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What is "Exterior Temperature" supposed to be used for?

Larryumo

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If you set your menu to Features and then Trip Energy, you see a screen having the following entries: Climate Use - Route - Accessories - Exterior Energy .

What is the 'Exterior Temperature' indicating. i.e. WHAT IS IT MEASURING??? I think that these below have the following meaning:
Climate Use = air conditioner route = moving the truck Accessories = radio and the truck computer
What the hell is Exterior Temperature???

Thank you for any cogent answer.
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TaxmanHog

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Heating and cooling the traction battery pack [HVB]
 

Jim Lewis

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Sometimes when you travel, especially in mountainous regions and with altitude and weather changes, the exterior temperature changes drastically. You might want to know what it is before you leave your vehicle inadequately dressed. Also, if it's near freezing and it's been raining, you might want to know that the temperature is now below freezing, and ice may be forming on the roadway. My 2007 Honda Accord Hybrid displayed exterior temperature, and the manual said only consider readings valid after the vehicle had been in motion for five minutes or more. There the sensor was located in the front grill, and it could be overheated if the vehicle was left sitting in the sun. I should imagine the F-150 sensor is in a similar forward location, and I've found the temperature more reliable after the truck has been in motion for a while, too.

P.S. I think the OP wrote "Exterior Temperature" when he meant subsequently, as in his first words summarizing the screen text, "Exterior Energy."
 
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TheBigBezo

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OP, to answer you a bit more clear in practical terms, this winter you will see Exterior Temperature increase because as others have posted the battery will need to be warmed up to function properly. It also cools itself but that requires significantly less energy in my experience. The further you are from ideal weather the higher that number will be, especially when cold.
 

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TaxmanHog

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Where did my energy go:

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jetfixr1

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Ford F-150 Lightning What is "Exterior Temperature" supposed to be used for? 525D45E6-BF94-46DB-897E-8D94EED022D2

First time I see my exterior temp with dashes. Anyone else get this on occasion? Also noticed all the totals measure more than 100%.
 

carys98

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You didn’t use any extra energy because it was too hot or too cold. It looks like you‘re sitting at 71 which is the sweet spot where the battery wants to be.
 

John Becker

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Please help me to understand why my trips at around 70 degrees use a significant amount of energy for "exterior temperature." I don't race around with this thing. I drive like an old man. This trip is 13% at 73 degrees.
Ford F-150 Lightning What is "Exterior Temperature" supposed to be used for? 947000a7af4f666e2ac14e5d7c12913e1ab75f78-1


This one is 18% at 65 degrees. And 0% accessories? I had the headlights on.
Ford F-150 Lightning What is "Exterior Temperature" supposed to be used for? ac06cf197a01cf5a7bdd959428e6cafc55724577-1
 

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DXD

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Have u drivied in a place with a big temperature difference?
 

Refactoringdr

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You only drove 5 miles and it was below 70, so the truck was heating the batteries a little. You used so little energy actually driving, that the battery warming is dominating the usage. If you only drove 1 mile, you could probably get that percentage even higher.

I think Ford is getting very good battery longevity by trying to maintain the packs in the optimal temperature range all the time. (I have 67k miles on my truck and the batteries are still showing 99% health in FDRS). So if your garage is below 70 (or the truck is due to night cooling), it's going to spend some initial energy warming them up to the optimal temp. If you only drive a few miles, it will be a relatively large amount of the electricity used. (Even though the absolute amount is fairly small).
 

Zprime29

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Please help me to understand why my trips at around 70 degrees use a significant amount of energy for "exterior temperature." I don't race around with this thing. I drive like an old man. This trip is 13% at 73 degrees.
947000a7af4f666e2ac14e5d7c12913e1ab75f78-1.jpg


This one is 18% at 65 degrees. And 0% accessories? I had the headlights on.
ac06cf197a01cf5a7bdd959428e6cafc55724577-1.jpg
Granted they where short trips, but your efficiency was through the roof. I wouldn't be concerned about where it's putting that energy to use as it must be pretty efficiently done. How's your round trip efficiency look? If you're beating the EPA rating (2.44 I think) then kudos!

My average over the last 2k miles is 2.7mpk, when I head home I'll check the energy screen to see what it says.
 

flyin525

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Also keep in mind that yes, it may be 70 when you drove it, but what was the temperature the 4-8 hours before? If they got cold sitting out overnight, it takes a significant amount of energy to warm them to 70 even hours later. Once they get cold they stay cold a while - unless warmed.
 
 





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