What are these pipes for?

Hi,

I'm choosing a Leaf to buy made 2013 and later. I've noticed that under the hood some have additional pipes, but I can not find what feature they are for.

This one from 06-2013 does have it:


This one from 05-2013 doesn't:


So what does this specific Leaf of 06-2013 can do that the 05-2013 one can't? Is it that one has a heat pump and the other doesn't? Or is it for better cooling? Is it tied to the trims or separate additional equipment?

Thanks in advance!

Those pipes are for the Heat Pump hardware.

yeah the bottom one is probably an S model, SV and SL came with heat pumps

Any risk of insulating the heat pump.

You'd really only want one line insulated: the one supplying the hot or cold refrigerant to the cabin.

LeftieBiker said:

You'd really only want one line insulated: the one supplying the hot or cold refrigerant to the cabin.

Click to expand...

Iirc, for AC you'd only want to insulate the cold line to the cabin. The hot line is destined to be cooled in the condenser anyway so any heat lost on the way there is only beneficial. Did this on my RX-8 whose cooling system was a bit marginal. As for a heat-pump system I'd first check to see if the same pipe doesn't play both roles.

But no, don't insulate the compressor, especially the electric compressor in an EV. That's a hard-working electric motor that needs to dissipate its heat.

A "heat pump" is jargon for a reversible heat pump. For cooling ("Air Conditioning") the radiator inside the dashboard is an evaporator; the radiator out front ahead of the engine or drive motor-reduction gearbox-inverter cooling radiator or, in the Leaf, beside it, is the condenser. When reversed the inside radiator is a condenser; the outside is an evaporator.
Air-source heat pumps become rather inefficient below 35°-40°F / °C. By 5°F they are doing just about nothing. For effective heating a supplementary source of heat is needed. Waste heat from the drive motor, reduction gearbox and inverter is free but is almost non-existent when coasting downhill. If practical, heat from a liquid cooled battery pack is also good; again, when the battery is hot from heavy current draw during acceleration and hill-climbing it is a good source, but when little power is being drawn the battery pack gives off little heat.
A supplementary booster resistance heater is a good heat source but draws the battery down.