[TVEV]

Has anyone tried using an inverter from the 12V accessory socket to power their 230V appliances like laptop charger or LED lights, and maybe the TV?

I was thinking of getting one as an emergency backup in the event of a power cut.

This sort of thing...
BESTEK 300W Power Inverter DC 12V to 230V AC Converter: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

 

[andrew*debbie]

THe LEAF 12V battery is small and The DC-DC converter isn't very powerful. You won't be able to run much off of the car that way.

THere is an external high power Inverer that pulls power directly from the CHAdeMO port. I don't know if it is available in the UK.

 

[AtTheVan]

Has anyone tried using an inverter from the 12V accessory socket to power their 230V appliances like laptop charger or LED lights, and maybe the TV?

I was thinking of getting one as an emergency backup in the event of a power cut.

This sort of thing...
BESTEK 300W Power Inverter DC 12V to 230V AC Converter: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

You can do it, you should have the car "on" to do it so that the DC-DC converter keeps the 12v battery charged.
The Leaf DC-DC converter can do around 70 amps, so around 1000 watts.

Not sure about pulling up to 300 watts from the cigarette socket though, that's around 23 amps and the cigarette lighter socket is usually fused at 10 amp (or 120 watts), so probably it would be a matter of using crocodile clips to the battery terminals.

Remember that a 300 watt inverter is 300 watts maximum (for a short time), they're usually around 240 watts continuous. Also some things don't like running off the cheaper "modified sine wave" inverters, for best compatibility a "true sine wave" inverter is best.

 

[TVEV]

Would be great to be able to plug it in to the CHAdeMO port. Not sure where to look for those.

The TV is only 65W and the table lamp is only 4W, so that would be about 6A. Have I worked that out correctly?

 

[Hitstirrer]

Has anyone tried using an inverter from the 12V accessory socket to power their 230V appliances like laptop charger or LED lights, and maybe the TV?

I was thinking of getting one as an emergency backup in the event of a power cut.

This sort of thing...
BESTEK 300W Power Inverter DC 12V to 230V AC Converter: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

In theory that will work for low powered items for short periods. But there are a few other things to consider. First of all the numerous threads in here over problems with the Leaf 12v battery failing to be kept charged by the traction battery and causing weird faults to develop in the car systems. Draining it deliberately in this way might have unintended car consequences. Then there is the issue of trailing leads from car to appliances trying to overcome power cuts in the dark. The car itself also becomes unavailable to travel without cable fumbling.

I have purchased a large 12v deep cycle leisure battery such as are used by caravan owners on remote sites and wired it up to its own trickle charger and inverter to offer an instant 13amp socket for items you mention. Hidden away in a convenient place with a small mains cable reel it has become my emergency kit without the possibility of adding Leaf problems to the crisis.

 

[donald]

You should be able to run a kW inverter straight off the 12V battery, leaving the car on to keep the DCDC converter running to deliver the power. The DCDC inverter is around 1.5 to 2 kW (not sure anyone really knows) so as long as your car loads are low (turn everything off and stationary) the converter should be able to deliver.

What comes out of the accessory socket will be limited to the fused rating. Usually 20A, so around 200W.

 

[TVEV]

Thanks for all of the replies.

So, it's do-able, but with a few caveats.

As long as I turn the car on and leave it in 'ready-to-drive' mode, the 12V battery should be topped up by the motion battery, as required. And keep the load below 200W max.

Not sure I want to try it, unless someone else has already done it successfully. I think I've seen that guy with the Leaf from Gloucestershire do it in his youtube vids.

What inverter did you use in your external set-up @Hitstirrer ?

 

[AtTheVan]

Not sure I want to try it, unless someone else has already done it successfully. I think I've seen that guy with the Leaf from Gloucestershire do it in his youtube vids.

Turns out that there's a recent use of this in the states by Nikki from Transport Evolved

She used a 1000watt inverter. She had a bit of a problem because her computer didn't like the square wave of the "modified sine wave" but her fridge, laptop and cable modem seemed ok.

She mentioned that in Japan they have the adapter for running a house off the motive battery directly.

 

[Hitstirrer]

What inverter did you use in your external set-up @Hitstirrer ?

Mine is a Nikkai 300 12v DC to 240v AC 300 w - 1000 w power surge- soft start . I've had it a few years and the model now seems to have been discontinued. Its very similar to the one you linked earlier though.

 

[andrew*debbie]

Would be great to be able to plug it in to the CHAdeMO port. Not sure where to look for those.

It has been done, but I'm not aware of anything commercially available in the UK at the moment. Maybe in a year or two?

https://www.enel.com/en/media/press/d201608-nissan-enel-and-nuvve-operate-worlds-first-fully-commercial-vehicle-to-grid-hub-in-denmark.html

Nissan launches ‘groundbreaking’ vehicle-to-grid storage pilot alongside new battery system

Nissan Leaf to supply electricity to National Grid | Autocar


“Vehicle to Home” Electricity Supply System



There is also a 9kW Honda inverter that might work with LEAF.
Use Your Electric Car To Power Your Home With Honda Power Exporter

 

[BSven]

It always seemed to me that the manufacturers were missing a trick by not providing a 230V socket with their EVs, at least as an option. Would be perfect for camping, powered by the traction battery.
But I don't know what regulatory problems there might be?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Craig Stephenson]

I have to power a bouncy castle blower at events, means dragging a genny along.

