As millions of people fired up generators and burned candles in the wake of superstorm Sandy, some EV owners hacked their cars to keep their lights on and refrigerators humming.
For Virginia resident Scott Wilson, that involved nothing more than making sure his Nissan Leaf’s battery pack was topped up the night before, along with having a ProWatt 1000 DC-to-AC converter and a pair of $25 cables at the ready. And it’s something that EV owners along the east coast can do as they prepare for the latest nor’easter front.
After the derecho storm hit the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest in June of this year and Wilson lost power for a few days, he wanted a sure-fire plan to keep the juice flowing during Sandy. That involved ordering the ProWatt from an online marine store (for $270), which could use the electricity from his Leaf’s 24 kWh lithium-ion battery pack to power his refrigerator, microwave and even his coffee maker — although not all at once.
“I had the inverter hooked up and ready earlier in the day,” Wilson told Wired, explaining that the modification had been done by many members on the MyNissanLeaf enthusiast site, and others involved in the Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington, DC.
The Leaf’s DC-DC converter can supply up to 1.7kW of electricity, but keeping the draw between 1.0 and 1.5 kW is the safer bet, according to members of the EVADC website. And the real key is making sure not to plug the converter’s terminals to the negative post on the Leaf’s 12V auxiliary battery — it’s equipped with sensors and could have implications for the charging system.
With that caveat in mind, Wilson managed to make himself a fresh pot of coffee the morning of the storm. Had the power been out any longer, he figures he could intermittently powered several appliances for at least three or four days.
While this roll-your-own solution is relatively new in the U.S., with only a handful of the geekiest EV and hybrid owners employing the setup in the last few months, Nissan has offered an official solution that’s been on sale in Japan since June.
Originally shown as a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show last year, the “Leaf to Home” system was a response by the automaker following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March of 2011 and left millions without power.
That system can output a maximum voltage of 6 kW, harnessing the energy stored by the Leaf to power a typical Japanese home for days. Nissan has sold around 200 of the charging/power systems in Japan in the last few months, but Nissan hasn’t been able to make a business case to begin selling the setup in the U.S.
“America’s household power needs are more than double what the average Japanese household uses,” says Steve Yaeger of Nissan North America, “so it’s a question whether the value for the buck is enough to make it viable here in the U.S.”
As for the warranty implications of owners modifying their own Leafs to power their appliances, Yaeger says, “if there is no outward evidence, I don’t know how they could be caught unless it combusted or something!” Considering the DC-to-AC converter doesn’t require any splicing or soldiering – it simply connects to the 12V battery’s terminal – all owners have to do is unplug the converter and they’re on their way, warranty intact.
EV Hack Keeps Homes Humming After Hurricane Sandy
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EV Hack Keeps Homes Humming After Hurricane Sandy
