LEAF Range

feichin

Just looking for others opinions / experience.
Twice recently I've nearly been caught out on return journeys where the battery seemed to use a lot more charge on the return leg against the outward journey.
This morning I got to work on 46% charge, this evening I limped into a fast charger with 0% left 10 miles short of my destination. So effectively 46% to get to work - 64% to get home.
I usually charge during the day but due to circumstances that didn't happen today.
A couple of weeks ago I got from Ballacolla motorway services to Lusk motorway services with plenty to spare (approx25%) On the way back after charging at Lusk, again I limped into Ballacolla in Turtle mode.
Is it possible that the battery is not as efficient when it is nearly discharged?
In both cases there was no significant weather difference on each leg and the journeys were over the same road, abeit in the other direction.

Wind will have an impact.

Also you may have driven in a different manner, it's easy to do.

Log into car wings and it will give you your efficiency and you can see when you consume less or more.

The charge % indicator shows less than is actually in the battery so when --- is showing you got about 7% but don't quote me on that, It's a long time since I got it that low.

This evening when I got to work the car said I had 18% , I had charged to 80% but there was about 26% actually in the battery.

This time of year if you're seeing --- then for the same trip in winter you'll run out of power so bear this in mind. Winter driving , lots of surface water and high winds will guarantee you won't make that trip.

Fast charge for 5-10 mins can make a big difference.

September1

There is over 200m of elevation difference between those two points, which means going to Lusk on average you go downhill and spend loss energy, while on way back you need more energy.

DrPhilG

September1 wrote: »

There is over 200m of elevation difference between those two points, which means going to Lusk on average you go downhill and spend loss energy, while on way back you need more energy.

This was what I was going to suggest.

I'm not familiar with your route but for me elevation makes a big difference.

I've made it to work for as little as 9% but never get home for less than 14% even in perfect weather because I live on top of a hill.

That's strange because I found travelling the Wicklow mountains had no noticeable impact on range. Maybe because they're quiet large hills that you get to freewheel quiet a lot and regen, I was impressed actually.

Sabre Man

Elevation and speed can make a big difference.

Speed has an obvious impact but my trip a few times through the steepest parts of the Wicklow Hills had not noticeable impact, the lower speed obviously helped of that type of road but I was expecting much worse.

BoatMad

Sabre Man wrote: »

Elevation and speed can make a big difference.

Elevation ( in itself ) will have little effect on an EV unlike an ICE car. Change in elevation will. The number of hill climbs and the speed they are attempted are the major factor aside from wind and standing water

Perhaps on the motorway or higher speeds but it didn't effect my range or maybe it did and I didn't notice by climbing the steepest parts of Wicklow, and multiple High peaks. Maybe because of the lower speeds.

I notice the GOM reported a massive drop in range by the time I got on top of the Wicklow Gap but had returned by Laragh for instance.

zilog_jones

Would temperature make much difference in performance? Not sure what times you're driving but on a clear day it can be easily 5 degrees cooler in the morning. Or are you using aircon on your commute home? That wouldn't explain such a large difference though...

Cold air is denser and it takes more energy to push through it, the heater will be on but unless it's below 5 deg c the heater won't consume much energy.

Below 0 consumption goes up and even higher the more below 0 Deg C because the heat pump isn't as efficient below 0 deg C.

EV's without heat pumps would use a notable amount more energy but unless you need more than 100 odd kms then the Xe Leaf should be just fine and you can fast charge if you run low But the heat pump will obviously save Kwh which saves you money but if you compare it to petrol/diesel it will still save a lot of money regardless.

I've just over 44,000 kms on the Leaf now since Mid January 2015, I'll never go back to petrol or diesel even given it's limitations which really only effect me a couple of times a year. My Next EV will have above 40 Kwh , can't wait, nice to have it when you need it.

KCross

Deleted User wrote: »

My Next EV will have above 40 Kwh , can't wait, nice to have it when you need it.

I hope your filling that piggy bank Mad_Lad as it wont be cheap and your GMFV could be tighter than you think come 2018!

KCross

KCross wrote: »

I hope your filling that piggy bank Mad_Lad as it wont be cheap and your GMFV could be tighter than you think come 2018!

Yeah who knows how much it will cost, they would want to be careful though because at some point paying xxxx for any Nissan becomes bonkers.

40 Kwh giving almost twice the capacity of the 24 Kwh is big news. That's about 110-130 miles range and more at slower speeds.

The 24 Kwh has 21 usable , new battery. and the 40 Kwh might have 38 Kwh usable. That's 10 Kwh more than the 30 Kwh.

It will be interesting to see what it will cost to upgrade, will depend on the cost of the car. There will be the Ioniq EV to consider also, It's definitely nicer and I'd imagine they'll upgrade the battery also by 2018. It's not the most exciting though , 118 HP V Leaf 104 HP.

I wish for a 200 HP + EV !

BoatMad

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah who knows how much it will cost, they would want to be careful though because at some point paying xxxx for any Nissan becomes bonkers.

40 Kwh giving almost twice the capacity of the 24 Kwh is big news. That's about 110-130 miles range and more at slower speeds.

The 24 Kwh has 21 usable , new battery. and the 40 Kwh might have 38 Kwh usable. That's 10 Kwh more than the 30 Kwh.

It will be interesting to see what it will cost to upgrade, will depend on the cost of the car. There will be the Ioniq EV to consider also, It's definitely nicer and I'd imagine they'll upgrade the battery also by 2018. It's not the most exciting though , 118 HP V Leaf 104 HP.

I wish for a 200 HP + EV !

The Tesla Model 3 will set the price cap