@LeftieBiker According to the owner's manual:
Cooling and/or dehumidified heating: The dehumidified heating mode can be used to keep the windows from fogging. In this mode, the heat pump compressor is used in A/C mode for dehumidifying the air instead of heating it. The PTC heater is also used in conjunction to heat the air. This mode will increase energy consumption and therefore reduce range.
However, based on the energy consumption shown on the "Energy Info" screen's "Climate Control" graph, using this mode is more energy efficient, not less. So, I typically use this mode since dry air reduces condensation on the windshield. It's true that it doesn't heat the cabin as quickly as heat only mode, but heat only mode typically uses 3 kW or more, at least on my LEAF. With both A/C and heat on, I typically see energy usage in the 1-2 kW range on the "Climate Control" graph.
I assumed that the stated usage
included both PTC and heat pump (including compressor) energy usage. Is that not the case?
The owner's manual isn't clear as to whether heat only mode turns on the heat pump as well as the PTC. When I first got my SV, I assumed that to be true. However, the "Climate Control" graph confused me as it made no sense to me that energy usage would be >3kW if both the PTC and heat pump were heating incoming air - seemed too high to me.
For those with an SV/SL, how does your energy usage compare in "heat only" mode vs with AC also enabled?
As long as the "Climate Control" graph is reflecting actual energy usage for both the PTC and heat pump (including the compressor), then I'll continue to leave the AC on to save energy. I don't really care about the cabin temp much, I just want the most efficient method of keeping the windshield defogged.