putting the home backup battery to use (power out)!
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@susankayequinn smart application for V2L. Do you have a transfer switch or is it all automagic when you have a grid outage?
@weezmgk our home battery (13kWh) automagically runs the house power in an outage but that's not much pwr for running the furnace in winter, esp when there's not much solar to recharge the battery (we've got rain/clouds predicted for days). So hubby configured the furnace to run off an extension cord from the V2L. That was easier to set up than a transfer switch to power the whole house with the car. (Heat is majority of pwr usage)
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@weezmgk our home battery (13kWh) automagically runs the house power in an outage but that's not much pwr for running the furnace in winter, esp when there's not much solar to recharge the battery (we've got rain/clouds predicted for days). So hubby configured the furnace to run off an extension cord from the V2L. That was easier to set up than a transfer switch to power the whole house with the car. (Heat is majority of pwr usage)
@weezmgk next time I would get a home battery like GM where you can plug the car straight into the home battery. this is how all battery tech should be in the future
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@weezmgk next time I would get a home battery like GM where you can plug the car straight into the home battery. this is how all battery tech should be in the future
@susankayequinn Yes, I saw you have a Tesla system (like mine). Mine has a Gateway2. I wonder if that has facilities for an automatic transfer that I just don't know about yet. Would be super convenient.
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@susankayequinn Yes, I saw you have a Tesla system (like mine). Mine has a Gateway2. I wonder if that has facilities for an automatic transfer that I just don't know about yet. Would be super convenient.
@weezmgk yeah we have Gateway2 as well...I looked into setting up a transfer switch, to feed power from the car to the whole house/battery, but it was a hassle. This was a good compromise that covered the one real scenario when we'd need it. This is the first time we've had to use it!
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putting the home backup battery to use (power out)! got my EV plugged into the furnace so we have heat for a good while, probably days
(this exact scenario--winter outage, low solar--is why hubby reconfigured the furnace to run off my Ioniq6 V2L)
why we have backup power...most outages over the last 4 years have been ~5 min...but the last 2 years of record heat? Hours and days, incl that 4 day outage when the big storm hit PGH last May.
More info on how to plan for outages in a warming world: https://susankayequinn.com/2025/01/backup-power-for-air-filters-water.html
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@weezmgk yeah we have Gateway2 as well...I looked into setting up a transfer switch, to feed power from the car to the whole house/battery, but it was a hassle. This was a good compromise that covered the one real scenario when we'd need it. This is the first time we've had to use it!
@susankayequinn Just poked around the G2 manual. You're quite right, it doesn't have a built-in V2L capability. Also true that an automatic transfer switch is a bit of costly faffing around. We recently had the grid upgraded around our place so outages have been reduced. Our 3 Pw2s are enough to handle the current level of outages and we don't have an EV (yet). But I'll probably do it when we get there!
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why we have backup power...most outages over the last 4 years have been ~5 min...but the last 2 years of record heat? Hours and days, incl that 4 day outage when the big storm hit PGH last May.
More info on how to plan for outages in a warming world: https://susankayequinn.com/2025/01/backup-power-for-air-filters-water.html
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@susankayequinn Just poked around the G2 manual. You're quite right, it doesn't have a built-in V2L capability. Also true that an automatic transfer switch is a bit of costly faffing around. We recently had the grid upgraded around our place so outages have been reduced. Our 3 Pw2s are enough to handle the current level of outages and we don't have an EV (yet). But I'll probably do it when we get there!
@weezmgk @susankayequinn the Anker f3800 & f3800Plus system @czds and I have allows us to add in our Ioniq5 battery either by disconnecting one f3800 at a time and using 120V AC V2L to charge it and its expansion battery, or by putting the car in Utility mode and plugging the Anker adapter cable for the car’s 12V power outlet into the DC XT60 input of the f3800s, making the EV part of the system. So far, the longest outage we’ve had was >10 hours but we didn’t need the EV battery.
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putting the home backup battery to use (power out)! got my EV plugged into the furnace so we have heat for a good while, probably days
(this exact scenario--winter outage, low solar--is why hubby reconfigured the furnace to run off my Ioniq6 V2L)
@susankayequinn when I set up my system a few years back, I actually tried to get the V2L system set up, but my city had no code that would allow it. They also had significant limitations on "in home" batteries (25kWh).
So you could park a 100kWh Tesla in the garage and drive it around in a way that could damage the battery. And it is fine to park it in the garage. But the immobile battery was limited to a quarter of that.
Anyhow, good job on getting the V2L set up. The couple of times our backups have kicked in, we were really happy to have them. I just hope we can get through more of these administrative and cost hurdles so that we can get more tools like this to more people.
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@weezmgk @susankayequinn the Anker f3800 & f3800Plus system @czds and I have allows us to add in our Ioniq5 battery either by disconnecting one f3800 at a time and using 120V AC V2L to charge it and its expansion battery, or by putting the car in Utility mode and plugging the Anker adapter cable for the car’s 12V power outlet into the DC XT60 input of the f3800s, making the EV part of the system. So far, the longest outage we’ve had was >10 hours but we didn’t need the EV battery.
It really does depend on where you live and what kinds of outages you can expect (and expect to get worse as the climate worsens).
Here in Pittsburgh, climate change means more-sudden, more-powerful twisters and/or wind that brings down trees and power lines.
In summer, solar +home battery covers all our needs, incl AC on incr runs of 95F+ days.
