Should you charge everyday.

[9onmy6]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. So what I have decided to do is to charge every other day - keep the charge level between 50-85

What charge level is recommended for daily driving?

Ford recommends that you charge to 90% for everyday driving and charge to 100% when you need the full range for a trip. Charging to 90% helps prolong the life of your battery.
https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...ightning-charging-frequently-asked-questions/

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[Solar_EE]

I charge from 50% to 90% once or twice a week. With my SR XLT I like to have at least 100 miles range so 50% does that. I only charge to 100% before a long trip.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

This a simple and perhaps dumb question. I drive about 20-30 miles total in day. I have set my FP to charge to 85%. Should I plug into charge every day or should I wait until it’s down below 20% (not too far below)?

I leave mine plugged in for preconditioning and battery maintenance.

 

[RickLightning]

I would hope that's a rare edge case occurrence. At least the power used is minimal just parked.

Aunt Edith can call an ambulance, but do make sure you can at least reach a functioning hvdc charger in case of extreme circumstances.

Efficiency and cost, I haven't got the hard data yet but it looks like there is a savings to be had by not plugging in every night.

My JuiceBox 48 uses 2kWh per month when not charging. That's 30 cents.

When the vehicle battery gets cold (very cold), it pulls power for about 15 minutes to warm the battery WHEN PLUGGED IN. When very hot, the battery will also cool itself WHEN PLUGGED IN.

Ford tells you to plug it in.

There is no legitimate reason to not do so.

 

[Heliian]

plug it in

Oops, I meant charging, I have mine plugged in off peak for that exact purpose.

 

[carys98]

Do you keep your cell phone on the charger after it hits 100%? Because I don't....

I know there are fail safe mechanisms in place, but personally I don't feel comfortable leaving the vehicle hooked to a 48Aor 80A charger in a fully charged state.(esp overnight while asleep). Thats a pretty large continuous load on the circuit. I also know that you can set a limit of 90%, but we've seen the Ford EVSE blow past that limit to 100% on more than a few times on this board. I personally will try to keep it 20-80(or 90%) and will only plug in to "top up" if it gets cold.

Just my opinion, I know not as popular.

Once the truck hits the target SOC the power is disconnected. There is no load once you reach the limit.

 

[rdr854]

What charge level is recommended for daily driving?

Ford recommends that you charge to 90% for everyday driving and charge to 100% when you need the full range for a trip. Charging to 90% helps prolong the life of your battery.
https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...ightning-charging-frequently-asked-questions/

So is Ford saying that it is better to charge to 90% rather than 80% or is it just 90% max?

 

[EdRudy]

With the Ford FCSP I plug n every night. I drive about 10 to 30 miles on a daily basis. When it’s cold outside , under 40 degrees I get the message to plug in so I do. Otherwise I may skip a day or two but so far so far no issues and I haven’t noticed a significant increase in my electric bill. So far so good.

 

[Zprime29]

Tesla: https://www.tesla.com/support/home-charging-installation/faq#charge
What's a best practice for charging a Tesla at home?
We recommend plugging in every evening to top off the battery.

Volvo: https://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10395/related/1
In warmer climates, or with a lower capacity charger, the vehicle will continue to charge (flashing green light) even when the charging level has reached 100%. This is because the cooling system is consuming energy.

Please note, that this will not affect the life expectancy of the battery and it is in accordance with normal vehicle behavior.

Ford: https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/features/ev-charging/
Just plug in at the end of your day, and every morning you’re charged.
https://www.ford.com/mustang/ev-charging/mache/
A 240V connection gives you the freedom to charge overnight so you can start every day with the electric equivalent of a “full tank.”

Kia: https://www.kia.com/dm/discover-kia/ask/how-to-extend-ev-battery-life.html
1. Minimize exposure to extremely high temperatures when parked
Exposure to the extreme heat while parking unplugged is when the frequent danger occurs. An automated temperature control system installed in your electric car will needlessly drain your batteries to keep the temperatures down for optimal efficiency. While this performance should only work when your electric vehicle is on the road using its battery, park your electric car in the shade or plug-in so that its thermal management system functions only using grid power, and make sure a stable range of temperatures during operation either.

Rivian R1T Owners manual, pg 149:https://rivian.com/support/article/r1t-owners-guide

 

[shutterbug]

Tesla: https://www.tesla.com/support/home-charging-installation/faq#charge
What's a best practice for charging a Tesla at home?
We recommend plugging in every evening to top off the battery.

Volvo: https://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10395/related/1
In warmer climates, or with a lower capacity charger, the vehicle will continue to charge (flashing green light) even when the charging level has reached 100%. This is because the cooling system is consuming energy.

Please note, that this will not affect the life expectancy of the battery and it is in accordance with normal vehicle behavior.

Ford: https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/features/ev-charging/
Just plug in at the end of your day, and every morning you’re charged.
https://www.ford.com/mustang/ev-charging/mache/
A 240V connection gives you the freedom to charge overnight so you can start every day with the electric equivalent of a “full tank.”

Kia: https://www.kia.com/dm/discover-kia/ask/how-to-extend-ev-battery-life.html
1. Minimize exposure to extremely high temperatures when parked
Exposure to the extreme heat while parking unplugged is when the frequent danger occurs. An automated temperature control system installed in your electric car will needlessly drain your batteries to keep the temperatures down for optimal efficiency. While this performance should only work when your electric vehicle is on the road using its battery, park your electric car in the shade or plug-in so that its thermal management system functions only using grid power, and make sure a stable range of temperatures during operation either.

Rivian R1T Owners manual, pg 149:https://rivian.com/support/article/r1t-owners-guide

Notice that not one of them recommends only plugging in after draining the battery to around 20%.

 

[mb0220]

Onboard battery managment works well. It won't overcharge your battery, and having access to the shore power enables the temperature management which is good for battery health. I think we can all agree on this.

The second component of battery health is long-term SoC. Ideally it's best for the battery to always be at 50% but of course this isn't feasible because we actually USE it. So the recommendation is to charge enough so that you can do everything you need to do, plus whatever extra you think is prudent given the likelihood of needing more than usual. For example, if your daily driving needs are only 20-30 miles total, then perhaps consider charging only to 70% every day. That gives you PLENTY of extra range beyond what you expect to need, and it keeps you fairly close to the 50% sweet spot.

Rivian makes this pretty simple by only giving three options: 70% for "daily" (which I find to be plenty for me almost all the time), 85% for "extended" (for those times when you need a bit more), and 100% of course when you absolutely want to pack in as many electrons as possible.

 

[metroshot]

Similar to the OP, drive about 25 miles a day on my SR Lightning and I charge mine once a week on a weekend when the rates are lowest.

Since I charge once a week, using L2, it does not hurt to go to 100% IMO.
90% on a L3 DCFC.

 

[stickyfingers]

I plug my vehicle in every night. It starts charging at 7pm and finishes when it hits 80%. As others have said, ABC and Ford suggested it. Plus, the cold winters up here it's better to walk into a warm cabin each morning with an 80% charge. That range quickly dissipates in the cold so I prefer to charge every night taking Ford's suggestions of leaving it plugged in.

 

[GunRack]

I think we've seen battery degradation isn't as bad we first thought looking at the 8 year old Teslas. You're going to save yourself an extra 1-2% over that time by being careful with charging. Level 3 charging is way more impactful than anything happening in the L1/L2 rate. I'd just plug in at whatever % and not worry about it. Battery tech will be twice as good before any of us need new truck batteries.

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