Best uses for V2L?

4698 Views 24 Replies 15 Participants Last post by Flybuddy, 6 d ago

andreas.lindberg

Discussion Starter · Mar 10, 2022

I've just ordered my Ioniq 5 and I think the V2L is really cool. However when I think of uses for it I can't really come up with much...
What are some of your best ideas for using V2L (interior or exterior)?
I've seen posts about having a Nespresso machine in the universal island... A fresh coffee on the commute to work would be nice I suppose but what else?
Blowing up toys for the kids at the beach?
A compact electric grill in the boot when camping?
We usually go camping by boat in the archipelago so not much use there...
I suppose in the case of a power outage it would be useful but unless you have one of those bi-directional charging units you'd have to run a cable through a window, pull out the fridge, unplug it and connect it to the car...

I'm looking for cool, creative and clever ideas...

Anyone?

1 - 20 of 25 Posts

IronicFive

· #2 · Mar 10, 2022

andreas.lindberg said:
We usually go camping by boat in the archipelago so not much use there...

Outerwear Coat Sleeve Gesture Collar

See less See more

Reactions: 5

xenopi

· #3 · Mar 10, 2022

My wife and I have a very practical use for it - backup power should power be knocked out (AGAIN). I live in a heavily wooded area and we occasionally get ice storms that tend to knock out power. Last year we had a mammoth ice storm that knocked out power in our neighborhood for a week.

I know V2L can't power the whole house, but it can power our fridge and the igniter on our furnace (with the proper wiring).

Reactions: 2

IronicFive

· #4 · Mar 10, 2022

I have seen people use it for camping to hook up microwaves and heaters. I would use it for video gaming/movies while out camping.

Not sure if that's actually practical considering you obviously need to be careful discharging the whole battery and being stuck.

Reactions: 1

praedet

· #5 · Mar 10, 2022

I am thinking of charging the wife's PHEV with it...

Slow, but free with Electrify America.

Reactions: 1

HandyAndy

· #6 · Mar 10, 2022

Maybe plug in a granny EVSE and charge up your traction battery when it's getting low?

Ginsoakedboy21

· #7 · Mar 10, 2022

Got a spare Nespresso or a Tassimo machine? Keep it in the car and knock up a half-decent coffee whenever and wherever you decide to stop.

Reactions: 2

Fan of EV

· #8 · Mar 10, 2022

IronicFive said:
I have seen people use it for camping to hook up microwaves and heaters. I would use it for video gaming/movies while out camping.

Not sure if that's actually practical considering you obviously need to be careful discharging the whole battery and being stuck.

No need to be too careful: There is a setting for how low you are willing for the battery to get. So set the limit for something you are comfortable with and then just use the V2L until the car turns it off when the battery low limit is reached.

andreas.lindberg

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 10, 2022

IronicFive said:
View attachment 40309

IronicFive said:
View attachment 40309

It's not like we have a luxury yacht or something... An open 18 foot aluminum boat and we pack a couple of tents and a gas powered cooker...Go to some uninhabited small Island, lie naked in the sun, read books, swim and eat good food. Simple but nice. Just don't have a tradition of "car camping"...

Tonys_I5

· #10 · Mar 10, 2022

My idea is to power my fridge when we lose power again, which left us without power for 4 days last year. It doesn't hurt to have the V2L adapter because you never know when you'll need it! Also, it's a good thing to brag about to a lot of the other EV owners out there lol

Reactions: 1

andreas.lindberg

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 10, 2022 (Edited)

xenopi said:
My wife and I have a very practical use for it - backup power should power be knocked out (AGAIN). I live in a heavily wooded area and we occasionally get ice storms that tend to knock out power. Last year we had a mammoth ice storm that knocked out power in our neighborhood for a week.

I know V2L can't power the whole house, but it can power our fridge and the igniter on our furnace (with the proper wiring).

We have a power outage maybe once every three years so rewiring isn't really efficient. That's why I looked in to the bi-directional charging stations but they're pretty expensive.Probably could run the "mountain heat pump" (don't know what it's called in English... Ground heating pump?) though.

Edit: Apparently I'm talking about a geothermal heat pump

andreas.lindberg

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 10, 2022

IronicFive said:
I have seen people use it for camping to hook up microwaves and heaters. I would use it for video gaming/movies while out camping.

Not sure if that's actually practical considering you obviously need to be careful discharging the whole battery and being stuck.

That's a very cool idea! Go to some beautiful spot, rig a screen and a projector and have a family drive-in movie -night.
Expensive though if you haven't the gear already...
Maybe you could utilise a chromecast and get the movie sound from the car speakers somehow?

Restyler

· #13 · Mar 10, 2022

Around 20 years ago we had a superhero in the UK who went by the name of 'Angle Grinder Man' who used to go round releasing cars which had been clamped by the evil clamping companies with his petrol powered angle grinder.
Now wouldn't it be great to do a reboot with a mains powered Angle Grinder

Reactions: 2

andreas.lindberg

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 10, 2022

Ginsoakedboy21 said:
Got a spare Nespresso or a Tassimo machine? Keep it in the car and knock up a half-decent coffee whenever and wherever you decide to stop.

There is a post somewhere about a model that will fit pretty well in the universal island... I usually make my coffee before I leave and bring it in a big thermos cup though (1:15 minutes drive to work). Seems a bit messy though very cool.

andreas.lindberg

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 10, 2022

HandyAndy said:
Maybe plug in a granny EVSE and charge up your traction battery when it's getting low?

What's an EVSE?

SabbeRubbish

· #16 · Mar 10, 2022

In these times of uncertain heating costs and solar panels on many roofs but hardly any home batteries, my wife and I came up with a clever idea for spring & fall.

First, you only use about 1/3 of your own solar production, the rest flows back to the electricity net and you get hardly anything back for that in terms of $.
Home batteries are still quite expensive and you typically don't go for more than 10 kWh anyway.
And there is a 70 kWh battery parked on your driveway.
Now for the last statement, due to COVID but also the war in Ukraine, heating costs have gone through the roof.

So why not buy a (set of) electric heater(s) to warm your house at night/in the morning with those 2/3 leftover solar power put into your car? Ideally yes you are home during extensive sunlight hours, but I think this kind of flexible power source thinking is intriguing.

V2G would take all the hassle out of it of course, draining your battery at night when it charges in solar during daytime.
Given that you can work from home frequently of course...

See less See more

xenopi

· #17 · Mar 10, 2022

IronicFive said:
I have seen people use it for camping to hook up microwaves and heaters. I would use it for video gaming/movies while out camping.

Not sure if that's actually practical considering you obviously need to be careful discharging the whole battery and being stuck.

Hey IronicFive, I just saw this video talking about the V2L functionality, and apparently you can set a limit to how much power is drawn, to prevent overdraining the battery.

IronicFive

· #18 · Mar 11, 2022

andreas.lindberg said:
An open 18 foot aluminum boat and we pack a couple of tents and a gas powered cooker..."...

See less See more

JSeemann

· #19 · Mar 11, 2022

Best so far has been charging my Ioniq2020 (from my Ioniq5) over night, and then do a stop on route to work @ a UFC (with the I5)

HandyAndy

· #20 · Mar 11, 2022

andreas.lindberg said:
What's an EVSE?

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, as bolted to your wall or made portable with a mains flex. What people call a "charger" isn't actually that, it's just a fancy switch really. Only the DC Rapids are genuinely "chargers".

1 - 20 of 25 Posts