Ford Level 3 Eyes-Off Driving to launch on $30K Ford EV Truck

[KevinRS]

Car companies have to cover the batteries for at least 8 years, and they know many customers will charge to 100%. That 80% rule is being found to be much less important than it used to be. The main thing is don't charge on DC fast chargers unnecessarily, and second, don't KEEP it at 100%
So probably set it to charge to 80%, during the hours that your power is cheapest, and charge to 100% if you need that for a trip, just before the trip, don't leave it sitting at 100% through the weekend all the time.

 

[metroshot]

Car companies have to cover the batteries for at least 8 years, and they know many customers will charge to 100%. That 80% rule is being found to be much less important than it used to be. The main thing is don't charge on DC fast chargers unnecessarily, and second, don't KEEP it at 100%
So probably set it to charge to 80%, during the hours that your power is cheapest, and charge to 100% if you need that for a trip, just before the trip, don't leave it sitting at 100% through the weekend all the time.

Yes you are correct.
8 years is typical for HV battery warranties. My BEV has another 5 years left so I am not concerned.
My PHEV has a 10 year, 150,000 mile warranty so I am coming up to that soon.

On DCFC I do tend to charge to 100% when I have the time.

Last night, I had time to "kill" so I shopped at my favorite store while my Ford charged for almost an hour at Tesla Supercharger.

Cheaper to charge to Tesla ($0.47/kWh w/ Tesla driver discount and 3% cash back card) than at home ($0.60 / kWh + costs).

 

[cadblu]

On DCFC I do tend to charge to 100% when I have the time.

Last night, I had time to "kill" so I shopped at my favorite store while my Ford charged for almost an hour at Tesla Supercharger.

Cheaper to charge to Tesla ($0.47/kWh w/ Tesla driver discount and 3% cash back card) than at home ($0.60 / kWh + costs).

Compared to the charging rates I’ve seen in NY, $0.47/kWh is definitely on the high side. But then again you would expect that in CA. The Tesla app makes it easy to shop for the lowest rate. Locations near crowded shopping malls, and more exclusive neighborhoods tend to be the highest, plus peak times and the occupancy level of the charging station factor into the price.

The fact is, price per kWh is at a particular supercharger is dynamic, and I’ve actually selected and navigated to a station at a certain price, and 20 minutes later upon arrival the price dropped by 5 cents per kWh. It could have just as easily gone up by the same amount or more.

The ICE analogy is worth a comparison. How many folks here have used an app like “Gas Buddy” in finding local fueling stations at the lowest price? Then you arrive only to find the price has increased by $0.20 per gallon!

 

[KevinRS]

Yes you are correct.
8 years is typical for HV battery warranties. My BEV has another 5 years left so I am not concerned.
My PHEV has a 10 year, 150,000 mile warranty so I am coming up to that soon.

On DCFC I do tend to charge to 100% when I have the time.

Last night, I had time to "kill" so I shopped at my favorite store while my Ford charged for almost an hour at Tesla Supercharger.

Cheaper to charge to Tesla ($0.47/kWh w/ Tesla driver discount and 3% cash back card) than at home ($0.60 / kWh + costs).

$0.60 per kWh? You really need some solar panels, the payback should be short if your rate is that high.

 

[metroshot]

$0.60 per kWh? You really need some solar panels, the payback should be short if your rate is that high.

We tried to install solar 5 years ago when it was "lucrative" back then before the cessation of federal funds.

Our roof angles do not allow for more than 60% offset of our bill.

Was not worth the $45,000 solar panel job.

 

[KevinRS]

We tried to install solar 5 years ago when it was "lucrative" back then before the cessation of federal funds.

Our roof angles do not allow for more than 60% offset of our bill.

Was not worth the $45,000 solar panel job.

That's ... a lot. Check again, panel prices have dropped. Install at like 28k has completely negated my bill. Even then, offsetting 60% of the bill, if it's the high tier expensive 60% that's 60 cents/kWh it might well be worth it. Federal funds may be gone, but state and utility company level stuff is still going, especially if a battery is included to shift the use from the grid from peak to off peak hours. NEM 3.0 also means a battery array is best to avoid using power from the grid at high rates and selling your excess production at low rates.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Sounds like COVID pricing! Get some more quotes - they're usually free. Be suspicious of vendors who don't even visit the site as there are limitations in using satellite imagery.

Just my 2¢.

 

[metroshot]

Sounds like COVID pricing! Get some more quotes - they're usually free. Be suspicious of vendors who don't even visit the site as there are limitations in using satellite imagery.

Just my 2¢.

Yes you are correct - COVID pricing for sure when the federal deductions were in place along with 0.9% financing.

I have had 4 vendors take a look - one of them did it virtually using Google satellite mapping.

The other 3 came up with the same amount of solar panel efficiency.

My neighbor OTOH with a different roof design go his installed with almost 100% electricity return even in peak summer times with A/C running 24/7.

 

[E90400K]

We tried to install solar 5 years ago when it was "lucrative" back then before the cessation of federal funds.

Our roof angles do not allow for more than 60% offset of our bill.

Was not worth the $45,000 solar panel job.

I'm tucked up on the north face of a mountain that goes 800 feet above my home's elevation at 840 AGL. We get near zero significant sun exposure in the winter because the sun does not get above the tree line on the ridge behind the house and the roof faces north. Given that the timber frame structure is some 200-years old, I doubt the roof would hold the weight of the panels plus a few feet of snow and/or wind gusts of 40+ MPH. It would cost me $50K just to rip off the roof and rebuild the framing.

I'll be long dead before I'd recover the investment of going solar. LOL.

I'll stick with the nuke-powered supply I get from the Coop. Zero maintenance. ACH payments are really easy.