GO times and preconditioning

[ENERGIZD]

I am confused on the usage of GO times.  Would appreciate some help to answer the following questions:

 

1.  Can GO times be set/utilized while on a Level 1 (120V) charger?

2.  Do I need to leave the HVAC system in AUTO or some other setting?

3.  If the answer is NO to #2, then the only temp settings to choose are from the drop down menu from the app?

4.  What is the lag time to allow the cabin to come to set temp? I.e. if I want to be driving off to work at 7:45am, what time do I set the GO time?

 

Thanks,

ENERGIZD

[Jack]

1. Yes.  However, you might not reach the desired interior temperature if it's really cold outside the car.

2. No

3. Yes, those are the only ones.  I haven't been able to get the 85 degree setting to work with the L1 (120v) charger though.

4. Set the go time to 7:45am, the car will figure out when to start the cabin heater.

[Gigi]

Several people here have observed that GO times are not very effective on 110V.  The problem, as I understand it, is that the cabin heater draws more current than the the 110V unit is able to make available.  Something is likely better than nothing, but don't expect 72 degrees on a cold day.

[murphy]

Several people here have observed that GO times are not very effective on 110V.  The problem, as I understand it, is that the cabin heater draws more current than the the 110V unit is able to make available.  Something is likely better than nothing, but don't expect 72 degrees on a cold day.

The cabin heater is 5kW according to the indicated load when driving the car.

 

120 volts times 15 amps = 1.8 kW.

240 volts times 15 amps = 3.6 kW

 

Neither charger can fully utilize the cabin heater for preconditioning.

 

By the way standard US voltages are 120 and 240 volts and have been for a very long time.

 

https://www.crmagnetics.com/Portals/0/TechnicalReference/standard-voltages.pdf

 

The 110, 117, 220 values haven't existed in the US interconnected grid for a long time if ever.

Edited March 9, 2014 at 02:57 PM by murphy

[TX NRG]

The 110, 117, 220 values haven't existed in the US interconnected grid for a long time if ever.

"Yeah 220, 221, whatever it takes." - Mr. Mom

 

 

Edited March 9, 2014 at 06:26 PM by TX NRG

[ENERGIZD]

Thanks everyone for the responses and info.  Much appreciated!

[Cody Permann]

Does anyone know what the max instantaneous power draw is for a FFE?  Ford recommends a 30A 240V charger but as several have discussed on this forum and others, the charger uses around 3.3KW which is just a little over half that value. I believe that the car can draw additional power at the same time for accessories (if you're plugged in while in full power accessory mode) or more likely for heating or cooling if you happen to be charging and preconditioning at the same time. 

[larryh]

There is no direct route for power from the charger to power accessories.  Accessories including heating and a/c draw power directly from the HVB, even when charging.  The charger consumes at most about 3.4 kW of power. 

Edited October 25, 2014 at 04:51 PM by larryh

[Russael]

That was a question I had posed last year.  The most the car will draw is 3.3 - 3.5kw of power regardless if you remote started or have accessories running.  Go Times will use only energy from the wall and not touch the battery whereas remote starting will use the full power of heat/AC, and will supplement the wall current with energy from the battery.

[Cody Permann]

That was a question I had posed last year.  The most the car will draw is 3.3 - 3.5kw of power regardless if you remote started or have accessories running.  Go Times will use only energy from the wall and not touch the battery whereas remote starting will use the full power of heat/AC, and will supplement the wall current with energy from the battery.

 

Ok so you're basically saying that the car can't charge and run the heat/AC at the same time.  I know the manual says that Go times will prioritize charging over conditioning. I was just curious if the car could draw power for both simultaneously, more in the neighbor hood of the 30A that Ford recommends.

[Russael]

Well, more accurately, if you have an EVSE that is larger than 16A (say you went with the 30A Ford one), the car will not draw more than 16A period.  Everything goes through the charging circuit.  The person I asked has a meter attached to a 30A EVSE since I was curious about the same thing... to see if I would've had better Go Time performance.

 

Go times limit the energy the HVAC system draws to 16A or 3.3kw to keep the battery charge up.

 

Remote start allows the HVAC system to run at full power, which is greater than 5kw (for heat or A/C... either system can consume greater than 5kw.  Apparently the CMAX Energi A/C system is limited to about 3kw).  As a result, the 3.3kw from the wall is supplemented with a current of 1.7kw from the battery until the car reaches temperature.  Once it does and the HVAC system draw dials back to under 3kw, the charger will have enough energy to begin charging the battery again while powering heat or A/C.

 

Bottom line is that Go Times will allow you to leave with a full battery charge and a (relatively) comfortable car.  Remote starting will prioritize the HVAC system which may cost you a little range.

 

Edit:  I should also mention - in extreme temperatures, there is a very good chance that the ICE can start, regardless if the car is plugged in or not.  If you leave the car in Auto EV or EV Later, the temperature threshold to start the ICE is higher than if you left the car in EV Now.  I have had my ICE start several times last winter during a remote start, so ALWAYS have your garage door open for that.  Go Times will NOT start the ICE.

Edited October 26, 2014 at 03:01 AM by Russael

[Hybridbear]

Go Times will NOT start the ICE.

This is the key. For this reason I'll always use Go Times and not remote start when plugged in.