Cold Weather Charging and Mileage

[iamjaypee]

Hello everyone,
Newbie hear and I've come to your forum to investigate the FFE for purchase. I currently have a 2013 Fusion Energi and am looking at making the leap to the Focus. So my biggest concern is range anxiety during the winter months. I am in real estate and find myself regularly driving 50+ miles in a day. I have a Level 2 charger both at home and at my office and know where each and every public level 2 chargers are in the areas I drive in mostly, so finding a charger for the "exception to the norm" days when I need to top off isn't a problem. I just don't want to put myself in a situation where the "exceptions" become the "norms", make sense? That being said..... Currently, my Fusion's GOM is cut by 30-50% during the winter months with the heat running, dropping my available mileage from mid to upper 20's down to mid teens.

What can I expect from the FFE? What are people experiencing real-world both summer and winter?

For those that are going to give me tips on driving, save your breath! I'm a total freak about it now! Just ask my wife that cusses at me on a regular basis because I drive 10mph under posted speed limits, come to ridiculously complete stops at stop-signs, and ruin her hair when I refuse to turn on the AC in the summer.......

 

[jmueller065]

Worst case I've seen is about 50 miles when super cold out (barely using heat, and preconditioning the car in the morning). This is from last winter in MI with subzero temps and tons of snow on the ground.

The big question is: where are you located so we can figure out the coldest your FFE will see?

 

[iamjaypee]

Yes good point! Sorry my profile on the Fusion Energi forum has my location.....

St. Louis, MO. Wild swings through-out the year and we were pounded as well last winter. There were days when I didn't even bother plugging my car in.....lol

 

[WattsUp]

Just ask my wife that cusses at me ... when I refuse to turn on the AC in the summer.......

You shouldn't suffer without A/C in the summer. It has quite a minor hit on range. It never seems to actually clobber the range as much as the "instant subtraction" you see when you turn it on would suggest.

If you drive long enough with the A/C on, keeping the cabin cooled and therefore easier to keep cooled, eventually the hit (at least when measured against the initial budget) can end up negligible (that is, just a couple/few miles).

 

[hybridbear]

Right now in MN with temps in the single digits we're getting about 50-60 miles of range. We suck a lot of our range up remote starting the car before we get in so that we don't get into a cold car. Even with lots of remote starting we're still actually driving 45-50 miles on a charge with the heat on almost the whole time.

 

[triangles]

My experience so far is about 45miles which will leave you with about a 5-10mi reserve to find a charger/get home. That's with limited heat usage and single digits/low teens. This morning my finicky JuiceBox had a false GFI trip so my car was NOT preconditioned. :evil: It was 14F and my commute is about 8 miles. I had the heat cranked for most of the way. According to the car I used 518Wh/mi. :shock: If you take the battery capacity which is approximately 18kWh and convert the usage to kWh/mi you can calculate an absolute worse case scenario. 18kWh/0.518kWh/mi.=34.7 miles!

Typical winter power consumption using restrained heat usage in northern Ohio (15F - 32F) is about 350-360Wh/mi. This calculates to 50-51 miles which seems to agree with my real world experiences and as other's have already said about their experiences.

note: Forum members have reported a range of maximum capacity from about 18kWh to 19kWh. I used the lower end of that which makes my range calculations a bit conservative.

 

[iamjaypee]

First I appreciate everyone taking the time to send replies. Guess I have some decisions to make. Feel free to keep replying as everyone's input and experiences are helping.

Have a safe and Happy New Years!

 

[jeffand]

If your driving was only 40 miles or less under cold coditions i would say no problem. But under the same conditions driving +50 miles I would recomend plugging in. Even at level 1 charging for 4 hous could make a difference. If for an example you are at an open house, plugging in could be an option. But older homes electrical systems may not be upto the task of EV charging. So bring a 15A and 20 amp spare fuses. These fuse are the screw in type. They also come in a wide and narrow base. Oh summer time driving 50 miles or more is not a problem, unless you are a lead foot.

 

[hybridbear]

According to the car I used 518Wh/mi. :shock:

Yesterday it was below 0 here so my wife dropped me off & picked me up from work so I wouldn't have to walk in the cold. The trip home involved a trip to the bank drive through and was 800 Wh/mi over 7 miles!! :shock:

 

[Max]

I have seen after a full charge, 39 miles showing on the GOM.. that being said, I am not an efficient driver unless I need to be. 90% of the time I am within 10 miles from my home and my commute is only 2 miles. I am a lead foot and I crank on the heat and I remote start the car to get the heater going. I am constantly amazed at how good a car that the EV is in cold weather. The car warms up quickly, it always starts . the ONLY thing missing is battery capacity.. If I could only shovel in one of those new tesla roadster battery packs into my focus I would be a bit happier.

