Why is the charging port in back?

i think at public charging stations it could be awkward since those tend to be at the front of the parking space.

i have a leaf and my service is near the front wall of the garage. so we have to back the leaf in to charge. having the port at the back actually works out better for us.

 

Exactly how I feel!

I like the fact that there is less cabling. This means less resistance in the charging connection (or very heavy/expensive cabling) and a more efficient charging operation.

 

I would prefer it in the back. Works perfectly for my garage.

 

Thanks - that's a great idea. Hadn't thought yet how I'd run the circuit, but I was only thinking in 2D. Going up and over would be easiest for me too, so this is very helpful. Thanks again!

 

Have you seen the price of 12AWG copper? They save about 12-15 feet of 12/3 + the 20AWG pilot wire, not to mention the weight saved for that cable as well, and the reduced labor costs, since the charging port is now located right by the actual charger and battery pack. It was a cost savings, weight reduction and reduced labor cost move.

 

I like where it is in the Leaf. Essentially keeps the plug out of the way in the tight garage. I can still walk around the car without bumping into the plug. For people with larger garages, it may not matter much.

 

It literally sounds better. In the prototype, the charger electronic is placed under the passenger seat. Cooling fan can come on and make noise.

Moving the charger port to the rear also allow them to put the inverter under the battery pack. I doubt you'll hear the fan anymore but then who sits in the car while charging right? At least it frees up the space for audio amp or Nav that are placed there normally.

 

My garage is already prepared for the "up and over" set up. It was not hard, it is out of the way, it does not require a long cord and it is handy no matter where the plug on the car is located.

This simply turns out not to be a big deal.

 

I have a very old house on a skinny lot in San Diego - the houses are very close together. The driveway on the right side of my house runs a few feet from my neighbor's house. I wonder if they've got any outdoor receptacles. Hmmm... Think I'll go take a look.

 

I just hope I don't damage the cord- or get it stollen at a charging station . Wonder how much it is to replace?

 

Yes there are outside charging stations for residedential usage.

 

Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant that I wondered if my neighbor's house has any outdoor receptacles already installed. Free electricity! Just kidding, of course.

 

There are already cables that run from the front to the back present. This is how the batteries get charged from the inverter, and how power goes from the battery to the inverter.

I think it would be trivial to have the charge point in the front of the car, or on the side in front of the driver door. I agree that this is more natural and preferable.

 

another thing that was mentioned was that if you have curbside chargers, it actually makes much more sense to have the charging port on the passenger side.

also, people who are wary of backing into your garage? guess what, backing into your garage is safer than backing out of it. and most of the world parks this way already.

 

Little off topic, but would you typically leave the PiP plugged in all night long? IOW you leave it plugged in at home whenever you are not driving it?

Not to be negative, but seems to me there would be a lot of plugging and unplugging to the port. Too bad it's not at least on the driver's side. Well, in Japan it is. Obviously there is a level of commitment required to actually use the plug regularly.

 

Huh? How are those not the same thing? Presumably you'd plug it in whenever you can to maximize EV range, no?
And I'd think these things are designed for tens of thousands of connects/disconnects. Regardless in CARB states you have a long enough warranty on these components that it really shouldn't matter.

 

The connector is supposed to be able to withstand being connected and then disconnected once a day for 27 years. This should be more than enough for most people.