Political opinions aside, electric cars offer features that traditional gas-powered cars simply can’t do. In addition to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, reducing carbon emissions and eliminating the need to go to gas stations thanks to at-home charging, electric cars and trucks *can* have one killer feature that gas cars simple can’t provide. An EV with a feature called “V2H” (Vehicle to Home) or “V2L” (Vehicle to Load) can provide back-up power to your house or essential electrical appliances in the result of a power outage or black-out.
What is V2H/V2L?
In a nutshell, V2L and V2H allow that same home charger which EV owners use to charge their car to reverse the power direction and provide power from the car to electric appliances like fridges, space heaters, routers, ACs, TVs, audio gear or CPAP machines, or even to your entire home. So if a storm or excessive energy demand knocks out your electricity, all you need to do is shut off your connection to the grid and flip a switch to flow power from your car’s battery into your home. And you don’t need solar panels or expensive stationary storage (batteries) to be installed in order to do this.
While several EV manufacturers, including Hyundai and Ford, offer V2H and V2L in their vehicles, Tesla has been hesitant to offer the feature in its mainstream vehicles. Frankly, they’d much rather sell you a standalone PowerWall battery (or five) to provide your home energy storage and backup power needs. In Tesla’s current EV line-up, only the Cybertruck offers V2L and V2H. Tesla calls the feature “Powershare.” Ford’s F150 Lightning also offers V2H and V2L functionality as you may have seen in their commercials (whole neighborhood goes dark except that one family who powers their house off their Ford electric truck).
Last month, Tesla offered the new Performance version of their popular Model Y electric SUV to buyers in the United States. But what they didn’t mention until this week is that the Model Y Performance will support V2L and V2H. So now, if you buy a Model Y Performance, you’ll be able to run your essential appliances – or even your whole house – on your car’s battery in the event of a power outage. And we’re not just talking an hour or two. A fully charged Model Y Performance could run the average U.S. household for 2-3 days during an extended outage.
To put things in perspective, a single Tesla Power Wall 3 battery sells for around $13,000-$16,000 (including required add-ons and installation) and provides around 13.5 kWh (kiloWatt hours) of energy storage. The average US household soaks up around 25 to 30 kWh of power per day. So to provide any sort of extended backup requires you to install at least 2 (or more) Power Walls into your home. But the battery inside a Model Y Performance can store around 82 kWh of electricity. That’s roughly six times the energy capacity of a Powerwall 3 battery. That’s a whole lot of power stored in something that’s already in your driveway or garage.
What’s The Catch (There’s Always a Catch)?
While we’re happy to see Tesla finally offer this feature in one of their more mainstream EV models, the company has said that the V2L implementation of the Model Y Performance is limited to 120 Volts/20 Amps. If your house is primarily powered by electricity (no oil or natural gas) then you likely have some of your appliances running on 240V. If your HVAC, stove or water heater run on 240V, then the basic V2L option included with the car is not going to provide a comprehensive backup solution. But even with 120V/20A, you could keep your fridge, computers, mobile phones, router, lights – and yes, your TV, HiFi rig and home theater – up and running until the power comes back. And that’s a pretty cool little bonus. Tesla even includes the bi-directional power adapter you’ll need with the purchase of the Model Y Performance.
The more robust “V2H” solution does require some additional hardware and installation, which Tesla estimates will cost “from $1,000 to $2,500.” With V2H, your Tesla Model Y will work just like a gas, propane or diesel-powered generator, powering your entire house, just without those pesky fumes (and pollutants). And when the power comes back on, you can simply charge your car back up again. Or if you have solar panels, you can keep your car charged all day while it’s powering your home and use the car’s battery to store any excess power generated during the day to be used to power your house at night.
It’s Quicker than a Supercar, and Drives (Almost) By Itself
It’s worth noting that the Model Y Performance is not just a back-up generator on wheels; it’s also a fully capable car in its own right. It can silently scream from 0 to 60 MPH in 3.3 seconds or zero to “you’re under arrest” in 8 seconds. It can travel over 300 miles on a single charge, can tow up to 3500-pound loads. It can virtually drive by itself (with supervision, of course). Did I mention it also has Karaoke (sorry, “Caraoke”) on board?
The Model Y can even stream Netflix, YouTube and Disney+ to its main 16-inch Infotainment screen and to the 8-inch secondary screen in the back seat. And its 15-speaker, dual subwoofer sound system provides a fairly theatrical experience on its own. But you can’t watch movies from the front seat while driving… at least not yet. Video entertainment is currently only available while parked (or for rear seat passengers).
The Bottom Line
While many try to turn the purchase of an EV into a political issue, and the purchase of a Tesla EV into an even more political issue, the fact is that EVs – specifically Tesla EVs – are superior to gas cars in many ways: environmental impact, fuel costs, maintenance costs, driver and occupant safety and driver assist/self-driving functionality. But beyond all that, isn’t it nice to know that if a storm or black-out knocks out your electricity, that your car can keep your essentials (and even your home theater) up and running for days? Next time the power’s out in your neighborhood, invite your neighbors over for movie night. The beer is cold and the popcorn’s freshly popped. What more could you ask?
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