 

[TVEV]

It always seemed to me that the manufacturers were missing a trick by not providing a 230V socket with their EVs, at least as an option. Would be perfect for camping, powered by the traction battery.
But I don't know what regulatory problems there might be?

It does seem a bit odd that it's not an optional extra. Even a pure sine inverter with 3000W/6000W is only a couple of hundred pounds or so.

I guess they'd have to be careful, as people might try and plug in back into the grid, and also overload precautions.

 

[BSven]

It would be great if you could drive out anywhere and still use your normal power tools. But maybe that is less important nowadays when so many tools are battery operated. At least you could Charge you power tools from the 230 V socket

Imagine a Nissan van fully outfitted for whatever craft, and also being able to provide significant amounts of power. Obviously you'd have to keep an eye on how much is left for the drive home, but surely that can be arranged with some suitable alerts or similar...

You could use it to connect the hoover when cleaning the car.
I'm sure people's imagination can come up with much better ideas.
What about bringing your home stereo along to the next outdoor party?
Or your gaming PC if you always find it hard to be separated from it

But maybe that is the problem, 230 V systems could make tools possible to use outdoors which were never intended to be used outdoors. On the other hand that could be said about any outdoor 3-pin socket

 

[BugOne]

I'd rather get a pair of standard 12v batteries and a solar panel to keep it trickle charged - and stick an inverter on that.

Would be a lot safer than potentially messing up the car for the sake of keeping the TV running!

 

[TVEV]

I'd rather get a pair of standard 12v batteries and a solar panel to keep it trickle charged - and stick an inverter on that.

Would be a lot safer than potentially messing up the car for the sake of keeping the TV running!

If that came packaged in a nice weather-proof box on wheels, had 25kWh of available power and I could leave it on the driveway, I'll have one.

 

[technoev]

Sorry to dig up an old thread but recently had a blackout at home for long enough to cause a nuisance. Given we're now Sept 2018, is there anything on the UK market available now? Would love to be able to power a few limited items of the Leaf's traction battery.

 

[andrew*debbie]

Weren't Ovo going to trial something? I don't know if it will work in a power cut.

 

[technoev]

Weren't Ovo going to trial something? I don't know if it will work in a power cut.

Yeah I heard about that but I took that as something that connects the car to the whole house. I'm not looking for something that integrated. A "clever" box that plugs into my leaf via Chademo and then gives me a 3 pin mains plug to then plug into whatever devices I want. I'd then run an extension cable to plug in whatever devices I needed (obviously making sure I don't overload things). If it's not expensive for such a box then would be handy to keep just in case. Being able to ride out the an evening without power would be fine if I could plug in a couple of LED lamps, TV, music or whatever.

 

[TVEV]

Weren't Ovo going to trial something? I don't know if it will work in a power cut.

The V2G trial?

An update on our
Vehicle to Grid trial


Time has flown since our last update, and we've since had a few questions about what you'll need to be eligible for the trial, and when you'll find out if you have a place.


The V2G trial - what you need:


Your Electric Vehicle: We've entered into a partnership with Nissan and so the V2G Charger will only work on their vehicles. You'll need to own, lease, or be the primary named driver on a Nissan Electric Vehicle, with a battery capacity of 30kWh or more.



Your property: You'll need to be the homeowner of the property where the install is taking place, or have written consent from the homeowner. You also need to have private off-street parking and a broadband connection.



Energy Supply: OVO Energy will need to supply your property's electricity. You can switch to us here, but please be aware that this doesn't guarantee a place on the trial. Unfortunately the trial will not support Economy 7 or similar time of use tariffs.



Smart Meter: You'll need to have a working Smart Meter at your property, and be opted-in to half hourly data sharing. This is so we can optimise your charging and calculate imports and exports to maximise the benefit that you get. You can order one here for free - but again, please be aware that this doesn't guarantee you a place on the trial. Initially, we will be supporting SMETS1 meters, but we hope to be able to support SMETS2 in the near future.



Location: Unfortunately, in the initial phase of the trial we will not be able to install a charger in Scotland or non-mainland UK. Also, initially we will not be able to support homes where electricity is supplied by Electricity North West. You can check who your energy supplier is here. We're working on extending the trial beyond the current areas.



Other microgeneration: If you have on-site microgeneration, its power output will need to be below 4kW.




What happens next?


We're going to start contacting people who we believe meet the eligibility criteria in the next couple of months. We will start with a small number of people as we test our processes, but plan to expand the trial shortly after.


And in the meantime, feel free to check out the OVO forum for all the latest discussions and updates.