The ability of an automobile to perform bidirectional charging means that it can use electricity to power devices, a home, or even the grid in addition to using it to recharge the battery. They are further divided into three categories: vehicle-to-load (V2L), vehicle-to-home (V2H), and vehicle-to-grid (V2G), with the latter two occasionally being combined under the umbrella term V2X.
According to remarks made by Tesla VP Drew Baglino at the just concluded Investor Day event, bidirectional charging will be possible for Tesla vehicles within the following two years.
The possibility of Tesla providing bidirectional charging on its vehicles was raised during the Q&A segment, despite the company’s prior opposition to the idea.
In response to the query, Drew Baglino, Senior VP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, said that the absence of bidirectional charging was not actually a purposeful choice, rather it was not a priority at the time. Tesla has discovered ways to cut costs while also offering bidirectional charging to its vehicles as it has enhanced its power electronics units.
May Be or May Not Be
Although Tesla is now retooling for their power electronics manufacture, Baglino continued, this may occur within the next two years.
Elon Musk, the CEO, intervened discouraging the idea right after this response, saying, “I think not a lot of people will be in favour of bidirectional charging, unless you have a Powerwall, because if you unplug your car your house goes dark, and this is extremely inconvenient.”
The response was intriguing since it offers some insight into Tesla’s original thoughts on bidirectional charging.
Tesla has historically opposed installing bidirectional charging systems on its cars. Few automobiles and they frequently have restricted bidirectional charging, are available from the majority of manufacturers.
Bidirectional Charging on Other Manufacturers
The Hyundai/Kia E-GMP platform automobiles have V2L capabilities, Rivian has V2L capabilities with the potential for V2H capabilities in the future, and Ford’s F-150 Lighting has V2L or V2H capabilities with its Ford Charge Station Pro. The only vehicle having V2G capability that we are aware of is the Nissan Leaf. V2G has been a feature of electric cars since 2013, but it hasn’t yet been connected to a charger. Lucid has stated that they are also working on V2X for their vehicles. In the future, Volkswagen says, its ID line will provide bidirectional charging.
Tesla – Not too Keen
What does that mean for Tesla, then? They seem to have the technological ability to offer bidirectional billing, but the answer was brief, so we didn’t obtain many details on the different forms.
The fact that certain owners might not wish to use bidirectional charging is one reason why Tesla hasn’t prioritized it. For instance, if you parked your car with 200 miles of charge and plugged it into the house, and the house or grid decided to discharge your car to take advantage of peak electricity rates (possibly through Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant programme), you may be surprised to return to it and find that it has only 100 miles of range. You may have made some money, but you are now unable to use it.
Because every Tesla has internet connections built in, it shouldn’t be difficult to have reliable controls and internet communications with the car so that owners can regulate demand.
Another issue is raised by the possibility of earning money by selling surplus energy to the grid: in order to use a compatible charger, it must be connected to your home’s electrical system or have a special grid interconnect. The cost of installing one of these chargers can reach several thousand dollars. As long as your automobile is plugged in at the appropriate times and configured to take part in a programme like this, you might be able to recover that money by using Virtual Power Plants. It is also less expensive than a Powerwall, but the benefit of a Powerwall is that, unlike a car, it is always plugged in.
Nevertheless, unless we’re talking about off-grid solar-only homes that rely only on their cars for night-time energy storage or something, the house going dark isn’t really a major worry. Otherwise, when the car is unplugged, a home would just switch to grid electricity. Musk’s response was therefore, at best, somewhat banal.
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