Window Tinting for Preserving Range

[daveizdum]

I'm surprised there isn't more talk in the forums about window tinting, specifically ceramic window tints. Summer is about to arrive in the northern hemisphere, so many of us are about to lose 10% or more of our range to air conditioning .

On a full charge, my 2015 Leaf gets 80 miles. Turning the AC on drops that by about 8 miles, even with the fan low. I haven't tried maximum fan, because I'm worried that I'd need a tow truck. The factory window tint seemed pretty useless. Even on mild days in the 25c (77f) range, my window-side arm would become uncomfortable and the whole cabin would heat up enough to require AC.

I had ceramic tint applied to all side and rear windows, as well as the "eyebrow" on the front window. The tint I used rejects 99% of ultraviolet and 70% of infrared (many non-ceramic tints reject very little IR). The difference is extraordinary. It was 32c (90f) yesterday, and I cruised around town comfortably with the AC off for about 30 minutes. There are much more expensive ceramic tints which reject 90%+ of IR, but I'm incredibly happy with my results.

$400 for preserving 10% of my range is a no-brainer. Go get your windows tinted.

Anyone have similar experiences?

Edit: I added a photo.

[LeftieBiker]

Just running the A/C with the fan on a lower setting, and using Recirculate, cuts the range loss to more like 3 miles. Lowest fan setting and a temp setting around 77F makes it more like 2 miles.

[SageBrush]

I live in a 4 season climate so range is not a good argument for tint. By that I mean that winter is a greater range sap than summer. If my winter commuting range is adequate, so is the summer range. OP is treating personal comfort, car range and temperature as identical but they are not, and the solutions are not the same. Comfort is first and foremost a matter of direct sunlight on the skin, and in second place, a matter of temperature. This is why 85F at night in a low humidity climate is OK, while it is punishment mid-day.

I do agree that tint blunts the discomfort of direct sun. So does a light and airy cloth. OTOH, the most important range preserver in the summer is to not let the cabin overheat while the car is parked. This is accomplished by parking facing the sun, putting up a sun-shield, and cracking open windows for ventilation. My wife is very quick to turn on cooling in the car but the range hit is not a problem because the cabin temperature starts around ambient.

^^ My comments above are for my LEAF, which gets used perhaps 30 minutes at a time. I do tint my Tesla because it is used for much longer drives in the sunny season and comfort considerations become a higher priority. In fact, for the Tesla we replace the OEM black polyurethane with a light upholstery. The combination of good tint, light upholstery, and blocking sunlight and ventilating the cabin while parked, turns summer driving into a pleasure and range is preserved compared to Spring/Fall.

[SageBrush]

Just running the A/C with the fan on a lower setting, and using Recirculate, cuts the range loss to more like 3 miles. Lowest fan setting and a temp setting around 77F makes it more like 2 miles.

And not using cooling at all cuts the range hit to zero. I used to force recirculate on the cooling system but not anymore. For one, I find high humidity to be more uncomfortable than temperature; and second, I don't want to invite mold. Nowadays we set the temperature and let the system do its thing.

[Nubo]

I'm surprised there isn't more talk in the forums about window tinting, specifically ceramic window tints. Summer is about to arrive in the northern hemisphere, so many of us are about to lose 10% or more of our range to air conditioning .

On a full charge, my 2015 Leaf gets 80 miles. Turning the AC on drops that by about 8 miles, even with the fan low.

Be careful with the vehicle's estimates. When you first turn on the AC, it will often consume significantly more watts than it will once it reaches the temperature setpoint. I don't think the car takes that into account.

$400 for preserving 10% of my range is a no-brainer. Go get your windows tinted.

Anyone have similar experiences?

Everyone will arrive at different cost/benefit conclusions. Good point about IR rejection vs. "dark" though.

[LeftieBiker]

I drove a '95 CA-spec Civic EX for a few years. It had fairly dark tinted windows. I generally liked the tint - in the daytime, anyway. I didn't notice the A/C running a lot less, though. I imagine that if Honda had thought that good tinting would improve fuel economy, they would have offered it. Instead I got too-tall gearing...

[Dala]

There is also the legality perspecive. I just tinted my rear doors and hatch with 15%. Didn't touch the front doors, since that is an instant MOT failure here.