RickEnergi

Background 1 week into our new Fusion Energi, previously had a 2010 Fusion Hybrid which got us ~35mpg in warm weather and ~31mpg in cold weather (no heated seats so had to run engine for heater). That hybrid had a max of 47mph before gas engine took over vs. the 85 on the Energi. We understand how to maximize hybrid mpg (no sudden acceleration, use heated seats in winter instead of running heat until it's too cold out, efficient braking). My wife has a 10.4 mile commute, of which 4 miles is local roads and 6.4 miles is highway, 70mph. In reading about maximizing mpg, it seems the prevailing wisdom is to drive the local miles in EV mode, and the highway miles in EV later mode. This strategy, based on a few days of driving, uses just under 2kwh of the battery, leaving more than 1/2 of the battery left. She has no ability to charge at work. I will drive the vehicle on evenings where we use it (rare) and on weekends. She returns from work around 3:30PM, we delay charging until 7PM (not using Value Profile yet due to problems with site that MyFordMobile is working on - Value Profile turning off by itself). We set an alarm on the phone to charge at 7:05PM and go plug it in until the Value Profile problem is resolved by MyFordMobile. Our cost per kwh is $0.11 from 7PM to 11AM and $0.22 from 11AM to 7PM (switched from a $0.13 to $0.15 all the time plan). My rough calculation is that a kwh is translating into about 6 miles, so our per mile cost is roughly 2 cents off peak and 4 cents peak. With gas at $2.75 per gallon, and assuming 42mpg, our gas cost per mile is around 6.5 cents. Therefore, it's ALWAYS cheaper to use electric if possible. Main driver is my wife. She will not be hypermiling, and is still getting used to using EV mode, then switching to EV later, then switching back. Today she went all 10.4 miles in EV mode "lots of traffic, forgot". Car is leased due to $11,007 rebate and Ford A-Plan. I analyzed it every which way and came up with a roughly $3,500 difference between leasing and buying due to A-Plan price, large rebate, and A-Plan leasing rate (0.4%). We will be retired by the time lease ends in 3 years, with the low residual value we might keep it, more likely sell it if profit exists (depends on impact of "No More Sedans" by Ford as well as improved technology making the car worth less), as well as our needs (no trunk space means this isn't the "travel around the US" vehicle, and right now our other vehicle is my F-150). I mention all this to help the answers be more applicable. For example, if the answer to #2 is "you will reduce battery life by exhausting it every day", the response could be "but if I'm using it for only 3 years I don't care". I am an avid forum user for my interests (truck forum, investing forum, boating forum, brewing forum) and am hoping that this forum is active and full of information about how to maximize the enjoyment of our new Ford Fusion Energi. I look forward to contributing and being active as I learn more. Questions 1) Is there any app/tool that can remind my wife to go to EV later when she gets on highway, then back to EV only when she gets off highway? I guess I could look for an app that sends text messages at preset locations if such a thing exists ("switch to EV later mode") since the car will read them (but she'll be quickly annoyed). 2) On days where we know that we will not be doing any additional driving after she returns from work, is there any reason not to use Auto mode on the highway home to maximize battery usage since electric is cheaper than gas, switching to EV when she gets off? 3) I plan on getting a Kill-O-Watt from the library (free loan) to measure the usage coming out of the wall vs. what MyFordMobile reports to a) verify the 30% loss I've read about and b) measure the usage during a specific period. 3) What's the best way to calculate overall cost per tank? One easy way seems to take overall miles driven (from the car) plus gas cost plus electric usage during the period (from car?, from MyFordMobile?, from Kill-O-Watt) and calculate total cost divided by total miles driven. I'm still learning the abilities of the car to calculate certain things, but it seems there is no measure of this that can be reset (or recorded and not reset) each fill up? 4) As it gets colder, wife will want to run the heat in the morning at least, then in the afternoons. I've read that the 110 volt charger is not very efficient at pre-warming the car, but it's garaged and likely better than not running it. Started trying it, but due to issues with MyFordMobile the tech at Ford asked that we leave it off and delete the times as they felt it might be interfering with the Value Charge switch (but it's not). Can't imagine at 11 cents per kwh that running for 15 minutes in the morning is not better than having the gas engine take over to heat the vehicle. 5) Charging stations - while registering for charging networks to take advantage of free charging where it exists (parking structures in town are free but you pay to park), is there any resource that shows the cost per kwh at a specific charging station to compare that to gas cost to see if it's worth plugging in for a fee? 6) Charging stations - what's the best place to find promos to sign up for the various networks? What networks does it make sense to join, there seem to be many (PlugShare, ChargePoint, ...) 7) My analysis determined that paying an electrician to install a 220 volt plug in our garage (as well as likely expanding the electrical service in our home), coupled with the cost of a high speed charger, made no economic sense (no rebates here in SE Michigan) - we rarely have need to top off for evening use, and breakeven would be forever. In addition, given the low capacity of the Energi (which therefore prolongs breakeven period substantially, it also makes no sense to switch to the EV plan (which requires a separate meter) with electric costs of $0.098 off peak and $0.22 peak as the costs are very close to what I'm getting now AND the hours are more restrictive (off peak is 11PM - 9AM vs. my 7PM to 11AM). It doesn't matter if a type 2 charger is more efficient either, breakeven is forever. Unless I'm missing something? That's it for now. Thanks for any insights.

Switch inhibit ensures that if you leave the window open, no one can reach in and hit the unlock button. And, if they pull the handle to open, the alarm should sound. As to the garage door opener, the visor has a cutout for it. We just got our 2018 Energi a week ago, and last night I bought a beige Homelink module on Ebay for $23 with shipping ($13 due to an Ebay promo). I installed one in my 2013 F-150 years ago. Takes about 30 minutes going slow (remove visor, untuck cloth, wire in Homelink, tuck cloth back in, remount visor. My 2010 Fusion Hybrid did not have the cutout so it had a remote hanging for 9 years (purchased in 2009). My wife didn't care, I do. We bought the Energi because with rebates it was thousands cheaper than the Hybrid, and even more thousands cheaper than the gas powered Fusion we would have bought (2.0 Turbo Titanium).