EV owners can now charge their cars when energy costs less and then sell back what they don’t use
With the price of electricity through the roof, buying it at a low price during off-peak times and then selling it back at a higher one when demand returns sounds very appealing.
To do this, you need to be able to store your surplus power until the price is right, which is where electric cars, with their large batteries, are essential. It’s why the process is known as vehicle-to-grid or, more modishly, V2G.
The idea is being hotly debated and is regarded, at least by some, as the answer to smoothing out the peaks and troughs in renewable energy supply, making it more practicable and thus reducing our dependency on fossil fuel. The possibility of consumers selling their unwanted renewable energy for a profit is a welcome side benefit, but the real prize, say many, is accelerating the world’s shift to renewables.
Charging with an Ohme smart charging cable
A major step on the road to testing V2G’s viability has just been completed, and the results appear to be positive. Electric Nation, a project involving partners including Western Power Distribution (WPD) and Crowd Charge, a demand management provider, equipped the homes of 100 Nissan EV owners with Wallbox Quasar V2G chargers that charged and discharged their cars’ batteries and gave them a choice of four energy suppliers offering at least two different tariffs, including off-peak.
Read more: Autocar
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