I am wondering if the aftermarket will ever get into the EV's ? I had expected by now that some company would be offering upgraded battery kits for some of the EV's on the market (especially the FFE & Leaf) . Where are all the Hot Rod part makers (EDELBROCK, Holly, etc.) or the electronics Hot rodders ( Monster Cable, Firefly, etc) , Lightweight wheels, carbon fiber, aero kits?

 

[michael]

Temps in SoCal are in the mid 50s and I'm getting around 16 kWh from a full charge. Trips that were no brainers three months ago are squeakers.

 

[jmueller065]

Wow, you must have thin blood LOL.
I usually still see the "summer range" when the temps are in the 50s. I typically don't notice the start of "winter range" until the temps drop below 40.

 

[NightHawk]

The last few days inland in Southern California we have had frost advisories overnight, got down to 32F yesterday.

 

[Max]

With single digit temps and some snow on the ground. I got my worst range yet today. I got the low battery icon after 22 miles. after a full charge the guess o meter is showing 35 miles.. This is my first winter with the FFE. I really hope my range comes back in the spring.

Listen up Ford, in the real world, 23 KWh battery does not cut it.. IMO 75 KWh should be about right or 100 in a larger vehicle (Escape?)

 

[michael]

With single digit temps and some snow on the ground. I got my worst range yet today. I got the low battery icon after 22 miles. after a full charge the guess o meter is showing 35 miles.. This is my first winter with the FFE. I really hope my range comes back in the spring.

Listen up Ford, in the real world, 23 KWh battery does not cut it.. IMO 75 KWh should be about right or 100 in a larger vehicle (Escape?)

I definitely agree that the 18 kWh usable battery no longer cuts it. But I would definitely settle for twice that. The RAV-4 EV provided 42 usable in extended range mode, 35 in standard mode. That in a smaller car would be great. I use about 20-25 kWh a day, so I am totally dependent on workplace or other remote charging. With 30-35 kWh I would be OK and have plenty of reserve.

 

[jmueller065]

I got the low battery icon after 22 miles.

Wow! You must be driving around with full defrost set to 80F!

Even driving with some modest power conservation techniques I'm getting closer to 40 miles on these <0F days.

 

[Max]

I got the low battery icon after 22 miles.

Wow! You must be driving around with full defrost set to 80F!

Even driving with some modest power conservation techniques I'm getting closer to 40 miles on these <0F days.

, well to be honest I usually set the heat at about 65 and let happen what happens, however as cold as it was, the Heater draw was maxed out no matter what I set the temp at. I also figured that the snow and ice I was plowing through had some effect on range. not to mention the traction control and regen on slippery surface.

I am concerned that i may have lost some battery capacity because that seems a bit low even considering, when spring comes around I am hoping to see 90 miles on the GOM , like I got last spring/summer. the car has only 6500 miles on it.

I still love the car, it has no flaws that can't be fixed by a larger battery. Today I have to drive out of state and I had enterprise drop off a rental car for me. this will be my first time driving an ICE (not counting my Motorcycle) in 8 months. that should prove interesting.

 

[jmueller065]

I am concerned that i may have lost some battery capacity because that seems a bit low even considering, when spring comes around I am hoping to see 90 miles on the GOM , like I got last spring/summer. the car has only 6500 miles on it.

Nope you didn't. My car lived through last winter's snowmageddon/polar vortex and did not lose any perceptible miles--I still got about 100 miles or so on the GOM in June/July/August.

 

[Snowman]

That's good to hear. Yesterday I saw the yellow battery bar for the first time and only got about ~48 miles total. Drove about 44 and had 4 left on the GOM when I got home. Mostly highway with heat on 72. Temps were in the low teens. Tomorrow it will be in the single digits so expecting even more loss.

 

[dmen]

I got the low battery icon after 22 miles.

Wow! You must be driving around with full defrost set to 80F!

Even driving with some modest power conservation techniques I'm getting closer to 40 miles on these <0F days.

I'd be willing to bet Max's commute traffic is much heavier than jmueller's. Remember that when the heater is running almost constantly, low speed EV driving becomes less efficient than conservative highway driving. Crawling down a jammed, frozen interstate on the way to work today, trying to keep the windshield deiced, I watched the kWh's click away while my car went nowhere. My full charge range guess today was 36.