Discharging Vehicle to power....????

[i3green]

what do you guys think if BMW would give you the option to use your vehicles battery as an mobile battery to power whatever you could think of.

lets say you were able to feed excessive power that you don't need in your vehicle to power your house, cabin, ..... to lower the electric bill. pretty much energy swapping on demand to have the least amount of wasted energy and low cost.

wrong thinking or maybe something to consider.

 

[sheinr4143]

i3green,

DC to AC converter devices from other electric vehicle manufacturers have been available for some years and are capable of powering electrical appliances directly from the electric vehicle traction battery via the vehicle's quick charge outlet. Very handy when the need arises to operate high wattage electrical appliances when camping, for example, or during a power outage.

http://www.plugincars.com/mitsubishi-unveils-blackout-inspired-i-miev-power-box-114873.html

 

[i3green]

i3green,

DC to AC converter devices from other electric vehicle manufacturers have been available for some years and are capable of powering electrical appliances directly from the electric vehicle traction battery via the vehicle's quick charge outlet. Very handy when the need arises to operate high wattage electrical appliances when camping, for example, or during a power outage.

http://www.plugincars.com/mitsubishi-unveils-blackout-inspired-i-miev-power-box-114873.html

well, i know. that why i choose to post the question in "suggestions for BMW" and not suggestion for other manufacture

would it be something a common i3 owner is interested or rather not? since the car sits unused most of its time anyway why not give the battery another purpose.

 

[FrancisJeffries]

would it be something a common i3 owner is interested in?

This UK i3 owner would be VERY interested.
What with the Government shutting down most of the country's coal-powered power stations, and not replacing them with anything else for ten years, power cuts look increasingly likely.
The UK government seems to think that it can solve "manmade global warming" single-handedly, despite Germany - for example - having just commissioned a new coal-fired station (because they've shut down all their nuclear plants?). You couldn't make it up. :lol:
As an aside, I can also foresee the possibility of EV users being offered cheaper electricity in the daytime when the solar plants are on, or when the wind's blowing because it'll reduce the demand on base-load power plants at night!

 

[S3RDP]

would it be something a common i3 owner is interested in?

This UK i3 owner would be VERY interested.
What with the Government shutting down most of the country's coal-powered power stations, and not replacing them with anything else for ten years, power cuts look increasingly likely.
The UK government seems to think that it can solve "manmade global warming" single-handedly, despite Germany - for example - having just commissioned a new coal-fired station (because they've shut down all their nuclear plants?). You couldn't make it up. :lol:
As an aside, I can also foresee the possibility of EV users being offered cheaper electricity in the daytime when the solar plants are on, or when the wind's blowing because it'll reduce the demand on base-load power plants at night!

Well said Francis. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The grid has lots of inefficiencies, and little means to store energy. Being able to level out the load would mean savings to all. But, the quantity of EV's sold would have to rise radically for them to be a useful storage medium of any significance. ANd, think of it this way...while they'd want to use your battery to store excess, that might also mean they'd want to use it up when there was a deficit...often, that's during the day, especially in the middle of summer when a/c loads are high, or super cold when the heating needs are greatest...not sure I'd want them to use my EV's battery to help even out the supply!

If EV's were the majority of vehicles out there, a percent here or there spread over that huge capacity could make a big difference, and most people wouldn't notice. That day may come, but it's awhile away.

It would be handy if you could use your vehicle's battery capacity to power your home if there were a power outage, but I'm not sure most people would want to pay for the required ac power supply required or the electrical transfer equipment required to make it safe for the rest of the grid. And, it would take some work to separate the 'required' circuits in the house from the nice to have so you could stretch that capacity as far as possible. While long outages are not common, they do happen. Most people are not willing to pay for the required prep to make it less painful.