[paulcusick3]

Now that there has been some cold weather, anyone up north that can comment on the heating system and impact to range? My build date in now 10 October.

 

[Bandit]

I've only had my Lightning since July, but my Mach E has seen 1.5 Alaska winters. With it, I saw a fairly consistent decrease in winter range of 40% I'm expecting similar with my Lightning.

The Mach E was driven at -40 without any mechanical problems. Only problem is with climate control. Even when only using manual climate control, the Mach E decides by itself the windshield need defrosting and, even with below zero temps, it turns the fans on full blast and fills the cabin with masses of supercold air. I've seen the same behavior from the Lightning in milder temps. I can usually preserve some of the cabin heat if I very quickly deselect the defrost switch.

You can always step in to a nice warm car using remote start or by setting departure times. And it will stay that way until the autodefrost goes full North Pole. I have had two different Mach Es here and they both had the very annoying renegade autodefrost.

 

[paulcusick3]

Thanks - I've seen the same, up to 40% of range reduction with my two plug-in hybrids here in New England. Expecting the same. Going to make planning ski trips interesting. Need more destination DC chargers at places you want to spend ~30+mins.

 

[THEsocalledfan]

I've only had my Lightning since July, but my Mach E has seen 1.5 Alaska winters. With it, I saw a fairly consistent decrease in winter range of 40% I'm expecting similar with my Lightning.

The Mach E was driven at -40 without any mechanical problems. Only problem is with climate control. Even when only using manual climate control, the Mach E decides by itself the windshield need defrosting and, even with below zero temps, it turns the fans on full blast and fills the cabin with masses of supercold air. I've seen the same behavior from the Lightning in milder temps. I can usually preserve some of the cabin heat if I very quickly deselect the defrost switch.

You can always step in to a nice warm car using remote start or by setting departure times. And it will stay that way until the autodefrost goes full North Pole. I have had two different Mach Es here and they both had the very annoying renegade autodefrost.

I'd like a little more clarity. I regularly drive between Sioux Falls, SD and Fargo, ND. I have a single 50 kW charger between the cities in Brookings, SD 200 miles from Fargo and about 50 miles from Sioux Falls. I hope 40% is only in the heart of winter......I can kind of live with that, meaning I use my Ford Flex. How about between 30-50 degrees? That is very, very common for me in the Fall. How much of a hit?

 

[paulcusick3]

I'd like a little more clarity. I regularly drive between Sioux Falls, SD and Fargo, ND. I have a single 50 kW charger between the cities in Brookings, SD 200 miles from Fargo and about 50 miles from Sioux Falls. I hope 40% is only in the heart of winter......I can kind of live with that, meaning I use my Ford Flex. How about between 30-50 degrees? That is very, very common for me in the Fall. How much of a hit?

Yes; heart of winter, below freezing. The car uses battery energy to keep the battery warm for battery health, that you can't control. Climate control use you can control; heated seats way better than electric heater. Google Tesla in winter for longer history of EV in winter climates.

 

[THEsocalledfan]

Yes; heart of winter, below freezing. The car uses battery energy to keep the battery warm for battery health, that you can't control. Climate control use you can control; heated seats way better than electric heater. Google Tesla in winter for longer history of EV in winter climates.

I just did, but what I really want is a estimate of range hit at different temperatures. I need to know if even feasible to drive my truck. Sometimes, I swear no one drives them in the North whenever folks act like they are the perfect vehicles....

 

[tomprout]

I just did, but what I really want is a estimate of range hit at different temperatures. I need to know if even feasible to drive my truck. Sometimes, I swear no one drives them in the North whenever folks act like they are the perfect vehicles....

I’ve driven a Tesla in 5 Northern Michigan winters so far and for 30-50F I plan for a 25% range hit. For 0-30F I assume a 30-35% hit. Below 0F is a guesstimate of 40%. At that point I try to stay home anyway 💨😬

 

[Bandit]

I'd like a little more clarity. I regularly drive between Sioux Falls, SD and Fargo, ND. I have a single 50 kW charger between the cities in Brookings, SD 200 miles from Fargo and about 50 miles from Sioux Falls. I hope 40% is only in the heart of winter......I can kind of live with that, meaning I use my Ford Flex. How about between 30-50 degrees? That is very, very common for me in the Fall. How much of a hit?

There are too many personal variables to give an accurate range estimate that could apply to you. What I did was make the same trip at 3 different temperatures. I didn't actually go anywhere, I just looked at my available range at the start (at 100% charge) , drove outward until I'd used about half my range (plus a 10% fudge factor) then I turned around and came home. I did that at my normal driving speeds and normal climate control each time. That gave me a good range planning numbers for my personal driving preferences at three temperature ranges. With that personal baseline, I can then play with speeds and interior climate if I need to extend my range.

There is one big variable you have in the Dakotas that we don't have in interior Alaska - WIND. That can make a huge impact on range AND, depending on the direction you are driving, the decrease in range due to wind can be in addition to any temperature related range loss.

 

[THEsocalledfan]

There are too many personal variables to give an accurate range estimate that could apply to you. What I did was make the same trip at 3 different temperatures. I didn't actually go anywhere, I just looked at my available range at the start (at 100% charge) , drove outward until I'd used about half my range (plus a 10% fudge factor) then I turned around and came home. I did that at my normal driving speeds and normal climate control each time. That gave me a good range planning numbers for my personal driving preferences at three temperature ranges. With that personal baseline, I can then play with speeds and interior climate if I need to extend my range.

There is one big variable you have in the Dakotas that we don't have in interior Alaska - WIND. That can make a huge impact on range AND, depending on the direction you are driving, the decrease in range due to wind can be in addition to any temperature related range loss.

Good stuff; much appreciated. As I told my wife, we don't even have the option to go all electric until the charging infrastructure gets much better. We have zero choice for our lifestyle. What's great about discussion on boards like this is seeing the different perspectives based on where folks live.