Excellent news for Nissan LEAF house owners: The automaker is approving its first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charger for its LEAF mannequin, that means house owners can now promote vitality again to the grid. Sending vitality again to the grid out of your EV might help scale back utility prices throughout peak utilization.
The Nissan LEAF was first launched to the market in 2010 as one of many first mass-market battery electrical autos. Since then, the EV has had considerably of an epic rise, then fall, and is making one other comeback.
Nissan LEAF was the best-selling EV in Europe within the first half of 2018, with 37,000 orders and 18,000 deliveries. To place this in perspective, Ford bought 32,607 EVs in August 2022 between the Ford F-150 Lightning pickup and Mustang Mach-e.
Nissan was clearly forward of its time when it launched the LEAF. However occasions have modified, and with a number of automakers and new EV startups introducing electrical fashions, the Leaf has misplaced some floor.
However this early EV mannequin had just a little secret – all LEAFs since mannequin 12 months 2013 have been delivered with bidirectional charging functionality, also called “vehicle-to-grid” or V2G. Till now, they’ve lacked a charging unit able to leveraging that functionality within the US, however right this moment Nissan introduced availability of that very factor.
The Nissan LEAF is getting its first-ever V2G charger
Nissan introduced Wednesday it’s approving the primary vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charger for LEAF house owners. The automaker is partnering with Fermata Power to make the LEAF appropriate for promoting vitality again to the grid with the FE-15 bidirectional charger.
V2G charging means LEAF house owners can ship vitality again to the grid to avoid wasting on utility prices and help grid well being.
Nissan mentioned the LEAF is:
At the moment the one totally electrical passenger automobile within the US market in a position to provide vitality to the grid, permitting LEAF house owners with the Fermata Power FE-15 bi-directional charger to park their automobile, plug it in, and lower your expenses with their native electrical utility in addition to scale back the full value of possession of the automobile.
V2G expertise makes the LEAF the appropriate match for industrial and residential prospects. Particular person LEAF house owners can ship vitality by means of the FE-15 charger again to the grid from their EV battery to avoid wasting throughout peak hours.
Moreover, companies can energy their buildings throughout peak hours utilizing Fermata’s Power Demand Cost Administration app. The service displays an workplace’s electrical energy utilization, utilizing vitality from the LEAF – or extra possible, LEAFs – when vitality charges are excessive.
(Replace: For instance, throughout the present California warmth wave, spot costs for electrical energy are peaking at above $3/kWh at 5pm, which implies draining a LEAF battery may make you greater than $100 at wholesale charges – not a foul day’s work for doing nothing in any respect)
Electrek’s Take
Nice transfer, Nissan. Car-to-grid expertise has countless potential. Think about a world the place your fleet of Nissan LEAFs can energy your whole enterprise. Nicely, now this can be a actuality.
Nissan joins different automakers like Ford, who partnered with Duke Power earlier this 12 months to permit F-150 Lightning house owners to make the most of V2G and reduce down on vitality prices. I mentioned it final month, and I nonetheless imagine it to be true, V2G expertise is simply getting began.
Ford and now Nissan are beginning a brand new development that may save EV house owners cash in the long term. Not solely that, however it will probably additionally assist stabilize the grid and decrease total vitality prices. It’s simply one other profit so as to add to the listing of proudly owning an EV.
