New lightning in Fairbanks AK

[jpalmer825]

Just got a lightning XLT, standard range. It’s a company vehicle and purchased mostly to test out how they really operate vs other trucks. I did not opt for the extended range due to the nearly $15k adder for only a 30% boost in range. I did some research on it ahead of time and knew there would be some range loss in cold weather but there’s not a lot of hard data on that either.

From what I heard online I was expecting about 30% loss in range in “cold weather” and was fine with that. After this first week and 300mi, so far I’m concerned how the range is going to suffer when it really gets cold out.

This week it’s been around 15F outside and I’ve preconditioned each morning while plugged in. With various driving, highway, stops, a few auto starts, I’m getting 1.4 mi /kWh.

I’m only charging to 85% and the dash meter estimates 180 mi range each day, but in reality it’s about 100-105mi with 85% charge so should be around 120 at 100%. The energy usage on the big screen kinda reflects that with 15% energy used on outdoor temp, which I assume means keeping the battery warm. 2-3% for accessories, 30% for climate, and 50-55% for driving.

So far that’s not horrible, but I’m really concerned about when it’s -40F. Might be a garage queen for the winter.

I have an emporia level 2 charger I got from Amazon and I highly recommend it. It works with the free emporia app for monitoring your breaker panel, or standalone, so it gives me very accurate data on energy usage for charging. I can also limit the amp draw to what suits me, I currently have it set to 36A, as I did not install a 50A breaker. Comparing the charge data from the ford app vs the emporia app, the charging efficiency is over 90%. something may be off or inaccurate but it’s nice to see a second source of data for the cost of charging and driving.

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[Bandit216]

You are the 4th or 5th Lightning here in Fairbanks. In a year plus, I've found winter efficiency to be between 1.2 and 1.3 mpk and the actual winter range loss to be about 40%. Range really doesn't drop much more below -20 as the battery and/or cabin heat are running at maximum most of the time anyway. My biggest complaint about driving the Lightning here is that currently most of the AK DC fast chargers are only 50kw, so charging an ER on a road trip to Anchorage takes over 2 hours for each of the 2 or 3 charging stops. That should change in the next year when there will be proper higher speed DCFC installed every 90 miles or so between Fbks and Anchorage.

 

[lightspeed]

You're definitely pushing the early adopter envelope...

Out of curiosity, you are preconditioning by setting a departure time right? Remote starting is NOT preconditioning. Just double checking because people make that mistake often.

Also, you should take a look at other threads on this site about adding a fuel (propane I think) powered coolant heater. There is at least one other user who has added one himself and it warms the battery coolant directly. Ford should really offer this tech. as an extreme weather option.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Welcome to the forum.

Lot's of charging and pre-conditioning discussions here
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...rgers-battery-vehicle-to-vehicle-charging.84/

 

[EmporiaEnergy]

Just got a lightning XLT, standard range. It’s a company vehicle and purchased mostly to test out how they really operate vs other trucks. I did not opt for the extended range due to the nearly $15k adder for only a 30% boost in range. I did some research on it ahead of time and knew there would be some range loss in cold weather but there’s not a lot of hard data on that either.

From what I heard online I was expecting about 30% loss in range in “cold weather” and was fine with that. After this first week and 300mi, so far I’m concerned how the range is going to suffer when it really gets cold out.

This week it’s been around 15F outside and I’ve preconditioned each morning while plugged in. With various driving, highway, stops, a few auto starts, I’m getting 1.4 mi /kWh.

I’m only charging to 85% and the dash meter estimates 180 mi range each day, but in reality it’s about 100-105mi with 85% charge so should be around 120 at 100%. The energy usage on the big screen kinda reflects that with 15% energy used on outdoor temp, which I assume means keeping the battery warm. 2-3% for accessories, 30% for climate, and 50-55% for driving.

So far that’s not horrible, but I’m really concerned about when it’s -40F. Might be a garage queen for the winter.

