Nissan LEAF ‘Power to the Home’ System set for Worldwide Release
Car giant, Nissan plans to take its "Power to the Home" system worldwide. The system was previously released into the Japanese market. The company confirmed that the power control system could be offered in Australia in as soon as six months.
On the company's website, Nissan gives the example of charging up a Nissan LEAF at night when there is more capacity for electrical supply and then using that electricity as the daytime power source for a household.
According to Nissan, the use of the system is this way can help alleviate consumption of power in peak periods when demand is highest. Furthermore, Nissan says it can also be used as backup power supply for emergencies.
The Nissan Leaf uses either a 40kWh or 60kWh lithium-ion battery. To get power from the Nissan Leaf to your household, you need to install a PCS (Power Control System) connected to the household's distribution board, while plugged into the Nissan LEAF dc quick charge port.
Also, through the PCS, a Nissan LEAF vehicle can also be charged from the household power supply. As implied by the images, the household power supply can also come from sources other than the mains power connection including wind and solar which can charge up the Nissan Leaf.
In order to take advantage of the Nissan LEAF's battery for household power the high-voltage dc from the battery has to be converted to 200Vac.
On the other hand, when charging the Nissan LEAF battery the 200Vac from the mains power supply has to be converted to dc high-voltage power. In both instances, the PCS manages the electrical conversion and control of the power supply.
Nissan boasts that the Nissan LEAF EV lithium-ion battery has large capacity and high reliability, meaning it can provide a stable power supply.
A fully charged Nissan Leaf (with a 60kWh battery) is said to provide enough power for a typical home for two days. In the U.S. for example, the average household uses about 867kWh per month, according to 2017 statistics the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This translates to roughly 30kWh/day.
According to Nissan, the Power to the Home system is currently undergoing pilot testing Franklin, Tennessee and Hagen, Germany for Leaf fleets. While the company acknowledged plans to bring the technology to the U.S., the release date is still to be finalized.
