Questions before I buy

[RegGuheert]

Are these designed and arranged to catch air at the front openings and flow it past the bottom of the battery pack with the air exiting through the holes at the back?

That is my understanding. Apparently the temperature rise between ambient and the metal plate on the bottom of the battery is quite low. Nissan has stated that the temperature rise from that plate to the cells in the modules is also quite low, at least when driving.

If so that is a good thing a lot of the time when ambient temperatures are in the good range for the battery.

...and NOT quick charging (no air flow).

But a real bad thing on a 120F day in Phoenix, and also not too good on a -30F day in Wisconsin.

Agreed.

Seems like the openings should have had electric damper doors to close them under conditions bad for the battery?

Might have been a good idea, but then that could be another failure mode, also.

The photographs are from an early 2011 LEAF that did not have the cold weather package.
What do the panels look like on the later 2011s with the optional cold weather package or on the 2012 and 2013 LEAFs?

I think they are all the same for all 2011s and 2012s. Probably quite similar for 2013, as well.

 

[Levenkay]

Apparently the temperature rise between ambient and the metal plate on the bottom of the battery is quite low. Nissan has stated that the temperature rise from that plate to the cells in the modules is also quite low, at least when driving.

Well, that would have been a comfort to me last Autumn as I drove the last leg of a multi-QC journey from Bellingham back to Portland, waiting/hoping for the battery to cool down from its 7 temperature bars in a 44deg. F ambient, running at low highway speed (50-62ish MPH), pulling 20-30KW. Good to know there is such a negligible rise into the battery. I gather the other forty degrees must be dropping from the external battery compartment surface to ambient, huh? So all we need to do is make the ducting a bit more aggressive and maybe slap some fins on the bottom of the pack, and we're Bob's nephews!