Vehicle to Grid (V2G) - GreenHybrid

bwilson4web · #1 (**permalink**) 09-02-2007, 04:42 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/au...ts&oref=slogin

Quote:

September 2, 2007
Greentech
Power to the People: Run Your House on a Prius

By JIM MOTAVALLI

WHEN Hurricane Frances ripped through Gainesville, Fla., in 2004, Christopher Swinney, an anesthesiologist, was without electricity for a week. A few weeks ago, Dr. Swinney lost power again, but this time he was ready.
He plugged his Prius into the backup uninterruptible power supply unit in his house and soon the refrigerator was humming and the lights were back on. “It was running everything in the house except the central air-conditioning,” Dr. Swinney said.

Without the Prius, the batteries in the U.P.S. unit would have run out of power in about an hour. The battery pack in the car kept the U.P.S. online and was itself recharged by the gasoline engine, which cycled on and off as needed. The U.P.S. has an inverter, which converts the direct current electricity from the batteries to household alternating current and regulates the voltage. As long as it has fuel, the Prius can produce at least three kilowatts of continuous power, which is adequate to maintain a home’s basic functions.

This form of vehicle-to-grid technology, often called V2G, has attracted hobbyists, university researchers and companies like Pacific Gas & Electric and Google. Although there is some skepticism among experts about the feasibility of V2G, the big players see a future in which fleets of hybrid cars, recharged at night when demand is lower, can relieve the grid and help avert serious blackouts. . . .

Yes!!! You can do 1kW today for about $100 or more if you tap the traction battery, which requires technical skills to deal with lethal voltages.

Bob Wilson

Tideland Prius · #2 (**permalink**) 09-02-2007, 12:12 PM

Sweet!

Tochatihu · #3 (**permalink**) 09-03-2007, 07:54 PM

As V2G goes around again in the media, I'd like to emphasize that the 'to grid' part requires an inverter with a sine waveform that is synchronized with the system. This is not typically achieved with 1 kw inverter on the Prius' 12 volt system (as Bob has done), or with larger inverters on the Prius' high voltage system (as Richard Factor has done).

This is not to dispute the obvious value of a Prius supplying 110 vac. But if somebody someday connects their Prius to the grid without attending to this matter, I fear that they will let all the magic smoke out. That would be a shame.

DAS

bwilson4web · #4 (**permalink**) 09-04-2007, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tochatihu

As V2G goes around again in the media, I'd like to emphasize that the 'to grid' part requires an inverter with a sine waveform that is synchronized with the system. This is not typically achieved with 1 kw inverter on the Prius' 12 volt system (as Bob has done), or with larger inverters on the Prius' high voltage system (as Richard Factor has done).

This is not to dispute the obvious value of a Prius supplying 110 vac. But if somebody someday connects their Prius to the grid without attending to this matter, I fear that they will let all the magic smoke out. That would be a shame.

Actually it should be isolated from the grid and used only for local house power . . . not to the pole. One of the problems disaster crews face is the risk of a line being powered by a home generator. They don't need that hazard.

Bob Wilson