air conditioning in the desert

[alfarnz]

I live in las vegas, and am in the process of purchasing a 2013 leaf SL. Can someone please tell me how the a/c will handle when its over 100 degrees all summer long? I understand you can leave the a/c running when you go into a store, etc, how mush does it drain the battery when its sitting still and just running a/c?

 

[RonDawg]

I can't speak for regular 100 degree temps, but I will say that I think the Leaf A/C works better than that of just about any conventionally-powered car that I have ever owned. Certainly a lot better than the A/C unit on my friend's rental POS Hyundai Accent we drove last weekend; it couldn't keep up with the 100 degree heat of Bakersfield and Barstow at all, and still struggled in the 90 degree heat of Riverside County. It doesn't get as hot where I am as where you are, but we do get our fair share of 100 degree temps.

I would recommend in your case saving up for a 2015 model, which has a supposedly more heat-tolerant battery. In the Vegas heat, the older batteries will degrade VERY quickly and you'll find yourself losing driving range fast. If you do get a pre-2015 model, make sure the battery has been upgraded to the 2015 "Lizard" battery (which is about $5500 if not covered by a warranty claim).

 

[cwerdna]

Can you update your location info via User Control Panel (near top) > Profile (left side)? That way, we don't need to ask in future posts/threads or do sleuthing to deduce it.

What are your daily driving needs in terms of miles? How much city vs. highway? Will you have the ability to charge at your work/destinations?

Seconding what RonDawg said re: degradation. In addition, we have no idea much Nissan has improved the "lizard" batteries vs. previous ones from a degradation (heat or not) and point of view since they've never given us any such data on any version of the batteries.

Having visited Vegas in the summer a few times, I can safely say the Vegas summer heat will VERY rapidly degrade the '11 and '12 Leaf batteries. '13 and '14, we're uncertain about... those might be better or might not.

 

[GerryAZ]

A/C is great and efficient. The black interior of 2015 SL absorbs more solar energy while parked in the sun than light interior of 2011, but it still cools down quickly. The heat pump on the 2013 and newer SV and SL is much more efficient for heating than resistance heaters in all 2011/2012s and S models. Being able to lock the car with A/C on to run into a store or start the A/C remotely before going out to the car is really nice. As far as battery degradation is concerned, I had a warranty replacement on 2011 at about 28 months and a little over 30k miles. It is too soon to draw conclusions, but the 2015 still has full capacity after almost 4 months while capacity of replacement battery in 2011 dropped a little each month.

Gerry

 

[cwerdna]

As an FYI for the OP, battery capacity warranty is at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13192" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

 

[baustin]

I have found the AC to work quite well, so far. It does take a little time to cool down, if left out in the sun all afternoon. I leave my AC going all the time when I'm out running around. The impact on the battery seems minimal. If I'm only going to be a couple minutes, I just leave it running and lock the doors. If I'm going to be longer, I turn it off and lock it and then use the phone app to turn the AC on while I'm inside.

I've only had the car three months, so I'm not sure how the heat it going to affect the battery. It spent the first two summers in Georgia, and shows 87% for the battery health. The yearly battery checked showed everything to be fine. I've got three full summers to see if the heat degrades the battery pack enough to get a warranty replacement. If not, maybe I'll be able to buy a higher capacity pack to go in it. Guess I'll have to wait and see...

 

[LeftieBiker]

When you leave the A/C running with the car parked, try using Eco mode. That limits the drain from the A/C to 1500 watts.

 

[minispeed]

If you use the app to remotely turn on the AC while not plugged in there's a timer on it. I think it's 15 min. You can set it up with alerts for texts or email that will tell you when it goes off so you can re load the app and start it again if you want.

 

[mwalsh]

Seconding what RonDawg said re: degradation. In addition, we have no idea much Nissan has improved the "lizard" batteries vs. previous ones from a degradation (heat or not) and point of view since they've never given us any such data on any version of the batteries.

Let's not start calling the 2013 battery pack "lizard" too, can we? At least until we know more about how it will behave over the long term. That will just start muddying the waters.

