Minnesota Winters

[lampcord]

I've seen a lot of posts about range but not any in my kind of climate.

I have a 40 mile round trip commute. 20 miles are at 55 light traffic with 3 short lights and the other 20 are 30-45 very light traffic with some stop signs. Seemingly ideal from what I've read on this forum. Even if I get only the EPA rated 73 miles I should be in good shape.

But...

Winter here in Western Siberia can produce temperatures < 0 F for entire weeks straight. That will kick in the battery heater. Anyone have any data on how that will affect range if I can't plug in at work while the car sits in that kind of cold for 8 hours every day?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. I'm on the verge of plopping down $500 to reserve one for June delivery.

Also, does anybody just use the level 1 charger or does everyone buy a level 2 install?

 

[davewill]

... Also, does anybody just use the level 1 charger or does everyone buy a level 2 install?

Yes, a number of people use L1, and it may well work for your commute*...but you will likely find days that you could drive the car more if you had L2. Look into upgrading your L1 EVSE at http://evseupgrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to get L2 on the cheap. If you have a dryer plug or can manage to wire up a 240v 20amp circuit in your garage, you can have L2 without breaking the bank.


* Warning: I don't live in any kind of cold weather. I don't think the cold will keep your commute from working on L1, but I could be wrong.

 

[lampcord]

... Also, does anybody just use the level 1 charger or does everyone buy a level 2 install?

Yes, a number of people use L1, and it may well work for your commute*...but you will likely find days that you could drive the car more if you had L2. Look into upgrading your L1 EVSE at http://evseupgrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to get L2 on the cheap. If you have a dryer plug or can manage to wire up a 240v 20amp circuit in your garage, you can have L2 without breaking the bank.


* Warning: I don't live in any kind of cold weather. I don't think the cold will keep your commute from working on L1, but I could be wrong.

Thanks for the quick reply!

That's a great tip. I do have a dryer plug within the 25 foot range of that cable. Sounds like I can defer the decision to go L2 until I find out for sure that I'll need it. Maybe a Christmas present to myself. I always take a full week off and I can leave the car in the garage while I send in for an upgraded cable.

Does this get the same 50% tax rebate that a professional charger install gets?

 

[EdmondLeaf]

Does this get the same 50% tax rebate that a professional charger install gets?

no federal EVSE credit anymore

 

[Herm]

$500 deposit?.. why?

Nissan says the worst case range is 50 miles, so you may be cutting it close in a blizzard when the wolves start to get close

 

[LakeLeaf]

it's, of course, hard to really give a lower limit on the cars range. Besides bitter cold, you also may have terrain, snow, wind, and other factors to contend with.

We have some threads dealing with how far one has driven on a charge, it might be in our interest to also have a thread in which people detail their lowest actual driven range on a charge and some of the details of that drive - just to start to get a fair picture of the actual envelope.

 

[davewill]

...I always take a full week off and I can leave the car in the garage while I send in for an upgraded cable. ...

You can do that, or you can use their advance replacement service where you pay a deposit and get a reworked unit shipped to you, and then you ship your L1 back to them. No down time that way. Another possibility is to get in touch with a LEAF owner near you who might be willing to let you borrow their L1 while yours is being upgraded.

 

[keydiver]

Level 2 charging would allow you to preheat the car before you leave in the morning, which should help your range quite a bit, as the heater is a major battery drain. Other than that, I'm clueless as to how to make recommendations for your climate, opposite end of the spectrum from me.