Why would anyone buy a nissan leaf right now???

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DougWantsALeaf said:
Nissan Leaf rated one of the top ten ACs in a car.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/10-cars-suvs-best-air-conditioning-1611132%3famp=1

I am not surprised--the great air conditioning is one thing I noticed when I got my first LEAF in June of 2011. The LEAFs are the only cars I have owned that have never required addition of refrigerant to maintain maximum cooling. I know there were issues with refrigerant lines and O-ring seals on some 2013's, but I have had no HVAC problems at all with any of my LEAF's (other than the 5-minute cheap resistor fix to keep the heater from drawing power when not desired on the 2011).
 
My daughter got in an accident with our S+, so we have a rental (Corolla). Man does the AC suck in comparison, in addition to the sucky ride quality of an ICE.

We are all fighting to drive the SV+ and not have to ride in the corolla.

Ooh, and the GOM in in Corolla is horrible too.
 
GerryAZ said:
DougWantsALeaf said:
Nissan Leaf rated one of the top ten ACs in a car.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/10-cars-suvs-best-air-conditioning-1611132%3famp=1

I am not surprised--the great air conditioning is one thing I noticed when I got my first LEAF in June of 2011. The LEAFs are the only cars I have owned that have never required addition of refrigerant to maintain maximum cooling. I know there were issues with refrigerant lines and O-ring seals on some 2013's, but I have had no HVAC problems at all with any of my LEAF's (other than the 5-minute cheap resistor fix to keep the heater from drawing power when not desired on the 2011).

I had the AC line replaced in my 2013 or 2016? Don't remember which was it was a warranty thing and took less than an hour at the dealership but the AC has always been stellar.

Even on our "just like Hell" weather we had in June, The A/C takes less than 10 seconds to start blowing cool air, less than a minute to blow cold air. It is quite amazing.
 
Well the reason I got the 2016 Leaf SL in 2019 instead of a Tesla was mainly a $$$ matter but the Leaf having the heat pump was a huge plus.

I expect the A/C in a Leaf is no better than in ICE Nissans.

Not directly using fossil fuel there is no cabin heater mounted under the car on high or in front of the FIRE wall heating the compressor and it's plumbing as well as the cabin.
 
EV ACs feel like they kick in much faster than with ICE vehicles....or maybe the Leaf is just that good :)

Leaf AC certainly is much better than a 2020 Corolla I have learned this past week.
 
I think EV's have an advantage over ICE when it comes to AC since the motor turning the compressor is easier to control. The EV can use a motor controller to turn the compressor motor at exactly the right speed to get the maximum efficiency from the AC system while many ICE cars still use an accessory belt from the crankshaft, AFAIK.

An ICE could drive the compressor electronically but it must be cheaper to drive it directly from the crankshaft (via an accessory belt) since that seems to be how most ICE cars operate. There are strategies like variable displacement compressors used but the compressor will be turning at a proportional speed to the motor. A clutch is added to keep the AC pressures within a defined range but that is a simple on/off switch and operates in a very coarse PWM (pulse width modulation) manner. In sum, I'd guess there are many efficiency improvements that can be made when the compressor is driven electronically since it can operate in a much more controlled manner.
 
The other big advantage to electric A/C systems is that there isn't a belt loading the compressor bearings in unpleasant ways, making refrigerant loss much less of an issue.
 
I would say our 2013 Leaf S cools faster than our 2018 model 3, not that the Tesla is bad or slow, just it seems the Leaf is really powerful. I also think the volume of air in the Leaf is less than the Tesla. And as good as the UV and tinting is on the Tesla all glass roof, it lets in more heat than the Leaf.

As otherers have noted I think the electric motor driven A/C gives you 100% very quickly independent of ice engine speed. I remember "revving" the engine a bit in the heat of summer at a stoplight to get more cooling from our ice's. The Leaf and Tesla just keeps blowing :)
 
My 2021 Rav4 Prime (I love to say that..... :mrgreen: ) has an AC that kicks in fast and really puts out cold air. That car has a heat pump system but I think more importantly the climate control is run off the HV battery, as in a Leaf. At this point I'd say it's close or equal to the Leaf but that's pretty subjective. All in all, the AC on the Leaf is great, like many other features on the car. (I love to say that too).
 
goldbrick said:
An ICE could drive the compressor electronically ...
I assume you meant "electrically". But that's not really possible on a normal ICE which only has a small 12v battery to store energy - nowhere near enough to run a hungry compressor.

And while it might be possible on ICE hybrids which include a moderate size traction battery, there's the question of what to do when the battery is exhausted and the car switches to gas power. Designing a compressor to run in both modes would be very complex.
 
The LEAF compressors are hermetically sealed like a home air conditioner or heat pump so there is no shaft seal to leak. That is why I have never needed to add refrigerant. Also, the compressors are variable speed for maximum efficiency. All of the other vehicles I have owned (or had assigned to me at work) have needed periodic addition of refrigerant because a very small amount leaks past the shaft seal over time.
 
The 12V battery on most ICE cars is used to start the car and to supply power when the engine is off. When the engine is running nearly all the electrical power is supplied by the alternator. A typical alternator can supply 100A at 14V or 1.4kW. I have to think that would be enough to run an AC compressor. If not, the alternator could be upgraded. The AC couldn't run with the engine off but I don't think that's possible on current ICE cars anyway so no difference there.

Once big unknown for me is what voltage the electric AC compressors use. In any event, sufficient voltage could be supplied (from the alternator) with the right electronics. So it might be complicated and expensive, but I still maintain it's possible.
 
2012 wiring schema shows the A/C motor is driven by the traction battery voltage ~380 VDC. Both 2012 and 2021 have exceptional climate control - especially the A/C in Houston, TX. That is once you fix the heat mix on the 2012, but even that you get used to working around.
 
What is amazing to me is that even on hot days in Houston, if the Leaf has not been sitting in the sun, the A/C will only draw a few hundred watts and still keep the interior cool - well, a cool 78 degrees. Humidity control is exceptional and makes a big difference in "feels like" temp.
 
Yes, the LEAF A/C compressor is very efficient and cools the car rapidly. The power consumption drops once it pumps accumulated heat out of the car even on hot days. Still, it will draw almost 5 kW for a little while once speed gets above 18 mi/hr (30 km/hr) if the car has been parked in the sun with high ambient temperatures. Power consumption is reduced while the car is not moving to minimize noise--there is a maximum compressor speed setting (while parked or moving slow) that can be increased by using Consult 3+, if desired.
 
GerryAZ said:
Yes, the LEAF A/C compressor is very efficient and cools the car rapidly. The power consumption drops once it pumps accumulated heat out of the car even on hot days. Still, it will draw almost 5 kW for a little while once speed gets above 18 mi/hr (30 km/hr) if the car has been parked in the sun with high ambient temperatures. Power consumption is reduced while the car is not moving to minimize noise--there is a maximum compressor speed setting (while parked or moving slow) that can be increased by using Consult 3+, if desired.
I read efficient, in a COP way. Do you have data ?
Or did you mean effective, as in cools quickly ?
 
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a37210246/2022-nissan-leaf-price/

Some things never die!

If it could wind up qualifying for a 12,500 tax rebate that would not be a bad deal if somebody wanted the old leaf technology.
 
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