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Anyone added battery heating?

10K views 26 replies 12 participants last post by  leafmonster 
#1 ·
Minus 6 this morning which made me ponder about adding some battery heating! Has anyone tried? I can see that adding high power heaters close to Lithium batteries can be a safety issue; I was thinking more of some low wattage large area heaters, over a large percentage of the bottom of the battery. Even if it kept the battery from cooling too much (say below 10C) it would be a range advantage.

Alternatively, is there any way of triggering the built-in heaters that are supposed to come on at -15C?
 
#2 ·
If you finish charging at the time you are leaving then won't the batteries be warm anyway?

I did read that colder markets (or older models) are equipped with battery heating but can't seem to find any references now; surely places like Norway have something or do they rely on always plugging in when parking similarly to ICE cars?
 
#3 ·
Maybe if I'd rapid-charged then yes, the battery would be warm.

Using 3.6kW charging at home these are the temperatures from leafspy-
Yesterday: 6C morning (after charging),
7C after commute,
parked in direct sun. 4.5C on starting drive home,
7C arriving home
This morning: 4C after charging, 5.5C after commute

Luckily this cold snap in the UK won't last long, but yes it would be interesting to hear how folks cope in really cold weather!
 
#4 ·
I can confirm that the second gen UK cars do not have battery heating but do have connections for it within the battery pack.

Gen1 packs seem to be hit and miss on if they have heating or not.

Mike
 
#6 ·
I can confirm that the second gen UK cars do not have battery heating but do have connections for it within the battery pack.

Gen1 packs seem to be hit and miss on if they have heating or not.

Mike
Interesting; though not cost effective you could add the heater back in :)
 
#8 ·
Garaging would be good- but the Leaf is surprisingly big for my '60s garage!
I'm wondering if some insulation added for the winter months would be useful to keep the heat in overnight. Of course it would need to cope with getting wet.
 
#9 ·
Maybe if I'd rapid-charged then yes, the battery would be warm.

Using 3.6kW charging at home these are the temperatures from leafspy-
Yesterday: 6C morning (after charging),
7C after commute,
parked in direct sun. 4.5C on starting drive home,
7C arriving home
This morning: 4C after charging, 5.5C after commute

Luckily this cold snap in the UK won't last long, but yes it would be interesting to hear how folks cope in really cold weather!
In your case surely heaters would be limited use? By the time you drive home any temperature would have been lost.

If you used the traction battery for some low wattage, large area heaters I suspect the effect on range would be negative (energy used for heating would exceed the extra energy liberated from the battery).

If it used mains electric it may be handy if you were going on a 80+ miles journey....but otherwise pretty pointless.
 
#12 ·
That's fine if you have a garage and 6kw charging! I'm thinking along the lines of a way to keep the battery above 10 or 15 c, to keep decent capacity. This could be a winter blanket or an active system, eg 240v heating, for the coldest weather.
 
#14 ·
My car sits out on the drive but if I had an empty garage [I've always regarded a garage with a car in it as a garage wasted] then I think, rather than try to heat the battery then use a large slab of polystyrene foam jammed under the battery as an insulator to keep the heat generated on charging from escaping. Warm battery, better range, money saved will pay for the insulation.
 
#16 ·
I can confirm that the second gen UK cars do not have battery heating but do have connections for it within the battery pack.

Gen1 packs seem to be hit and miss on if they have heating or not.

Mike
Mike, you're more familiar than most with the Leaf battery - what does the underside of the battery box look like? Would it be flat enough in places to stick on some silicone heater pads like these?
15X1000mm,100W@220V, Keenovo Univeral Silicone Heater Strip, Pipe Heating Belt | eBay

I'm thinking heating when plugged-in, overnight/on a timer. Clearly some temperature control would be essential, set to 25C perhaps. I'd hope the steel box would act as a heat spreader. Some insulation outside the heaters and blocking up of the "air intakes" that already exist may stop it cooling too fast driving on the coldest days.
I think the boost in range could be well worthwhile especially as the batteries age. You'd reduce the depth of discharge. Depends on the use case, of course but I'd rather get home with 25% than 5% :)
 
#17 ·
Pretty flat. But there is some plastic 'belly' trim atttached directly to it.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
#19 ·
No insulation whatsoever. I'll get some pictures from some casings....

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
#20 ·






Heater pads from a us spec battery.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
#21 ·
Thanks, encouraging.
I take it the top picture is the heater pads, middle is the battery "lid" and the lower picture the battery box lower half.
Do you know what all the cream sealant was for?
 
#22 ·
Middle is the base of the base (as viewed from the bottom of the car) and bottom is top of the base (as viewed with the lid off)

Sealant is to make it weather tight.

Mike


Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
#23 ·
I'd love to know is a gently heated floor mat in a garage would make a difference. Or would just having the car in a garage be enough to take the edge off.
I reckon anything will help. Bear in mind we're talking about a couple of hundred kg of something akin to a storage heater so nothing happens very fast in terms of heating and cooling. But leaving it outside in a freezing wind overnight is enough for it to cool down nicely! I'm just thinking heating the battery as opposed to a whole garage will be a more efficient way of doing it.
 
#24 ·
Seems like a lot of faff and expense for something that may have minimal impact on your range and could potentially invalidate warranties if the pack goes bad (from the modifications or not).

Why not just take the range loss and hope for a mild and short winter. Are there any groundhogs you can bribe not to see their shadows?
 
#25 ·
Seems like a lot of faff and expense for something that may have minimal impact on your range and could potentially invalidate warranties if the pack goes bad (from the modifications or not).

Why not just take the range loss and hope for a mild and short winter. Are there any groundhogs you can bribe not to see their shadows?
You might well be right. But there will be a few winters for me with this car. I reckon there's a mile per degree C of battery temp loss below say 15C. That's a lot of Leaf-pushing. At some point my commute won't be within range and this could then be a cost effective option. One person's hack is anothers load of faff I guess. I've done no mods to date Mr Nissan.
 
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