EricBayArea
Well-known member
Yesterday my wife and I took our Leaf out for the first time in the rain. Outside temp was about 48 (per the car) when we left around 7pm and it was a steady rain. I coated the windshield in it's first coat of Rain-X before I left.
First thing I noticed was how much energy the windshield wipers use when they cycle on. About 0.25kWh on the "Other" power meter.
It is really nice to have heated seats because those kept us warm and we didn't really need to use the heater. We had the climate control (CC) turned off and air recirculating so none of the cold air came into the cabin.
However, because of the cabin fogging up every so often, I would turn on the front window defrost. I typically left it on for about 2-4 minutes per episode, just enough time to de-fog the windows. I didn't look at the power meter when I did this, but I would expect that the AC and Heat were on, because of the outside temperature & the fact that I couldn't set the temp to lower than 60.
All in all the trip showed me that when driving in the rain and needing to use headlights, windshield wipers, and defrosters, plan accordingly. Also, the friction of the rain takes its toll on efficiency as well. A trip that I would have guessed to yield 4.3 miles / kWh ende up only yielding 3.9.
A bit frustrating but I'll adapt.
YMMV
First thing I noticed was how much energy the windshield wipers use when they cycle on. About 0.25kWh on the "Other" power meter.
It is really nice to have heated seats because those kept us warm and we didn't really need to use the heater. We had the climate control (CC) turned off and air recirculating so none of the cold air came into the cabin.
However, because of the cabin fogging up every so often, I would turn on the front window defrost. I typically left it on for about 2-4 minutes per episode, just enough time to de-fog the windows. I didn't look at the power meter when I did this, but I would expect that the AC and Heat were on, because of the outside temperature & the fact that I couldn't set the temp to lower than 60.
All in all the trip showed me that when driving in the rain and needing to use headlights, windshield wipers, and defrosters, plan accordingly. Also, the friction of the rain takes its toll on efficiency as well. A trip that I would have guessed to yield 4.3 miles / kWh ende up only yielding 3.9.
A bit frustrating but I'll adapt.
YMMV