alozzy said:
@UsedLeaf - if you like to drive like the granny that sold you the car, then by all means drive in ECO all the time
I personally only ever use ECO mode for lighter regen braking (I have a 2013, with B mode - heavier regen). IMHO, the only reason to drive in ECO mode when not braking is because you need extra range on a long trip.
If wanting a L2 EVSE(charger) don't waste your money on anything more than 16a @ 240v(well unless you want to futureproof) as 16a is the max you can charge @ 240v, 12a @ 120v.
Jeff is letting you know that the onboard charger on your Leaf is limited to a 3.6 kW rate. When charging on an EVSE outputing 240V @ 16A, that's 3.84 kW -
more than your onboard charger allows. So, if you bought a fancy EVSE that outputs up to 240V @ 40A,
your Leaf would still limit the charging rate to 3.6 kW. In other words, save your money and buy a cheaper EVSE...
Your basic advice is correct, but not some of the numbers. Originally, Nissan rated the On-Board Charger at 3.3 kW, which is what gets to the battery after overhead (cooling the power electronics, charging inefficiency) from a 3.84 kW (or higher) EVSE. Then other companies started coming out with OBCs that could handle about twice the current/power, typically 30 Amps at 240 V, or 7.2kW on the
input side. So, for 2013 Nissan decided to change how they described their new, more powerful OBC so that it didn't look so feeble compared to the competition, and IIRR began calling it a 6.6kW OBC, rather than the 6kW or lower that it would be called if rated for power into the battery (i.e. the
output side of the OBC).
All 2012s have the 3.3 kW OBC, which is the rating into the battery (output side of the OBC), but it pulls up to 3.84kW from the wall (input side of the OBC).