Frank
Well-known member
This thread got me thinking about the Fog lights on the Leaf. I know that the headlights are LED so they probably use very little power. But what about the fog lights? Are they LED also?
Frank said:This thread got me thinking about the Fog lights on the Leaf. I know that the headlights are LED so they probably use very little power. But what about the fog lights? Are they LED also?
It serves one purpose only: It's for show. Since the car is electric, some wise guy is going to ask why don't you run it off solar panels. With the Leaf you can point to the solar panel. Someone uneducated enough to suggest running the car that way will easily be convinced that indeed it does. Then you can tell them you don't actually have to plug the car in as long as it gets some sunlight during the day. Keep a straight face and you might convince them.bradford said:how useful is the solar panel's charging?
There's an option on certain trim lines of the 2010 Prius that does this. But I've not heard that the leaf will.MikeBoxwell said:Back in the early 1990s, Audi put a similarly sized solar panel onto the roof of the Audi A8. They used it to power some tiny fans to extract hot air from the car in the summer. The idea was that when you got back into the car on a really hot day, it wouldn't feel like a cook-house. Apparently it worked pretty well for that.
It's not even good for that! Who keeps a car in long-term storage out of doors?EVDRIVER said:The only thing a panel that size is good for is keeping a 12v battery toped off over long periods of time, it is too small for even a practical to circulate air.
daniel said:It's not even good for that! Who keeps a car in long-term storage out of doors?
You don't need a battery charger during a two-week vacation. The Prius has a tiny, inadequate 12-volt battery, and I've left it for as much as six weeks without starting it, with no ill effects.garygid said:1. Medium term (1-2 weeks) "storage" (parking) at an airport lot is probable. If outside parking of the LEAF is the only option, leaving it for the duration of a "family vacation" might be another longer-term "storage" situation.
What happens to the LEAF traction battery in 1-2-3 months ? I've heard of Tesla accidents and the car being at salvage yards sitting unattended and ruining the (very expensive) battery. How much discharge is expected for the LEAF if not plugged in ? Is the solar panel (daytime, unobstructed) in any way able to maintain the health of the traction battery ? Is there a long-term "store it" mode in the LEAF (trickle charging while plugged in) ?daniel said:For anything under a month of storage, a charger is unnecessary, and it's probably unneeded for anything under two or three months.
mitch672 said:I would fully expect the Leafs resistive heater, and Air Conditining compresser will run off the HV as well. Pretty much everything else I would expect to run off the 12V system.
jkirkebo said:I don't quite understand, why would Nissan put a resitive heater in an EV ? If the car already has AC, why not put in a few extra parts and make it a full reversible (inverter-driven) heat pump instead ? The power requirement for heating in winter (which is half the year around here) would drop to less than a third compared to a resistive heater.
I sincerely hope the Tesla Model S will emply a heat pump for cabin heating...
ruimegas said:Hello, I'm from Lisbon in Portugal and we are going to be the first countrie in Europe to get the first Leafs here and I count to be one of the first to put my hands on one. This is the european countrie with more sunlight hours and that's why I've some questions to make on this amazing forum.
I'm not an expert, and I would appreciate that someone could explain me why doesn't worth to fully cover, at least the roof of the Leaf with high performance flexible photovoltaic panel in order to get as much power as possible while beeing outdoor, instead of that little tiny low performance Nissan wants to provide?
I know that some people will say it's going to be too expensive but Nissan could always make it an option right?
As an example, something like the one we can see in the link below:
http://cgi.ebay.es/Flexible-high-efficient-Solar-Panel-Car-Bike-30Watt-/230488043687?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35aa2870a7#ht_2168wt_1148
I'm sure it could provide even some power to the main battery too and not only fullfill the auxiliary 12v one.
Thank you and once again congratulations for the best forum about the Leaf I ever see. Sorry about my poor english but I'm not a native speaker
All the best with all your Leafs
garygid said:However, if future technology allowed the PV surface to fit the aerodynamics of the car, was low cost, light weight, and highly efficient, having PV on the car could make very good sense.
Just do not park in the shade.
garygid said:Just do not park in the shade.
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