Is Level 1 charging enough?
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If you drove those 50 miles only 5 days of the week, and fewer miles the remaining 2 days, you could actually make up for "lost charging time" over the 2 days, but your car would essentially be plugged in whenever it wasn't being driven. And in cold weather, you wouldn't be able to pre-condition for departure (without slightly depleting the battery pack, even while plugged in). But as a short-term solution, it would definitely work.
Was it documented somewhere that the heat pump wouldn’t run on 120 volts (and whatever amperage) without reaching into the battery pack?
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I'm sure it is (Hey, Google), but I am speaking from experience. It would depend on how cold it is. At best, L1 delivers about 1.44 kW, approx. 90-95% of which makes it into the battery pack. So if the heat pump + fans need more than 1.3-1.4 kW, then some of that has to come from the battery pack. If the car is fully charged when the pre-heating begins, the energy will come from the full battery pack. It will take a while for the battery to get down to a level where the L1 charging restarts. Whether it keeps up with (or gets ahead of) the energy being used by the heat pump is an open question that will vary from car model to model, and with how cold it is. A quick search suggests a heat pump can easily pull 1.5 kW to maintain a warm cabin, once it has been warmed up, so my guess is that it would easily exceed the capacity of the L1 charger while in warm-up mode.
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I currently have a Mach E and drive about 50 miles per day, and spend my entire lunch break in the car with A/C running. I was able to make it on L1 for a few weeks. If you remember to plug it in every time you're home, you'll be fine.
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Welcome to the forum!
Are you going to be keeping the Mach-E when your Solterra arrives?
We drive maybe 50 miles a week, sometimes much less - our cars grow cobwebs lol - so our less than ideal home infrastructure of draping a cord across the sidewalk (with, of course, a threshold) coming out of the garage (too small and no driveway) with Level 1 for the time being until we figure out our best plan of attack should do us just fine. Since it is unlikely we’ll upgrade for a while it seems going for the EVGo credits unless they expire would likely be the way to go as we figure the best deal for upgrading to Level 2 instead of taking the Home Charger credit right away.
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I've had an EV since 2017. Daily mileage was more like 30-40 rather than 50 as OP needs.
We used level 1 for a while, but quickly installed a level 2 charger in the garage. That's the way to go--you can quickly charge overnight even after an unusual 150 mi day. You just plug it in at night and forget about it. If you can install L2, do it.
A friend has a Bolt and only uses level 1. She just plugs in 100% of the time at home, and it works out. So, if you are consistently home enough, as other posters have said, L1 will suffice. But L2 means you can catch up from a deep discharge overnight. It just means you don't have to think about it as much.
We used level 1 for a while, but quickly installed a level 2 charger in the garage. That's the way to go--you can quickly charge overnight even after an unusual 150 mi day. You just plug it in at night and forget about it. If you can install L2, do it.
A friend has a Bolt and only uses level 1. She just plugs in 100% of the time at home, and it works out. So, if you are consistently home enough, as other posters have said, L1 will suffice. But L2 means you can catch up from a deep discharge overnight. It just means you don't have to think about it as much.
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Thank you! Yes, we plan on keeping the Mach E and going fully electric. Unfortunately, the Solterra really lacks in appeal for ever going more than 100 miles from home. We're also considering not taking delivery and instead going with the ID4 as our second EV. Only time will tell.
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Welcome @ASolterraGuy! How have you found the Mach-E since you picked it up? Overall the reception seems to be positive about it.
Another option to double your speed without buying a new EVSE.
www.solterraforum.com
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I'm prepping for delivery day by getting a charging strategy ready for the Solterra and future cars completed. I figured I'd document for others. Some of this is unofficial so I listed the basis for those claims. Prerequisites: 80% Rule: The US electric standard is complex and for valid...
www.solterraforum.com
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