Electric vehicles aren't just changing the way you get around. They could very quickly also become indispensable to the electricity network. Before long, for example, you will be able to power your home using the energy stored in the batteries of your electric car. It's called V2H.
The principle of V2H
V2H stands for “Vehicle To Home.” The principle? Allow your vehicle to reinject some of the electricity stored in its batteries into your home network. This operation is made possible thanks to the use of a bidirectional charging station.
V2H technology could gain in importance in our transition to completely renewable energy systems. With bidirectional charging, your electric vehicle batteries no longer only benefit your car, but also the electrical distribution system in your home.
V2G/V2H/V2B: what are the differences?
V2G, V2H, V2B... Do you get lost in all these acronyms? Here is a short summary to help you find your way around.
V2H (“Vehicle-to-Home”) or V2B (“Vehicle-to-Building”) technologies use the same principle, but only at the scale of a home or a building.
In the latter two cases, it may be a question of storing energy when it is least expensive to dispose of it when prices increase. The V2H and V2B systems also represent a backup power supply in the event of a failure on the usual network, in the event of a storm for example.
The advantages of V2H
As a consumer, the V2H has several advantages. This technology allows you, when your vehicle is parked at home (for example at night), to reduce the costs associated with charging it by using stored energy to power your home.
Based on an IPSOS Avere/Mobivia study1 carried out in September 2018, 80% of French people drive less than 50 km per day, the average being 29 km, or about 6 kWh of energy used out of the 40 kWh of average battery capacity...
The 30 kWh available can therefore be used differently. Note, for example, that they correspond to the daily consumption of a household of three people in a 70m² house using electric heating.
From the point of view of the network operator and energy producers, the V2H, which is fully in line with the transition to the “Smartgrid” smart grid, has several advantages:
- It contributes to the regulation of electricity flows
- It accelerates the integration of renewable energies, which is gradually making it possible to break away from nuclear power plants
- It maximizes the use of batteries in the first life to optimize their environmental balance.
The 30 kWh available can therefore be used differently. Note, for example, that they correspond to the daily consumption of a household of three people in a 70m² house using electric heating.
Be ready to benefit from V2H
To use V2H technology and thus power your home using electricity from your electric vehicle batteries, you must own a vehicle equipped with a bi-directional charging system and install a two-way terminal at your home.
This is the case of the smart terminals developed by Qovoltis, which integrate network rebalancing functions for single-family homes, condominiums, businesses and public or private car parks.
In a single-family home, the Qovoltis charging station evaluates household consumption in real time and adapts the charging power granted to the vehicle according to the remaining power available. Thanks to the Qometer, installed in the household electrical panel, the home network is never overloaded, thus avoiding any risk of disjunction.
On the vehicle side, the Japanese, pioneers in the field, are currently developing adapted models. This is for example the case of Toyota, Nissan or Mitsubishi. The V2H should therefore arrive and be deployed very soon on French territory.
Sources: Auto Plus, The Dauphiné, Caradisiac.