I have an emporia level 2 charger I got from Amazon and I highly recommend it. It works with the free emporia app for monitoring your breaker panel, or standalone, so it gives me very accurate data on energy usage for charging. I can also limit the amp draw to what suits me, I currently have it set to 36A, as I did not install a 50A breaker. Comparing the charge data from the ford app vs the emporia app, the charging efficiency is over 90%. something may be off or inaccurate but it’s nice to see a second source of data for the cost of charging and driving.

Hi OP,

Thanks for choosing the Emporia EV Charger!

Here are some additional thoughts / related information that you may find relevant:

Have you set the utility rate or are you using the default setting?. If you're in a location with dynamic rates it can also impact costs differences. We use the database from NREL, which isn't updatable.

To set a manual flat rate on the Emporia app please:

Select Menu (☰) in top left corner

Select Household Info under Settings

Select Set Utility Rate

Select the device you want to make changes to

The Utility rate will default to a manually entered value, to change that value simply edit the Cents per kWh field. Make sure to use whole cents ( i.e. 12.4¢ NOT .124 to calculate $0.124/kWh rate)

More info: https://help.emporiaenergy.com/hc/en-us/articles/9404822704919-Cost-Rate-settings

 

[cal]

Hey back in the 80's I was stationed at Eielson Air Force Base. I'd really like to hear what it's like when the weather drops below -0. I still tell stories of cooking a steak at -40 and keeping ice cream on the back porch!

I do miss the northern lights and the ice crystals at night!

Guessing things will be harsh until breakup.

 

[Bandit216]

Hey back in the 80's I was stationed at Eielson Air Force Base. I'd really like to hear what it's like when the weather drops below -0. I still tell stories of cooking a steak at -40 and keeping ice cream on the back porch!

I do miss the northern lights and the ice crystals at night!

Guessing things will be harsh until breakup.

Here you go. I submitted this thread last year. The picture with -40 on the driver display screen was taken while driving past Eielson.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...lightning-at-40f-40c-a-real-world-test.13726/

 

[cal]

God I remember those -40 degree days. Car NEVER warmed up. Not even a little. You didn't even bother trying to heat the cabin. Had just enough heat in defrost to keep the windshield clear. Everything felt like it just didn't want to move or work. Diff was cold, tranny was cold, you had to keep a heater in the car or the headliner and seats would probably crack.

But you could go bear or moose hunting after work!

Jeeze I miss those days!

 

[jpalmer825]

This weekend it dipped down to -25f for a couple of days. Range was rough. I started out preconditioned while plugged in, battery looked like it was up to temp, but for 50 miles of driving with only a couple of stops, i used close to 50% of battery capacity. On the trip energy screen, it says I used about 50% for driving, 30% for climate and 18% for exterior temp(I think that’s warming the batteries).
I’m seriously thinking about installing a Webasto heater for the cabin heat at least. If I could get that 25% to 30% energy usage back in driving range that would be very helpful.

 

[JRT]

I would be charging that 100% each night with range loss and you driving everyday.

 

[Bandit216]

This weekend it dipped down to -25f for a couple of days. Range was rough. I started out preconditioned while plugged in, battery looked like it was up to temp, but for 50 miles of driving with only a couple of stops, i used close to 50% of battery capacity. On the trip energy screen, it says I used about 50% for driving, 30% for climate and 18% for exterior temp(I think that’s warming the batteries).
I’m seriously thinking about installing a Webasto heater for the cabin heat at least. If I could get that 25% to 30% energy usage back in driving range that would be very helpful.

I'm guessing you don't park in a heated garage. That range drop is pretty bad even for Fairbanks. My average for last winter was 1.3 milies per kw.

 

[Kev12345]

I can't wait to see the cold weather range difference once the '24 heat pump version is out there. I wonder if it would have any effect at all in such extreme cold?

 

[Kev12345]

OP, you should do another post in the summer detailing the difference in efficiency of winter vs summer.

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