How Bi-Directional EV Charging Works

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Solar Surge will teach you all about being energy independent and how to set up your home to run off-the-grid during an emergency. We empower families to take control of their energy generation and storage so that they will never be left in the dark without electricity.

In this video, Joe explains how you can use your electric vehicle as a backup battery and save thousands.

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[WalterA-bd]

I have been waiting for Enphase to market their Bi Directional EV Charger for over a year. Ready to buy if it ever becomes available.

[allsolartexas]

Thanks, Joe! We just partnered with Qmerit as a certified installer for the greater Houston market and Bryan College Station area!

[tonyemerson]

Joe, the main problem today with this is that very few manufacturers are supporting bidirectional charging. Nissan was first with the leaf based on CHAdeMO, Ford supports this with add-ons to the F150 Lightning and several others have announced support but generally with their proprietary systems. VW has announced this but doesn't have a solution today. Several firms support VTL - Vehicle to Load but at fairly low amperage. Tesla speaks about this but has no solution for the vast majority of their vehicles.

[allenaxp]

Excellent video on Bi directional EV charging. Thanks!

[charleshill]

Do both! You need a smaller whole home battery so you don't leave everyone in the dark if you need to drive away.

[RICARDO]

Any idea when we'll start seeing the first of these systems? I feel like there's a fair deal of standardization to be done before this is in a smooth state.
Anyhow, can't wait to start offering these systems

[scottgruber]

What current EV cars are able to work with Bi Directional home back up ?

[nevadaxtube]

A year ago you mentioned in a video that Solaredge was coming out with a bi-directional charger. It's a year later and still no bi-directional charger. What's happening? Do you plan to update this story? Thanks.

[Scott-smnm]

Wondering if you can take the 9.6 kW 240v NEMA 14-50 output of the Cybertruck bed (or other BEVs) and hook it up to the 'generator' input of the Anker Solix X1 system? Seems like it would work just like a generator with a L1, L2, NEU, & GRND coming from the BEV vehicle. Supposedly the Anker Solix X1 will also charge the battery from the 'generator'. This would be great to fill the battery during the day and use it overnight (to keep neighborhood quiet) as well as if the 'generator' is a BEV truck that you can run errands in or 'fill up' at a charging site (Tesla Supercharger, etc).

[Scott-smnm]

The trouble with the Tesla Cybertruck PowerShare tech is it only works with the Gateway 3V (vehicle) and their UWC (latest Universal Wall Connector). It is does not work with any other Gateway V2 (or V3) of theirs. It also is not currently compatible or known to be compatible with the Tesla Powerwall V3. ** - Supposedly 4Q 2024 with software updates it will allow: UWC|WC + any Powerwall system (Powerwall battery & gateway [island/site controller])

[chanhle]

Will there be more videos on this topic to go through how this can be implemented for a given home? And more broadly, if a home already have existing equipment, what would it take (including future developments) for me to say, plug in a Silverado EV into my Tesla solar/battery home system and let the Tesla hardware recognize the source of power I just plugged in and available to pull? What sort of interoperability would this require to accomplish? Is it all software based? Would love to explore more. TYIA 🙏

[JupiterMoJo]

We've got a brand new Tesla PW3 / GW2 install. Plan is to get new Juniper MY next year once they announce bi-directional across all models, anticipated in 2025. Long Range Model Y = 5+ PW3s...

[adstix]

So with regards to home back-up, what difference would it make if the EV was powered by Lithium Ion or LFP batteries?

[RussellFineArt]

I have 160kWh’s of batteries in my garage with my 2 Tesla’s, and would love to have them be a battery back up.

[smallmj]

I worry about shortening an EV battery's lifespan. Maybe when solid state batteries are available it will be a better idea.

[tonykelpie]

Can current Tesla models be upgraded to enable bidirectional charging?

[bobpoggi]

WHAT IS THE ROUGH COST OF A BIDIRECTIONAL CHARGER?

[accountability]

PSA - Please note that Joe failed to mention that there is really only 4 US vehicles that can do bi-directional home backup. The Ford Lightning, Chevy Silverado, Nissan Leaf, and the Tesla Cybertruck. All of those you have to use their proprietary equipment, except for the Leaf, I believe. In summary, do your research; do not buy a third party level two charger that claims to be able to provide bi-directional and assume it will work with your EV.

[Fritsvrolijk]

The Zaptec Go 2 way cheaper than tis option