Are you always plugged in at home?

[Gullwing]

I'm looking into the logistics of owning a Lightning and home charging while trying to figure out my situation. I normally park my truck in my detached garage, however, I don't have enough power there to charge a decent rate. I'd be looking at installing some type of charging source in my attached garage and would park in the normal spot once charged up. Anybody else do this or are most people keeping theirs plugged in when home to always be charging?

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[sotek2345]

I'm looking into the logistics of owning a Lightning and home charging while trying to figure out my situation. I normally park my truck in my detached garage, however, I don't have enough power there to charge a decent rate. I'd be looking at installing some type of charging source in my attached garage and would park in the normal spot once charged up. Anybody else do this or are most people keeping theirs plugged in when home to always be charging?

Summer time - nope. I plug in once I get down to 40% or 50%, or if I am going on the longer trip the next day.

Wintertime - yes! Staying plugged in lets the truck use shore power to keep the battery warm and if you set a departure time it will pre-heat both the battery and cabin.

That said, I suspect it is a much bigger deal for me in Upstate NY vs. in Virginia. Not sure how cold your winters get. I also don't have a garage, so it is just sitting in my driveway with the EVSE mounted to the front wall of my house. If you are in a garage that helps keep temperatures moderate as well.

 

[spadesaspade]

I don't plug in unless my SoC goes below 30% regardless of the weather. I'm in Western PA, mild snow country. Being plugged in constantly wastes more power due to electrical inefficiencies. Figure out a battery percentage needed for your daily runs and have at least 20% charge over that number.

 

[kbuicker]

I plug in at night. Everyday. I am constantly taxi'ing my kid places, so having it plugged in allows my departure times to begin without me intervening.

 

[Wsl346]

ABC. Always be charging.

I plug in immediately upon arriving home, whether I used 1% or 100% of my battery. Ford isn’t a wealth of information about some of the background processes handled by the battery management system, but from what I’ve gathered, staying plugged in helps keep the battery cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

 

[meow]

Summer: once every week or two.
Winter: every moment I can for the battery heating.

 

[JRT]

Waiting on my 2023 XLT ER to replace my 2021 Mach-E premium with 28k miles. I've always plugged in everyday at night, we may need trips not planned for. I'll be following same routine with Lightning.

 

[ridgebackpilot]

My detached garage is older, so I can only charge at 40 amps. But that’s plenty to charge my Lightning and other EVs overnight.

I don’t leave my EVs plugged in all the time. That’s because I charge them mainly from excess solar energy production. I plug them in around mid-morning once my Powerwalls have charged, and the sun fills the batteries!

 

[jerock]

I plug mine in at least every night. On hot or cold days I plug it in when I arrive home.

 

[Peddyr]

It depends. How many miles a day will you be putting on it? I do between 110 and 140 miles a day, so I charge to 90% every night. On Friday I typically get home with more than 50% left on the battery, so I don't plug it in again until Sunday night unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Gullwing]

Thanks all for the replies. Guess I should have included my driving habits. Since I work from home I don't drive my truck daily. I may use it a few days in a row and then it may sit for several days. Including a few road trips throughout the year I still only do about 7500 miles in a year.

 

[Mike G]

I plug in whichever I drove last and leave it plugged in unless I need to drive. I don't have a schedule. But I always have a 90% charge whenever I need to go somewhere.

 

[EdRudy]

I plug in everyday all day. Only charge to 80% but keep it plugged in anyway unless there is a nasty thunderstorm.

 

[hturnerfamily]

while I have the same exact 'parking place' in my drive-thru garage, where my 240v outlet is, I don't 'always' keep the EVSE plugged in, UNLESS I know I want the truck to charge again that overnight(which is the only time it will charge due to my FordPassApp charge settings 11pm to 7am)...
if I don't feel the need for traveling many miles over the next several days, and I have a decent battery level, I don't plug in, and don't worry about it...
If I know many miles are in the near future, I let it charge the overnight before...

 

[RickLightning]

Thanks all for the replies. Guess I should have included my driving habits. Since I work from home I don't drive my truck daily. I may use it a few days in a row and then it may sit for several days. Including a few road trips throughout the year I still only do about 7500 miles in a year.

I get asking people what they do, but if 20 people answer you're going to get 30 choices.

What does Ford tell you to do?

1) Always be plugged in.
2) Charge to 90% (or less than 100% depending on which manual you read).

We pull in the garage, and plug in. Charger gets energized at 7PM and stays on until 11AM the next day, 24 hours a day on weekends. Vehicles are always at 90% in the morning.

There is zero benefit to charging once a week vs. daily. ZERO.

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