin without any hit to range.

Had a similar discussion with my daughter-in-law after the traffic stop during a blizzard winter before that. after seeing the ariel video of all the cars stuck in the snow she commented that anyone in an EV would freeze to death once they ran out of juice. I pointed out to her how little electricity is needed to just run the AC and that a Lightning that can power a whole house for 3-4 days could easily power AC in a truck cab for a week!

 

[potato]

Any recommendations for high flow cabin filters that won't break the bank? I'm guessing the cheapest possible one I can find would probably also have the highest flow because less material?

I'm OK with trading off filter performance for AC performance for the couple of months of warmish weather we get here.

 

[flyct]

Had a similar discussion with my daughter-in-law after the traffic stop during a blizzard winter before that. after seeing the ariel video of all the cars stuck in the snow she commented that anyone in an EV would freeze to death once they ran out of juice. I pointed out to her how little electricity is needed to just run the AC and that a Lightning that can power a whole house for 3-4 days could easily power AC in a truck cab for a week!

Same thing in South Florida. Nay Sayers tell me how I will run our of charge while idling when stuck in traffic while evacuating. I explain that it is the gas cars and trucks that run out of fuel but not the EVs while idling. Plus gas stations run out of gas and diesel early on on evacuation routes, while EV charging stations still have electricity.

After evacuating last year with Hurricane Milton on the way back home every gas station was out of gas with yellow tape around each gas pump. All EV charging stations were open and even FPL had mobile charge stations set up to assist EV travelers in the middle of the state. When we got home, the few gas stations that had fuel had lines over 1/2 mile long. This lasted for over a week because they couldn't get fuel to the gas stations fast enough from the ports.. Most of my neighbors were out of gas and stuck at home. I was driving around with our Tesla and Lightning EVs.

Another told me they wouldn't have an EV because they need all the space for luggage and the battery takes up too all of the truck space. Then she said that her electric bill was too high already. I explained that for only $38/month FPL has a deal to provide and free charger, installation and permitting. The $38 also includes unlimited the electricity to charge an EV at home and she would not have any gas costs. https://www.fpl.com/electric-vehicles/for-drivers/evolution-home.html

 

[TheBigBezo]

I’ll offer this as a tip from someone who’s now operated his lightning in the Mojave desert and Florida: tint your windows. Tinting helps so much in rejecting IR energy that it makes your AC that much more “effective”. I’ve been driving in 115-120F temps and still had my truck holding 70F comfortably. My last long trip through the desert I actually had to point my vents away from me because I was getting cold.

 

[flyct]

I’ll offer this as a tip from someone who’s now operated his lightning in the Mojave desert and Florida: tint your windows. Tinting helps so much in rejecting IR energy that it makes your AC that much more “effective”. I’ve been driving in 115-120F temps and still had my truck holding 70F comfortably. My last long trip through the desert I actually had to point my vents away from me because I was getting cold.

Thanks for the tip. What tint did use have installed (% and brand) and on what windows.

 

[Vulnox]

Any recommendations for high flow cabin filters that won't break the bank? I'm guessing the cheapest possible one I can find would probably also have the highest flow because less material?

I'm OK with trading off filter performance for AC performance for the couple of months of warmish weather we get here.

I can't speak to what is higher flow, but I put PureFlow in both our Mach-e and Lightning and they seem to work great. I haven't had any cooling issues, even on 100+ degree heat index days, but we are in Michigan and I will never claim we see the hottest weather. I just know the truck doesn't seem to be struggling to keep the cabin plenty cold.

https://pureflowair.com/products/20...elling_plan=5086445728&variant=42886542360736

It's also recommended by others on here, unless something changes I missed anyway.

 

[TheBigBezo]

Thanks for the tip. What tint did use have installed (% and brand) and on what windows.

I forget the exact brand but it’s ceramic which is the most important aspect. I ended up doing 25% front windows, 15% back and rear, 50% moon roof, and 70% windshield.

You don’t need to go dark to enjoy the benefits either, you can do clear if required by law.

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