Vehicle to Load (V2L)

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clockworks

Original Poster:

6,711 posts

159 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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Currently got an XC40 plug-in hybrid, which I charge using a Toughleads 13A extension lead and a granny charger.
I'm getting a Zappi charger installed next week, ready for my new Kia EV3 which arrives in 4 weeks.

The EV3 does V2L, and comes with a suitable adaptor. 3.6kW output.

I'm wondering what the easiest way of using V2L for emergency house power would be. Kettle, couple of USB chargers, maybe a small heater, via an extension lead.

The granny charger extension comes down the side of the house from the driveway, and into the integrated garage through a disused tumble dryer vent pipe.

Ste-EVo

163 posts

165 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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Excuse my lack of knowledge but what is V2L?

essayer

10,129 posts

208 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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Vehicle to load - powering mains devices from the car battery using a dedicated lead

ashenfie

1,188 posts

60 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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I think it’s still the case that the Zappi does not support V2L . There are a hole load of similar standards like V2G all competing for adoption. We currently don’t know which standard will win out. In terms of backup power supply the house router and kettle make the most sense. It would be simply enough to by the adapter and use your extension cable to manually switch over. Make sure the cable is in good order as most house fires are cause by them.

Turtle Shed

2,018 posts

40 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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Hard wired back into the consumer unit via some kind of electronic alchemy? This is what happens with solar via a hybrid inverter isn't it?

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing of course, but once set up this would surely be the best way.

Would love to do it with my Nissan Leaf, but not going to happen with a car over ten years old.

Aunty Pasty

782 posts

52 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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Forget V2G. It's too up in the air at the moment. I'm assuming you want some sort of backup for your important stuff if the power was to go down? I would get a UPS and then use the V2L adapter to keep the UPS juiced up for such cases.

clockworks

Original Poster:

6,711 posts

159 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
quotequote all
Vehicle to grid or vehicle to home would be ideal, but UK standards have apparently only just been agreed, so no suitable hardware yet.

I'm just looking for a cheap (but safe, i.e. waterproof) way of getting emergency power during power cuts. An extension lead of some kind will do the job, it's just getting from the car into the garage.
I see that Toughleads do a 15m cable that plugs into the car and ends in a 13A socket, for £150. Wondering if I can reuse my existing Toughleads extension in some way.

OutInTheShed

11,078 posts

40 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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We had a power cut yesterday, first for about 4 years.
It was off for about 2 minutes, then back on, then off, on off for about 5 minutes and then back on.

Previous power cut was about 8 hours.


You have to deice what kind of crisis you are prepping for.

Personally, I'd think about being able to power the frdidge, freezer, charge my phone and laptop, maybe run the central heating.
A kettle would be luxury, but I have a gas hob. I own some battery lights.

Unless you live on the moors, there's probably little value in spending real money.
It quickly gets expensive for stuff you'll probably never use.

If I did live in some kind of semi-wilderness where you might expect a multi-day power cut to be less improbable, I wouldn't be wanting to take 10's of kWh out of my car. Those are the times when you want to have half a tank of fuel 'just in case'.

It would also be about my normal luck for such a power cut to happen when I'd just driven home and my car was empty anyway.
Or when my partner is away at the inlaws and I'd be sat there with a grand's worth of V2H adaptor and a diesel shed on the drive.

Just buy a long extension lead so you can run the fridge and kettle.

PetrolHeadInRecovery

255 posts

29 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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Aunty Pasty said:
Forget V2G. It's too up in the air at the moment. I'm assuming you want some sort of backup for your important stuff if the power was to go down? I would get a UPS and then use the V2L adapter to keep the UPS juiced up for such cases.
This sounds like an elegant solution!

I don't know about EV3, but I understood that with Ioniq 5 (and EV6, I presume), you can use the V2L adapter and the power socket under the rear seat at the same time. So 7.2kW max power and two separate circuits (one for UPS for stuff that won't tolerate any downtime, another for stuff fridges/freezers that won't mind a few minutes of downtime if you need to unplug temporary).

No first-hand experience of anything this advanced. I've just occasionally used a vacuum cleaner, and there was a 1000km day in the office with a laptop (to be clear: passenger seat, not while driving).

clockworks

Original Poster:

6,711 posts

159 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
quotequote all
We tend to have at least one power cut a year, usually repaired within 24 hours.

It's just really to make hot drinks, recharge stuff, and run the freezer if it lasts more than half a day.
We already have a Jackery power bank that can keep the router running all day, a load of USB power packs, and a couple of battery-powered LED lamps.

Not worth spending a lot of money, at least until V2H can be implemented for less than the cost of a 10kWh house battery.

The EV3 has an 80+ kWh battery, enough to run the house for 4 days

dapprman

2,568 posts

281 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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On one of the GV60 Facebook groups someone in Wales showed an outdoor extension cable connected to their GV60 and leading to to the house. I assume there was a chain inside but we do know his freezer was attached to it - can't remember how long he said he had lost power for in the storms, but it was not short.

Me - plugged my laptop in to it once (and that was the interior plug (if you do not go for it with the car you can still use the adapter with your type 2 port).

Pistonheadsdicoverer

652 posts

60 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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PetrolHeadInRecovery said:
This sounds like an elegant solution!

I don't know about EV3, but I understood that with Ioniq 5 (and EV6, I presume), you can use the V2L adapter and the power socket under the rear seat at the same time. So 7.2kW max power and two separate circuits (one for UPS for stuff that won't tolerate any downtime, another for stuff fridges/freezers that won't mind a few minutes of downtime if you need to unplug temporary).

No first-hand experience of anything this advanced. I've just occasionally used a vacuum cleaner, and there was a 1000km day in the office with a laptop (to be clear: passenger seat, not while driving).
Does that mean that technically you could CHARGE and USE the power without using any power ports inside the car? So use your car as a giant UPS.

FarmyardPants

4,209 posts

232 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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Pistonheadsdicoverer said:
Does that mean that technically you could CHARGE and USE the power without using any power ports inside the car? So use your car as a giant UPS.
No, the exterior V2L adapter occupies the charging port.

PetrolHeadInRecovery

255 posts

29 months

Sunday 8th December 2024
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FarmyardPants said:
Pistonheadsdicoverer said:
Does that mean that technically you could CHARGE and USE the power without using any power ports inside the car? So use your car as a giant UPS.
No, the exterior V2L adapter occupies the charging port.
Haven't tried the plug in the car while charging, but it seems charging would drop the car out of the utility mode (that you need to activate the power socket when the car is not on).

So the giant UPS option would probably require a bit of human intervention (and a smaller UPS to manage charging times).

Ardennes92

652 posts

94 months

Thursday 12th December 2024
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dapprman said:
On one of the GV60 Facebook groups someone in Wales showed an outdoor extension cable connected to their GV60 and leading to to the house. I assume there was a chain inside but we do know his freezer was attached to it - can't remember how long he said he had lost power for in the storms, but it was not short.

Me - plugged my laptop in to it once (and that was the interior plug (if you do not go for it with the car you can still use the adapter with your type 2 port).
If he was anything like us, the power was off for 40 hours (sp networks got most of it back on before having to pay compensation) although some around us were off for nearer to 72 hours.