Winter is where an extended outage is a problem — and the EV saves us.
Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 (@susankayequinn@wandering.shop)
Attached: 1 image why we have backup power...most outages over the last 4 years have been ~5 min...but the last 2 years of record heat? Hours and days, incl that 4 day outage when the big storm hit PGH last May. More info on how to plan for outages in a warming world: https://susankayequinn.com/2025/01/backup-power-for-air-filters-water.html
The Wandering Shop (wandering.shop)
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@weezmgk @susankayequinn the Anker f3800 & f3800Plus system @czds and I have allows us to add in our Ioniq5 battery either by disconnecting one f3800 at a time and using 120V AC V2L to charge it and its expansion battery, or by putting the car in Utility mode and plugging the Anker adapter cable for the car’s 12V power outlet into the DC XT60 input of the f3800s, making the EV part of the system. So far, the longest outage we’ve had was >10 hours but we didn’t need the EV battery.
Last year's 4 day outage was in May, which was lucky — power needs were low, sun was plentiful. (Spring/Fall are when we're sending lots of solar power back to the grid).
During the outage we literally had more power than we could use, so I put out an extension cord and taught the neighborhood a little bit about community/mutual aid. The reaction was WILD — people thought it was incredible that I would do this. SIGH.
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@susankayequinn when I set up my system a few years back, I actually tried to get the V2L system set up, but my city had no code that would allow it. They also had significant limitations on "in home" batteries (25kWh).
So you could park a 100kWh Tesla in the garage and drive it around in a way that could damage the battery. And it is fine to park it in the garage. But the immobile battery was limited to a quarter of that.
Anyhow, good job on getting the V2L set up. The couple of times our backups have kicked in, we were really happy to have them. I just hope we can get through more of these administrative and cost hurdles so that we can get more tools like this to more people.
@gatesvp someday, I genuinely believe, everyone's going to have solar, home battery and an EV (apartment people will have residential charging for their cars, collective solar on their roofs, balcony solar, backup power for the whole building etc, preferably on a coop model, and of course we should have better/more public transit and fewer cars overall). This future is further away in America due to the fascists, but it's already arriving in Europe and especially China (and California too).
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@susankayequinn when I set up my system a few years back, I actually tried to get the V2L system set up, but my city had no code that would allow it. They also had significant limitations on "in home" batteries (25kWh).
So you could park a 100kWh Tesla in the garage and drive it around in a way that could damage the battery. And it is fine to park it in the garage. But the immobile battery was limited to a quarter of that.
Anyhow, good job on getting the V2L set up. The couple of times our backups have kicked in, we were really happy to have them. I just hope we can get through more of these administrative and cost hurdles so that we can get more tools like this to more people.
@gatesvp it is also crazy how regulations can be *so far behind* on this, but that's generally not by accident — utilities really do invest all kinds of $ in preventing conversion to solar. Solar (and the battery backups) are radical decentralization of power, and they do not want that. It'll be a fight the whole way.
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why we have backup power...most outages over the last 4 years have been ~5 min...but the last 2 years of record heat? Hours and days, incl that 4 day outage when the big storm hit PGH last May.
More info on how to plan for outages in a warming world: https://susankayequinn.com/2025/01/backup-power-for-air-filters-water.html
someday, everyone's going to have solar, home battery and an EV (apartment people will have residential charging for their cars, collective solar on their roofs, balcony solar, backup power for the whole building etc, preferably on a coop model). This future is further away in America due to the fascists, but it's already arriving in Europe and especially China.
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someday, everyone's going to have solar, home battery and an EV (apartment people will have residential charging for their cars, collective solar on their roofs, balcony solar, backup power for the whole building etc, preferably on a coop model). This future is further away in America due to the fascists, but it's already arriving in Europe and especially China.
oh look, it's going to get worse https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/an-el-nino-is-brewing
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why we have backup power...most outages over the last 4 years have been ~5 min...but the last 2 years of record heat? Hours and days, incl that 4 day outage when the big storm hit PGH last May.
More info on how to plan for outages in a warming world: https://susankayequinn.com/2025/01/backup-power-for-air-filters-water.html
@susankayequinn very helpful for me someday when I can afford solar
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@susankayequinn very helpful for me someday when I can afford solar
@dgodon balcony solar might be an affordable option!
I also highly recommend community solar, which doesn't cost anything (and might save money)
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someday, everyone's going to have solar, home battery and an EV (apartment people will have residential charging for their cars, collective solar on their roofs, balcony solar, backup power for the whole building etc, preferably on a coop model). This future is further away in America due to the fascists, but it's already arriving in Europe and especially China.
@susankayequinn not quite correct. Many people shouldn’t need a car if we’re doing it right.
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@dgodon balcony solar might be an affordable option!
I also highly recommend community solar, which doesn't cost anything (and might save money)
@susankayequinn heard about this on the Volts podcast and sounds intriguing. I think there’s a bill being considered in the WA legislature this session to facilitate this
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@kim_harding Not only does battery demand for EVs *not* work against people getting home batteries, they actually facilitate it:
1 - economies of scale for EV batteries has already shown to help home and utility battery buildout
2- EV batteries are outlasting the car bodies; there will be a lot of car batteries repurposed into home batteries when the car bodies are done
3 - there's a lot of (not helpful) EV/car hate out there; there's no reason we can't do EVs *and* public transit