All we know about the 2013 pack is that it has a slightly different electrolyte formulation than those in the 2011/2012 cars and that there is limited data to show it might be holding up better.

Oh, and OP (though I'm sure you already know this), don't forget to tint out your windows to help keep the amount of solar energy that can get into the car down.

 

[TickTock]

I live in las vegas, and am in the process of purchasing a 2013 leaf SL. Can someone please tell me how the a/c will handle when its over 100 degrees all summer long? I understand you can leave the a/c running when you go into a store, etc, how mush does it drain the battery when its sitting still and just running a/c?

The AC works quite well and the amount it uses pales to the amount used by the traction motor. However, I would advise against making a habit of leaving it to sit long with ac running. Better to turn it off and just start it with the app when you start to check out if you will be shopping more than a few minutes. As others have mentioned, it works fast. A few years ago I put temperature loggers at various locations around the battery to see what kind of ambient the battery was being exposed to throughout the day (I live in Phoenix Arizona). I noticed a steep climb in the temperature above the battery in the emergency disconnect compartment when the AC was running while parked (well above ambient temperature). Didn't notice anything to speak of while the car was moving so I'm guessing it needs air flow to carry the AC exhaust safely away from the battery.

 

[Nubo]

The AC in our 2012 was very good. One major advantage is that the AC condenser coils in the front of the car aren't sandwiched with a huge radiator full of boiling-hot coolant.

Not much experience with the 2015's AC capabilities yet (heat-pump). Purchased in October and we haven't had any really hot days so far this year.

Note that ECO mode will limit the AC system to something like 1.5kW. Not sure that's enough to keep up with 100F sunny days in the desert. D mode will allow the AC to run with full power for super-hot days or quick cool-down.

 

[TomT]

Leaving the car in Drive when it is parked is foolhardy at best and likely illegal as well! And besides, Eco only limits the initial maximum AC amount... Once the car has cooled down some, it makes no difference in AC energy usage whatsoever.

When you leave the A/C running with the car parked, try using Eco mode. That limits the drain from the A/C to 1500 watts.

 

[mwalsh]

Leaving the car in Drive when it is parked is foolhardy at best and likely illegal as well! And besides, Eco only limits the initial maximum AC amount... Once the car has cooled down some, it makes no difference in AC energy usage whatsoever.

I don't have a 2013, obviously, but the impression I get from dash pictures I've seen is that it can indeed be left in ECO while in Park. I'll try to find one and post it. Edit: Here you go, from the 100,000 mile English taxi thread:

 

[LeftieBiker]

Yes, there is no need to leave it in Drive to get Eco mode! It may have to be in Drive when you switch it (or not), but it stays active in Park. Lowering the fan speed should also limit power consumption.

 

[RonDawg]

The ability to engage Eco without putting the car in Drive only applies to Leafs with "B" mode, as these cars have the Eco switch on the steering wheel. On non-B-mode cars (all pre-2013, and pre-2015 Leaf S), Eco is engaged by moving the shift knob to the "D" position a second time.

 

[mwalsh]

The ability to engage Eco without putting the car in Drive only applies to Leafs with "B" mode, as these cars have the Eco switch on the steering wheel. On non-B-mode cars (all pre-2013, and all pre-2015 Leaf S), Eco is engaged by moving the shift knob to the "D" position a second time.

But you'll notice from the OP that we are, in fact, talking about a 2013 SL, so...

 

[RonDawg]

The ability to engage Eco without putting the car in Drive only applies to Leafs with "B" mode, as these cars have the Eco switch on the steering wheel. On non-B-mode cars (all pre-2013, and all pre-2015 Leaf S), Eco is engaged by moving the shift knob to the "D" position a second time.

But you'll notice from the OP that we are, in fact, talking about a 2013 SL, so...

That was actually more for everybody else than the OP...

 

[DesertDenizen]

We are 100 degrees every now in Tucson. The AC was pretty anemic until I started turning off ECO at the hot time of day.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Don't forget to also use Recirculate mode to cool pre-cooled air instead of fresh, but blazing hot, air.

 

[DesertDenizen]

Darn, I usually forget to check the setting. Stinks getting old....