LEAF Battery Warmer

[idashark]

I live near Boise Idaho and with winter approaching I'm wondering about my LEAF and the cold weather.

January is our coldest month with the average high in the mid 30's (F) and the low in the mid 20's (F). However, low temps near 0 (zero F) are not out of the question and the record low is -17 (F).

My daily commute is 50mi round trip.

My LEAF is parked outside, and I'll probably drive my other car (mini-suv) when the roads are bad or it's very cold and I need to run the heater the whole way to and from work.

I'm considering getting either a pair of Heat Trak (24" x 26") doormats (http://www.heattrak.com/Products/Accessories.htm ) or just a single walkway heater (20" x 60") (http://www.heattrak.com/Products/Residential-Products.htm) to put on the ground where I park my LEAF. Where I park is protected from the wind so I'm figuring that if I park over the mat(s) the heat will keep the battery warm.

Good idea? Bad idea? I'm just paranoid about the battery and the cold?

 

[Herm]

sounds like a inefficient way to heat up the battery, how about installing an oil pan heater on the battery?, some of them are magnetic and will stick to the battery case. Assuming this is a 2011 Leaf without the factory heater.

 

[LakeLeaf]

Nissan originally claimed the battery would perform even in very cold conditions such as yours, and worse. The had some testing in Norway or Sweden or somewhere to demonstrate this. Then all of a sudden they include a battery heater as a 2012 option. Go figure.


As to your question - if you pre-condition your car before leaving in the morning while it is still plugged in - and maybe even warm it up to a higher temp then you might normally just to be comfortable, would that provide sufficient heat to warm the battery and give you better range? Not sure how much heat you will need during your drive if the cabin is already warm before you leave, but you should only need enough heat to maintain temp, not heat up from 20 degrees.

It seems the return trip will be more difficult. If you can't plug in at work, you are dependent on solar radiation to keep the inside of your car warm. On cloudy or stormy days that might be a challenge.

 

[jamesanne]

sounds like a inefficient way to heat up the battery, how about installing an oil pan heater on the battery?, some of them are magnetic and will stick to the battery case. Assuming this is a 2011 Leaf without the factory heater.

Bad advice! Those types of heaters get way to hot for the battery pack and electronics.

 

[kovalb]

You NEED to get a 2012 LEAF and NOT a 2011. The 2012 has a battery warmer built in for situations like yours. Just be sure to always keep the car plugged in. It kicks in at -4°F and stops when the battery is warmed to 14°F. You do not want the battery to ever reach down to -13°F because it becomes an ice cube instead of a battery.

 

[LakeLeaf]

You NEED to get a 2012 LEAF and NOT a 2011.

I got the impression from the OP that the LEAF is already in his possession.

 

[aqn]

With a 2011 LEAF you are SOL as far as battery heater goes. Can you keep the car plugged in overnight and set the climate control timer to come on shortly before your departure time to heat up the cabin? At least that might reduce the energy needed to warm the cabin up once under way, and may be the cabin's heat will warm up the battery some as well.

 

[JPWhite]

I live near Boise Idaho and with winter approaching I'm wondering about my LEAF and the cold weather.

January is our coldest month with the average high in the mid 30's (F) and the low in the mid 20's (F). However, low temps near 0 (zero F) are not out of the question and the record low is -17 (F).

My daily commute is 50mi round trip.

My LEAF is parked outside, and I'll probably drive my other car (mini-suv) when the roads are bad or it's very cold and I need to run the heater the whole way to and from work.

I'm considering getting either a pair of Heat Trak (24" x 26") doormats (http://www.heattrak.com/Products/Accessories.htm ) or just a single walkway heater (20" x 60") (http://www.heattrak.com/Products/Residential-Products.htm) to put on the ground where I park my LEAF. Where I park is protected from the wind so I'm figuring that if I park over the mat(s) the heat will keep the battery warm.

Good idea? Bad idea? I'm just paranoid about the battery and the cold?

Discharging the battery while you drive normally will help warm it up. A 2 minute burst at 80mph+ will warm it up for sure if speed limits allow. Come the deep winter you may want to charge to 100% until you are more sure about the range in the very cold. Normally 50 miles at 80% charge is fine, but with extreme cold the range may decrease. Using your other vehicle will only serve to allow the battery to get very cold, I'd be tempted to use it unless you expect traction to be an issue for the LEAF.

I'd look for some wind break for the heated mat idea, despite where you park it if it gets windy there will be too much air exchange for the mats to be effective at all. Shame you can't park inside a garage.

 

[abasile]

January is our coldest month with the average high in the mid 30's (F) and the low in the mid 20's (F). However, low temps near 0 (zero F) are not out of the question and the record low is -17 (F).

