Powering House Appliances From i3

[Fisher99]

This is interesting. It looks like he is connecting the inverter to the 12v battery's positive post?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq-jOmAyraY

 

[alohart]

Apparently, the maximum output of the DC-DC converter is 2.5 kW @ 12 V. With inverter losses, the AC output wouldn't power very many appliances. A 15 A 120 V circuit is 1.8 kW. One really needs the DC output of the battery pack to power a small household.

 

[EvanstonI3]

I don't see how this is any different than doing the same thing with an ICE vehicle and having it idle to keep the 12v from going dead.

 

[3pete]

I don't see how this is any different than doing the same thing with an ICE vehicle and having it idle to keep the 12v from going dead.

It's really not any different... but also it is different in ways that may or may not matter. You can safely do it in an enclosed space (BEV only) for one. And there's no engine idling sound.

The biggest one might be that after the outage you can plug your car back in and it "refills the tank" without an extra trip created.

Now that my warranty is expired anyway, I will admit that I did this the day I was having my main breaker box replaced and there was no power to the house for a few hours. The i3 + my inverter happily powered my internet/networking devices, laptop and second monitor so I could work from home. One of the electricians was very impressed. The other one couldn't have been less impressed and said "any car can do that!" :lol:

After they left, I plugged the car back in and left for work the next day with a full charge.