Providing Power to House?

[Jimrpa]

I received a survey recently, and one of the questions was whether I’d like a feature where an EV could deliver power to my house. I thought about this for a moment. I’m on time of day rate plan from my utility, and the prime period is 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM Monday - Friday. I looked at my usage and, on average, I seem to use about 5 kWh during that period of time.

So, it seems like the battery has the capacity to cover my home usage during that time. But how would the connection to the panel work? Obviously, you couldn’t use an existing EVSE. I’m assuming you’d need some kind of automatic disconnect from the utility, a coupler to the car that supports very high currents (heating or AC systems, ovens, cooktops, etc).

How would something like this work? All I can think of is it would be something similar to a whole house generator setup and I’m not sure how those work.

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[JohnFoxeSheets]

I got the same survey and would happily use the feature if it were available. There are EVSEs that support this function. Exactly how the wiring works is something I'm not certain of, but I presume it would be similar to how a solar panel inverter connects into the panel (except that a solar inverter never draws current, it only delivers it).

 

[hawkeye3point1]

It requires an EVSE with DC-AC inverters (like the Pro 80-amp EVSE that is optional with the Lightning) and a transfer switch like one would use with a generator. Fairly pricey setup from what I have seen.

 

[Obie]

I got this survey as well and frankly, that feature would be amazing in the event of an outage, or for other purposes like camping/etc.

 

[CompilerBreak]

I'd be happy with the 400w inverter that's on like every other ford suv But really, in a pinch it would be nice for emergencies, but for more regular use I'd rather have a dedicated setup for the house than eat into the life of my ev

 

[GuliblGuy]

I received a survey recently, and one of the questions was whether I’d like a feature where an EV could deliver power to my house. I thought about this for a moment. I’m on time of day rate plan from my utility, and the prime period is 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM Monday - Friday. I looked at my usage and, on average, I seem to use about 5 kWh during that period of time.

So, it seems like the battery has the capacity to cover my home usage during that time. But how would the connection to the panel work? Obviously, you couldn’t use an existing EVSE. I’m assuming you’d need some kind of automatic disconnect from the utility, a coupler to the car that supports very high currents (heating or AC systems, ovens, cooktops, etc).

How would something like this work? All I can think of is it would be something similar to a whole house generator setup and I’m not sure how those work.

I got the survey and in that area I said I'd much rather have a 120v outlet like the I5 or lighting to power my fridge in an emergency.

 

[louc757]

You need 2 things for bidirectional charging. First is an EVSE that supports this. The second is a vehicle the has this capability as well. As I understand it, the MME is not one of these vehicles. The Lightning has this capability.

Emporia has a bidirectional EVSE coming out next year for approximately $1500.
https://www.emporiaenergy.com/how-the-emporia-v2x-charger-works

Bidirectional charging does degrade the batteries, so when I had my charger installed, I had the electrician add a generator interlock to use my 8000W generator to power the house. It only cost $450 for that wiring. However, my power goes out about once a month. Sometimes only a few minutes, other times for hours.

 

[RickMachE]

From what I have read, the setup for the Lightning costs like $7k.

 

[Maquis]

It requires an EVSE with DC-AC inverters (like the Pro 80-amp EVSE that is optional with the Lightning) and a transfer switch like one would use with a generator. Fairly pricey setup from what I have seen.

The Charge Station Pro that comes with ER Lightnings does not have an inverter. It only feeds DC from the truck to the Home Integration System containing the inverter.

 

[dbsb3233]

I got the survey and in that area I said I'd much rather have a 110v outlet like the I5 or lighting to power my fridge in an emergency.

Yep. It is a (minor) disappointment that they didn't include a 120v outlet. Even my 2013 Escape has one (albeit low amperage). Seems like such a natural with that much power sitting there.

I have no interest in spending thousands for a whole home panel setup, but an occasional emergency/convenience extension cord plug-in would be nice.

 

[intensifi]

It would be nice to have 120V and 240V outlets in all EVs

The setups for automatic switchover are a bit pricey. IMHO they are only worth adding if you install solar plus batteries.

for me the 240V outlet on the EV is fine. I’ll just patch it in like a generator. It’s ok if the power is out for a bit during the switch overs.

 

[Nklem]

Just remember. 10% loss to charge your vehicle (AC to DC), another 10% loss to convert it back to AC. The Chargers were $4k-5K last I knew. There has to be a very compelling reason to use power this inefficiently. Emergency use, for sure. I guess if your Peak rate is more than 20% , its a wash but paying off the charger will take a long time.

There is a guy who made the Hyundai V2L adapter work from 120V/19 AMP to 240V 9 AMP by using a solar inverter to create 2 phase power and connected to his house panel. Pretty cool and the cost was minimal. Being home made, I would be concerned about a fault or something wrecking the car systems.

 

[MachEMaster]

I would welcome both Vehicle to Load, and Vehicle to Home capability. 2024 Mach E?

 

[dbsb3233]

Just remember. 10% loss to charge your vehicle (AC to DC), another 10% loss to convert it back to AC. The Chargers were $4k-5K last I knew. There has to be a very compelling reason to use power this inefficiently. Emergency use, for sure. I guess if your Peak rate is more than 20% , its a wash but paying off the charger will take a long time.

There is a guy who made the Hyundai V2L adapter work from 120V/19 AMP to 240V 9 AMP by using a solar inverter to create 2 phase power and connected to his house panel. Pretty cool and the cost was minimal. Being home made, I would be concerned about a fault or something wrecking the car systems.

Another factor is the intended usage (rare emergency vs daily as something like time-shifting solar power).

Infrequent usage won't take much life off the battery. But daily usage would. Shortening the life of the expensive, liquid-cooled, performance lithium battery in the car for something that doesn't need such an expensive storage option. I'd never want to do that, degrading range on my expensive EV and accelerating a $20k battery replacement. I paid $5000 extra just for the ER battery just so I would have comfortable road trip range, even after some years of normal degradation. No way I'm hurting that.

 

[RickMachE]

Ford didn't send a survey to Mach-E owners about this to not be considering adding it in the future, IMO.

That said, for some people, it may make sense, if their electrical cost is high at times (California, etc.).

For me, I'm at 24 cents peak and 12.7 cents off-peak, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend thousands for this capability.

For power outages, I have a just-installed whole house generator.

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