jlsoaz wrote:... does not say (or maybe I am just missing it) if the GID meter displays estimated kWh information. I've read something somewhere about GIDs as a unit of energy, and then I think somewhere there was an equivalency equation to kWh, but do users find they sometimes like to see kWh?
The LEAF battery is 24kWh, and for whatever reason, Nissan decided to divide that by 0.080kWh to arrive at 300 "Gids" for a 24kWh battery.
The actual stored energy is limited to 22.48kWh, or 281 Gids. When we finally retrieve the energy, there is about 21.3kWh available in a new 70F or warmer battery. That makes the each "Gid" worth 0.0758kWh (21.3 / 281 = 0.0758).
Of that 21.3kWh "available", there is about 2% at the bottom of the battery pack (.02 * 24 = 0.48kWh) that is not usable (just as there is some at the top not used between 22.48 and 24). Therefore, the final tally of usable energy for that new battery is 21.3 - 0.48 = 20.8kWh to propel the car and run all the systems.
We just use 21kWh for easy round figuring. Therefore, at 65mph on a level dry road with no wind, your car will achieve approximately 4 miles per kWh, or 84 miles of range. The Gid count should be about 6 when the car is dead (2% of 281), therefore 281 - 6 = 275 Gids to go 84 miles, or 3.27 Gids per mile.
3.27 Gids * 0.0758kWh = 0.248kWh used per mile at 65mph. Hope this helps with understanding the terms and parameters.
Again, all data is for a new, 70F or warmer battery. Things change drastically with cold and with degradation.