By Greentech Lead America: PowerStream and Nissan Canada
demonstrated vehicle-to-home (V2H), a system where a fully or partially charged
battery in an electric vehicle (EV) can provide power to a home at the Georgian
College Auto Show in Canada.
Vehicle-to-home is developed by the Nissan Motor Company.
The technology allows Nissan LEAF owners in Ontario to better manage their
electricity costs through load shifting as well as provide a backup power
source for their homes for up to four hours during an outage.
The demonstration involves the use of a Nissan LEAF
plugged into a power control system (PCS) that enables the car’s battery to
power lights, appliances and other devices in the home. An automatic transfer
switch (ATS) allows for the home’s electricity supply source to be switched
from the power grid to the battery in the EV through the PCS.
“The public debut of V2H in Canada today will drive
new advancements and collaboration in the auto industry of tomorrow. V2H will
foster literal connections, such as those between vehicles, infrastructure, the
Internet, and the nation’s electrical grid, and the connections and
relationships between engineers who are developing the next generation vehicle
technology,” said Allen Childs, President of Nissan Canada.
PowerStream and Nissan believe this system will allow
households to be supplied with a stable amount of electricity throughout the
day and reduce any potential burdens on the current power supply by charging
and storing electricity in Nissan LEAF with electricity generated at night or
through sustainable methods such as solar power, and using it during high
demand periods.
The output from the Nissan LEAF can
provide enough power to operate high electricity-consuming appliances in the
home, such as an air conditioner, stove, refrigerator, washing machine and
dryer, at the same time for approximately a full day.
PowerStream is the first Canadian company to take
delivery of two Nissan LEAF vehicles in July 2011. PowerStream added the Nissan
LEAFs to its fleet for use in conjunction with the company’s electric vehicle
smart charging station pilot program.
“This is the second time in short order that
PowerStream and Nissan have partnered to showcase a new environmental
technology to Canadians,” said Frank Scarpitti, PowerStream’s Board chair
and mayor of the Town of Markham.
Nissan adopts EV charging stations in California
Recently, Nissan North America in partnership with
Adopt a Charger adopted 15 electric vehicle chargers in California. The
partnership aims to accelerate the widespread acceptance of electric vehicles
to address environmental concerns.