Battery Preconditioning

[mb0220]

I know preconditioning saves some range by using shore power to acclimate the battery instead of using battery power to do it during a drive. But I am wondering if there are benefits to just warming the battery once a day in general (like for the health of the battery). On a daily basis I'm not concerned about range, but I still have a daily precondition schedule because I figure its doing my battery a favor. But am I just wasting energy doing this if I don't need to conserve power for a long drive?

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[RickLightning]

No, there are none. You are simply wasting electricity.

If you leave it plugged in, and the truck wants to warm the battery, it will pull shore power. My truck hasn't been through a winter yet, but the Mach-E pulled power a handful of times in a winter.

 

[mb0220]

No, there are none. You are simply wasting electricity.

If you leave it plugged in, and the truck wants to warm the battery, it will pull shore power. My truck hasn't been through a winter yet, but the Mach-E pulled power a handful of times in a winter.

Thanks for the response!
Related question: if I do a remote start while plugged in will it precondition the battery or just warm the cabin? (I know that it does not precondition the battery at all when not plugged in.)

 

[tommyb]

Thanks for the response!
Related question: if I do a remote start while plugged in will it precondition the battery or just warm the cabin? (I know that it does not precondition the battery at all when not plugged in.)

Funny I was just wondering about this so I checked the manual. In there (page 420 of 2023 manual) it talks about warming or cooling the cabin AND preparing the high voltage battery. So if you remote start while plugged in it will precondition the battery.

 

[RickLightning]

Thanks for the response!
Related question: if I do a remote start while plugged in will it precondition the battery or just warm the cabin? (I know that it does not precondition the battery at all when not plugged in.)

No. Only a departure time preconditions the battery.

Funny I was just wondering about this so I checked the manual. In there (page 420 of 2023 manual) it talks about warming or cooling the cabin AND preparing the high voltage battery. So if you remote start while plugged in it will precondition the battery.

Not correct. You are not reading it properly. It specifically states when plugged in. a departure time.

 

[tommyb]

No. Only a departure time preconditions the battery.



Not correct. You are not reading it properly. It specifically states when plugged in.

Yes, when plugged in, which is what I said above

 

[RickLightning]

Yes, when plugged in, which is what I said above

My wording was imprecise.

You cannot remote start, whether plugged in or not plugged in, and warm the battery. That only happens with a departure time, and when it's plugged in.

 

[tommyb]

Ah now I understand. Very true about the departure and comfort settings, and remote start is not specifically mentioned. But it does make me wonder if remote start (while plugged in) would actually prep the battery, because it would seem to just be a manual way of doing what the scheduled departure and comfort setting would do. I suppose we assume it does not act the same since not mentioned in the manual., Thanks for the clarification...

 

[Heliian]

No, there are none. You are simply wasting electricity.

To a certain degree.

Batteries like to be in the same temp range as we do. If it's too hot or too cold you will degrade the battery some.

The truck usually tells you when it wants to be plugged in for cold or heat.

Heat isn't an issue for me but the cold is and it makes a big difference in range if I depart after being plugged in.

Also, once the truck is started, the battery does start to warm itself and if it's stone cold you will see the hit on the "where did my power go" screen, outside temp.

 

[Zprime29]

Ah now I understand. Very true about the departure and comfort settings, and remote start is not specifically mentioned. But it does make me wonder if remote start (while plugged in) would actually prep the battery, because it would seem to just be a manual way of doing what the scheduled departure and comfort setting would do. I suppose we assume it does not act the same since not mentioned in the manual., Thanks for the clarification...

I've noticed on really hot days, I get slightly better (like 5-10%) efficiency when preconditioning the cabin. Can't tell ya why, just my observation. I have departure set for when I leave work, so not plugged in and it's been baking in the sun all day.

 

[KingStraasha]

Page 420 mentions Preconditioning in two places. On the left side it mentions using departure and comfort settings to precondition the battery. On the lower right-hand side, it says you can precondition the cabin and the battery while plugged in. Here is the lower right-hand side verbiage.


Preconditioning Your Vehicle
You can precondition your vehicle to warm
or cool the cabin and the high voltage
battery when you have your vehicle
plugged in. You can charge your vehicle to
the targeted level and also make sure your
vehicle is at a comfortable temperature
for the occupants.
Note: You can precondition your vehicle
prior to your departure using the FordPass
app.

This leads me to think that if you are plugged in and remote start, it will precondition the battery.

 

[Peddyr]

This leads me to think that if you are plugged in and remote start, it will precondition the battery.

I read this exact same thing recently and came to the same conclusion. Would love for someone like @MickeyAO, who knows quite a bit about batteries, to weigh in on this if he would.

 

[RickLightning]

The battery does not precondition on a remote start. Preconditioning takes place with departure times only.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Last winter I and another member did a few energy consumption studies using our Emporia Vue2 logs to evaluate what is happening during remote start vs departure scheduling while plugged in, there are distinct differences in energy consumption.

I also did some tests of the same routines while unplugged, obviously the Vue2 can only help me determine how much energy was used to restore the SOC to my high point point after an unplugged session of remote start or departure time preconditioning, if memory serves me correctly, the battery didn't draw as much energy from itself to get up to temp.

I'm going to repeat these tests later this winter. Not that I really want a brutally cold winter, but last year was much milder in Southern New England, so those tests need repeating this year. Especially when deep freeze conditions are present to see if the truck does any preservation warming outside the departure schedule.

 

[RickLightning]

Last winter I and another member did a few energy consumption studies using our Emporia Vue2 logs to evaluate what is happening during remote start vs departure scheduling while plugged in, there are distinct differences in energy consumption.

I also did some tests of the same routines while unplugged, obviously the Vue2 can only help me determine how much energy was used to restore the SOC to my high point point after an unplugged session of remote start or departure time preconditioning, if memory serves me correctly, the battery didn't draw as much energy from itself to get up to temp.

I'm going to repeat these tests later this winter. Not that I really want a brutally cold winter, but last year was much milder in Southern New England, so those tests need repeating this year. Especially when deep freeze conditions are present to see if the truck does any preservation warming outside the departure schedule.

The Mach-E does warming of the battery on very cold nights. Energy is pulled in like 15 minute increments. Happen over 2 years maybe 5 times or so that I noticed. I can't imagine the truck is different.

People keep saying that the battery gets preconditioned without being plugged in, or during a remote start, and it doesn't. Does it warm up just from running? Yes. Does it get anywhere near the temperature of a departure time? It does not. A departure time can take close to 90 minutes including warming the cabin. A remote start is 15 minutes, so it's impossible anyway.

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