Possible new owner: Parking in Driveway - Charging Outdoors

Hi there!
Sorry if this has been asked already but I searched and couldn't find anything closely related.

I am thinking of buying a used LEAF. The thing is that I currently park my car in my driveway. I use my garage as an additional room for my home. I would rather not have to convert it back into a garage. How can I safely charge my LEAF outdoors? Do I install a charging station on the outside of my house? Will that be expensive?

Also related: I live in a hot desert climate. I know this drains the battery. I would still prefer to park the LEAF in the driveway rather than the garage. Will this decision significantly decrease the battery life?

No problem charging outside.
No problem mounting the EVSE outside.
Hardwired only, dedicated circuit, no GFCI.

Expensive?
Lots of variables there and its a subjective question.

Yes, Heat messes with the battery.
I would be far more concerned about where this car has been living, and what the true condition of the battery is currently.

Parking outdoors each night could actually help to extend the service life of the main battery pack by enabling more nighttime cooling. Remember, LEAF batteries are not actively cooled.

On the other hand, during the winter months, having a colder battery pack would mean less driving range. If you can live with this, though, then you'll have a healthier battery over the long term.

You can still find L-1 charging stations that are rated for outdoor use - you run the cord through a hole in a wall and plug it in indoors. That's the setup I have used for 2+ years. L-1 allows for slightly cooler charging temps if done at night, and lets you use charging to keep the pack warm in the Winter. It adds just 5% charge per hour, however.

I mounted my L-2 charging station on the middle of the inside side wall of my garage with a 25 foot cable. This way I can charge the Leaf if pulled into the garage either side, backed into the garage either side, or pulled into the driveway on either side outside of the garage. In other words, I can charge from any of six different parking options. I have left it parked on the driveway overnight and closed the garage door on the cable on the ground. No problems.

Graffi said:

I mounted my L-2 charging station on the middle of the inside side wall of my garage with a 25 foot cable. This way I can charge the Leaf if pulled into the garage either side, backed into the garage either side, or pulled into the driveway on either side outside of the garage. In other words, I can charge from any of six different parking options.

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I had thought of mounting mine in the same place. There is a very good possibility that in a few years we will have one or even two Tesla Model 3s and will want to park those inside the garage. This location makes the most sense for that. Plus, electricity already runs there.

abasile said:

Parking outdoors each night could actually help to extend the service life of the main battery pack by enabling more nighttime cooling. Remember, LEAF batteries are not actively cooled.

On the other hand, during the winter months, having a colder battery pack would mean less driving range. If you can live with this, though, then you'll have a healthier battery over the long term.

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My current average is 38 miles per weekday.

I'm pretty worried about the heat though. I live in a hot hot desert. Summers are often 110 F - 120 F. If it sits parked in the heat won't that be bad for the batteries?

I'm pretty worried about the heat though. I live in a hot hot desert. Summers are often 110 F - 120 F. If it sits parked in the heat won't that be bad for the batteries?

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If the batteries are warm to start with, yes. They do have a lot of mass, though, so if it gets cold at night - or even just "chilly" - that will help a lot, because it will take them a long time to warm up a lot. Try to shade the car from direct sun in those conditions, and drive it gently to limit heat produced. Then charge it in the wee hours when it's cool out (possibly with a 120 volt floor fan blowing into the front or rear air cooling ducts when it's hot), and you may be fine.

PlusEV said:

My current average is 38 miles per weekday.

I'm pretty worried about the heat though. I live in a hot hot desert. Summers are often 110 F - 120 F. If it sits parked in the heat won't that be bad for the batteries?

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Yes, of course that LEAF will do best if it's always parked in the coolest possible location. During the day, that would be inside an air conditioned garage, though I'm assuming you're parking at a workplace then. If that's a correct assumption, then parking outdoors at home during the remaining hours should be relatively okay.

However, unless you're getting that used LEAF super cheap and/or it still has a shot at the 5 year / 60K mile battery capacity warranty, you'd probably be better off buying a used Volt or some other EV with real thermal conditioning for the battery. But you probably already know that. My concern would be that a severely degraded LEAF battery pack might make even 38 miles a day stressful.

LeftieBiker said:

If the batteries are warm to start with, yes. They do have a lot of mass, though, so if it gets cold at night - or even just "chilly" - that will help a lot, because it will take them a long time to warm up a lot.

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Summer nights are usually never "chilly." They are warm - 70s F and up.

abasile said:

PlusEV said:

However, unless you're getting that used LEAF super cheap and/or it still has a shot at the 5 year / 60K mile battery capacity warranty, you'd probably be better off buying a used Volt or some other EV with real thermal conditioning for the battery.

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I was looking at 2013 Leafs with fewer than 30k miles. So yes it would still be covered under warranty.

Summer nights are usually never "chilly." They are warm - 70s F and up.

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Then you can definitely expect accelerated pack degradation. I'd suggest either a used 2012 with 10 or fewer bars, or a new leased 2016, because the 2013s seem reluctant to lose four bars. If you get a 2013 and want to 'win the battery lottery' then look for one built Jan-March of 2013.

LeftieBiker said:

I'd suggest either a used 2012 with 10 or fewer bars, or a new leased 2016, because the 2013s seem reluctant to lose four bars. If you get a 2013 and want to 'win the battery lottery' then look for one built Jan-March of 2013.

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Oh that's an interesting strategy. I wasn't thinking about finding one on the edge of warranty and then getting a new battery through warranty. Hmmm... something worth considering.

Of course, I could park it in the garage too. I just don't really want to yet.