Provided range does not become an issue, it seems that you should be fine with a 2011 LEAF. It's not as if you're in Minnesota where temperatures can get down to -40. In the event you're expecting temperatures continuously below 0 F, however, perhaps it would be worth arranging to park the LEAF in a friend or family member's garage temporarily. I can't imagine you would need to do that very often.

 

[LakeLeaf]

Don't forget it will likely take longer to charge in the deep cold night temps too.

 

[marccbr]

What if OP trickel charges the car over night so it stays warm thru out the night due to the charging? Don't know how much heat is generated from charging. Just an idea.

 

[DaveEV]

What if OP trickel charges the car over night so it stays warm thru out the night due to the charging? Don't know how much heat is generated from charging. Just an idea.

Would probably be better if a regular L2 charge was timed to end as close as possible to departure time - that would leave as much residual heat in the pack as possible.

 

[DarkStar]

Nissan originally claimed the battery would perform even in very cold conditions such as yours, and worse. The had some testing in Norway or Sweden or somewhere to demonstrate this. Then all of a sudden they include a battery heater as a 2012 option. Go figure.

It's "a checkbox." Joe Public believes that they need thermal management, so Nissan's giving it to them. Same thing with the solar panel on the SL model.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Would probably be better if a regular L2 charge was timed to end as close as possible to departure time - that would leave as much residual heat in the pack as possible.

That would be my suggestion also. Has anyone looked to see if the temperature increases while charging, especially when ambient temperatures are low?

 

[LakeLeaf]

It's "a checkbox." Joe Public believes that they need thermal management, so Nissan's giving it to them. Same thing with the solar panel on the SL model.

You may well be right, but I'd think there would be a number of other things with higher priority on a checklist. Seems like an expensive check given the few who will be operating a Leaf in single digit temps or lower. I'd suspect it is less frivolous then believed.

 

[DaveEV]

Would probably be better if a regular L2 charge was timed to end as close as possible to departure time - that would leave as much residual heat in the pack as possible.

That would be my suggestion also. Has anyone looked to see if the temperature increases while charging, especially when ambient temperatures are low?

As far as I know, no one's been able to detect a rise in battery temp during L2 charging. Not really that surprised - the batteries have very low internal resistance! Of course, cold temps increase internal resistance which is why Nissan has said that charging the battery in cold temps is enough to keep them warm. Really cold temps are only and issue if the car is going to be stored for a bit.

 

[kmp647]

If you look at the revised 2011 Leaf owners manual it specifically recomends setting a charge END time during colder weather. It does not exactly say why except to insure that the charge completes properly in case the battery heater, and or climate pre heat operate. It does seem a good idea as the charge will finish at say 4am and I leave at 5am so the battery will be freshly topped, warm and will not have sat at full charge all night.

Not many here have looked but Nissan revised the manual some time in late august to include details on the battery heater operation and seat and steering wheel warmers. On that note and interesting feature: If you have climate control timer set and the outside temp is 50F or below the heated steering wheel will automatically kick on.

One note on the battery warmer, it states it is only activated at -4F and warms battery to 14F

Dont know if its -4F outside temp or battery temp but either way how many times will it be needed in the USA ? And if battery or charging efficiency drops somewhat below 14F, why not have it kick on then?

Here in Northern Va it gets down to 5F sometimes 2-3 below zero , so my battery heater may never operate , but i get to leave for work with a cold pack?
I fly high power electric rc planes on lipo packs from 12 to 50V 200 to 4,000 watts
all winter long I preheat my packs before flights (I use a gel type heating pad warmed up in a drink cooler) Performace is very good on my planes, while I see other flyers show with cold packs from the basement or sitting in the cold car all day, their planes are slow and sometimes crash from low power or a flight cut short by an early LVC.

doesnt make sense

 

[smkettner]

How about just keep an eye on the battery temperature guage as the winter progresses.
If you get down to two bars then take action.

You can get a self adheasive RV waste water tank heater with thermostat (~on-40 ~off-65) from ebay for just a few $$$.
Although that does not help much sitting at 0 all day. But then the Nissan battery warmer does not even come on until just below zero.

 

[abasile]

From time to time, I've noticed the battery temperature go up one bar (so far, from five bars to six bars) when doing lots of regen down a 5000' descent. On other occasions, the coarse-grained temperature gauge does not change. Clearly, all of that charging via regen does raise the battery temperature some amount. In the winter, this might be used to advantage by those who live on big hills/mountains. During the summer, driving faster (but safely) and picking up less regen might be slightly better for the battery pack.

 

[habu]

At least 100 of the 2011's have battery warming blankets. All the ones that were allocated to Canada.