MG ZS EV Vehicle to Load (V2L) DIY Upgrade. Powering your House from an Electric Car.
Hi everyone, in this EV Blog we introduce our lock down Electric Car Australia EV YouTube Video on powering your regular household appliances from your electric car. We showcase our do it yourself (DIY) vehicle to load upgrade of the MG ZS EV. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to get out and about recently given the challenges we’re all facing with lockdowns and border closure but it has gave us time to finish a long awaited DIY project we’re been working on with our MG EV.
Vehicle to Load or V2L is all about using and running your normal 240 volt home appliances from your electric car battery. V2L is also perfect for those power outages when you need an immediate onsite emergency electricity source when the grid goes down but you don’t want the toxic exhaust, noise and inconvenience of petrol or diesel generators.
So we done what any sustainability and energy independence advocate who owned an electric car would do, we done a DIY upgrade to our MG ZS EV allowing us to have standard house 240 volt electricity supply wherever we go. We wanted to share our thoughts and experiences do this EV V2L upgrade as we received so many questions from our YouTube channel audience and EV advice customers.
You can watch our MGZSEV EV vehicle to load video HERE (https://youtu.be/kJTBnLXSNes) and please leave your thoughts and comments below in this EV Blog or leave us your feedback in our EV YouTube channel and of course if you’re new to the Electric Car Australia channel and not a Subscriber hit that ‘Subscribe’ button.
The vehicle to load upgrade is not that difficult, is good value for money improving the ZS EV’s practical uses and functionality and we done the entire thing in around an hour. The secret is having the correct gear, right tools and a high quality DC to AC inverter. The inverter is the heart of the upgrade and the most expensive part. The price is heavily dependent on the quality and size of the inverter. We already had one, a Latronics LS Series pure sine wave, but for those that don’t we go through the pricing, brand recommendations and tips and tricks for those people wishing to start a V2L electric car project from scratch.
As well as the DC to AC inverter we show the other bits and pieces required to do the ZS EV vehicle to load upgrade including cables, lugs, fuse and fuse holder as well as the crimping tool to professionally crimp the electrical lugs. We demonstrate what to look out for when you’re buying your electrical lugs as there is a lot of poor quality stuff out there and you definitely don’t want them in your EV project.
The reason we wanted to do the vehicle to load upgrade in our EV is we do a lot of camping and having the additional ability to run small 240 volt appliances from our ZS EV is very handy. It’s also great in an emergency at home if the local grid has a power failure you can keep those basic appliances like fridges, freezers and lights on from your electric car. We’re ok in this regard as we have an old school off grid solar PV and storage system but adding vehicle to load capability to the MG ZS EV provides extra comfort if we had an extended grid outage with overcast or wet weather. Our off grid solar system was also a DIY project and the YouTube video is HERE (https://youtu.be/D9LNcHnNQN4)and we’ve also included a link to that solar EV charging video in the show notes section of this V2G video.
Electric Vehicles are starting to be released with V2L capability included as standard. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 currently being launched includes a normal powerpoint under the back seat with V2L capability and the much anticipated electric version of the most popular ute or pickup in United States of America, the new Ford F150 Lightning will have multiple powerpoint and sockets within the EV ute and some are higher amperage outlets so these will be great for tradies, horse float travelers and general caravanners alike. Unfortunately Ford Australia haven’t committed to bringing the Ford F150 electric ute to Australia at this point so that’s disappointing.
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Mentioned Business’s/Organisations Links:
Ford F150 Lightning – https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/2022/
Hyundai Ioniq 5 – https://www.hyundai.com/au/en/cars/coming-soon/ioniq-5
Latronics LS Series pure sinewave Dc to AC Inverters – https://www.latronics.com.au/ls
Ac/DC Amps calculator – Calculate AC to DC Amperage Through Inverter | BatteryStuff
Watts to Amps calculator – Calculate AC to DC Amperage Through Inverter | BatteryStuff
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Hi Greg. I’ve just watched your YouTube on the MG ZS EV upgrade, and have a question for you on the V2L capability.
We are on the Sunshine Coast at Golden Beach, with an off-grid electricity supply (for the last 7 years). We have a 15A socket connected to allow some supplementary charging at 240V from a 22i Honda generator, with the system set to accept 1200W continuous charge from the generator, which we have used probably on 4 occasions for a few hours in those 7 years.
Would you think the V2L on the new MG ZS could be simply connected into that socket to provide the occasional supplementary charging of the house battery (which by the way was the first LG 6.4kW RESU installed in Australia, connected to SMA inverters).
I’m hoping to charge the MG from the system during daylight hours – we have oodles of excess PV capacity that just goes nowhere at the moment.
Hi Allan
Thanks for getting in touch and congrats on being an off grid solar trail blazer, it’s very satisfying isn’t it.
Firstly I recommend you confirm my thoughts with an electrician, choose one who does EV charger installs as they will be more familiar with EV’s, but yes it should be a perfect solution.
The V2G source of AC electricity should be no different to the generator and as long as your system is limited to draw no more than 2,200 watts (the MG ZS EV’s continuous output rating) from the source. So charging through the day and discharging through the night is a perfect 2nd use for the car. Most people wont have your set-up but since you already have it it’s another benefit of owning an EV is as a huge battery for your house.
A consideration if you where doing it regularly. Remember you will have additional losses if using the car to power a battery charger, then invert that to 240volt then consume. Better to use the car’s 240volt direct if possible. If only occasional use in emergency like you say this wouldn’t be an issue.
Let us know how you go if you proceed.
Cheers
Greg
Thanks for your welcome advice Greg.
Hi Greg – thanks for the informative videos. BYD Atto 3 – (I have a refundable holding deposit for the higher capacity battery model) is scheduled for delivery in July this year.
Specs include a V2L feature – hopefully that means a 3 pin plug outlet. How would I run the lights & TV in the house from this?
Hi Geoffrey
Congrats on ordering an Atto 3, please let us know what you think after you take delivery.
The simplest and cheapest way would be to just plug an extension lead into the outlet on the EV an run it inside to a power board an you appliances. If you wanted something more permanent you would have to get your electrician to set up a dedicated circuit in your house with a changeover switch and a supply input plug in your switchboard.
Bi-directional vehicle to house systems are coming for Type 2/CCS vehicles (which the Atto 3 is) but there not approved for use here yet.
I hope that helps.
Cheers
Greg
does V2L of MG ZS work in ignition off condition also??
In my case no, having ignition off will deplete the 12 volt battery as the HV battery contactors aren’t pulled in to keep the 12 volt charged. Cheers