EV Vehicle-to-Load saves the day

I've covered Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) or Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) - often referred to as V2X -several times in this newsletter and my overall tone on the former has been net pessimistic and the latter extremely enthusiastic.

First time I covered the topic was over 2.5 years ago and it was about the Ford F-150 Lightning and how much consumers would be willing to pay for its V2G features and I opened with:

"A few weeks ago I conducted a LinkedIn poll with the question: How much would you pay (turn-key) to have a bidirectional EV charging system (aka V2G, aka backup power) installed? There were 42 voters and only 26% of them were willing to pay over $4,000. Only 2% of them were willing to pay over $8,000. Guess how much it's probably going to cost for the correct equipment and an electrician to wire the electrical correctly for a V2G / V2H setup? Probably over $4,000 (and closer to $8,000)!"

And while there is still some movement here and Ford's install partner Sunrun has had some press release about a V2G pilot project demonstrating this with Baltimore Gas and Electric I think the general consensus is that it's too expensive (well over $8,000) to get all the equipment and installation for the average Lightning driver.

I followed that up with the post, "V2L is > V2G for EV drivers" and I said:

"V2L does not get nearly as much love because it's not as sexy as V2G. I mean, who wants to power a mini fridge or window AC unit or space heater or laptop or TV when YOU COULD HELP UTILITIES STABILIZE THE GRID! But seriously, the largest application for V2X for consumers is utilizing the vehicle's battery during a power outage or off-grid, and in those applications V2L can be amazing."

And now I have a real world story, shared with permission, from Alan Shedd who used his Kia EV6 (same platform as Ioniq) to stay comfortable after Hurricane Helene knocked out power to his house:

We used the energy stored in our Kia EV6 and its Vehicle to Load (V2L) capability to power a small window air conditioner for 68 hours in the power outage caused by Hurricane Helene. It kept the house comfortable, was less expensive, quieter, and less polluting than our Honda generator. We had plenty of energy left in the car to run errands if needed and recharged the car once power was restored. Electric vehicle V2L capability is a useful tool and provides a much-welcomed energy source during an extended power outage.

My wife and I have a home in coastal Georgia on the Sapelo River. Like many in the area, our power was knocked out in the predawn hours of Friday, September 27 as Hurricane Helene barreled through. The area is remote, there are lots of trees, and aging infrastructure. Outages are common. Most are short duration but Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane Irma and even a freak winter snowstorm caused multi-day outages that prompted us to install a modest solar power system with battery backup that can keep the refrigerator, lights, computer, well pump and other critical loads running.

When grid power failed, the batteries took over until the sun came out after the storm. Unfortunately, the small system can’t handle big loads like central air conditioning and water heating. (System upgrades are in my future). The 90-degree heat and humidity of coastal Georgia with days of yard clean up would have been more than unpleasant.

The solution was parked in the driveway. My 2022 Kia EV6 is equipped with a vehicle to load (V2L) adapter that can provide 120-volt AC power to tools and appliances using the energy stored in its large 77 kWh battery.

I have used the V2L feature to power fans and a coffee maker at events and to run power tools at a construction site. Using it to provide backup power to my home would be a new challenge. I had purchased a small, very efficient, quiet window air conditioner last summer with the thought of running it on solar or using a small Honda generator. I mounted the window unit, ran an extension cord from the car to the house, and powered it up. It ran continuously for nearly 3 days using about 438 Watts of power. Even though it was undersized to adequately cool the entire house, it made a big difference keeping the humidity below 50% and the temperature in the 70’s.

When first connected, the car’s battery was at 88% state of charge. When power was restored 68 hours later and I turned off the AC, the car battery was at 42%. In addition to powering the air conditioner, I used the car to recharge a portable power station twice using an additional 2 kWh of the car’s stored juice.

The math:

• Car battery stores 77 kWh of electricity.
• During the outage the car battery was discharged from 88% to 42% or 35.4 kWh
• We had over 100 miles in range left.
• The air conditioner ran continuously for 68 hours consuming 29.8 kWh
• Charging the power station consumed an additional 2 kWh
• There is some energy loss in the car’s DC to AC conversion
• Recharging the vehicle battery consumed $4.60 in electricity
• Before connecting to the EV6 V2L output, I used my Honda generator to power the air conditioner. It burned 1 gallon of gas in 9 hours of operation. So had I used the generator instead of the car, I would have burned 7.6 gallons of ethanol-free gas, at a cost of $30.40 plus the noise and pollution.
• Our solar system consists of 2 kW solar panels, 10 kWh LFP batteries, and 9 kW grid interactive inverter with stand-alone capability.
• Air conditioner: Energy Star listed Midea 8,000 Btu/h window unit with U=shape design for reduced indoor noise.

We were pleased with the outcome – not only the comfort it provided, but the cost savings, reduced noise and pollution, and flexible long-duration power supply. It provides another example of how EVs make one’s life better.

I was pretty blunt on why I think V2L> V2G in last year's post titled "Too Soon to Worship EV V2G":

• I think all EV's should export power in V2L applications as a base case.
• I think utilities need to figure out energy storage and how to best incorporate energy storage to improve grid resiliency and incorporate renewables better.
• I am not convinced using passenger EV's as an energy storage resource for utilities is the best way to spend the gazillions of dollars it would take to make it a valuable resource for both EV drivers and grid operators.

And Alan's real-world example demonstrates why V2L is adequate for overwhelming majority of V2X applications (at least as it pertains to residential EVs).