V2G Vehicle-to-Grid capability

[cgwhite]

Does anyone know if MG are looking at V2G capability for any of the the existing models as an upgrade or any of the future models?

Regards, Chris.

I found this searching on the web:

InterControl using an Ambibox GmbH bidirectional charger successfully trialled V2H/V2G with the MG4 without any additional modifications. The demonstration was shared on a LinkedIn post. The MG4 is one of several EVs that is capable if vehicle-to-load (V2L), this however was the first demonstration of vehicle-to-home (V2H).

MORE: MG4 Becomes Australia's Cheapest EV

MG Finland and Hedin Automotive provided the MG4 for testing purposes. During the test the MG4 was discharged at up to 10kW.

While MG has not officially confirmed MG EVs are capable of V2H/V2G, the provision of the vehicle for the purposes of this test, indicate it will likely be supported in the future.

 

[5teep]

@admin This might go better in the general chat forum, for sure the MG5 doesn't have that capability and as it's being discontinued (I believe) it won't be getting it.

 

[MickeySw]

@admin This might go better in the general chat forum, for sure the MG5 doesn't have that capability and as it's being discontinued (I believe) it won't be getting it.

I gather the MG5 FL has the same V2L functionality as the MG4, so should work also?

 

[5teep]

Pass, I'm sure someone will be along to tell us though

 

[Everest]

I'm sure someone will be along to tell us though

see this thread..

V2G to be approved in Australia 2025

On the back of some surprisingly progressive news here about the V2G standard to be approved in Australia, what are everyone's thoughts about the future possibilities for the MG4...

www.mgevs.com

 

[Coulomb]

@admin This might go better in the general chat forum,

There doesn't seem to be a great place to move it to. General Chat seems too general to me, and the Solar & charging forum seems to be charging focused. Plus, there are mostly questions at this stage.

I think for now I'll leave it.

The demonstration was shared on a LinkedIn post. The MG4 is one of several EVs that is capable if vehicle-to-load (V2L),

I could be wrong, but I suspect that the presence or absence of V2L is irrelevant to whether you can "trick" the car into making the HV battery available for V2G with an external grid-tie inverter.

I came across this in my research:

RedEarth To Manufacture Bi-Directional EV Chargers In Australia

QLD battery solutions provider RedEarth teams up with German firm for the manufacture of DC V2G bi-directional EV chargers in Australia.

www.solarquotes.com.au

As it happens, their manufacturing facility at Darra is not far from where I live, and I grew up in that suburb. I have no affiliation with them.

The article mentions "There’s no official word on price, but these solutions are rumoured to be much cheaper than first-generation bi-directional chargers that were around the $10k mark installed." That would be AU$10k for first-gen bidirectional chargers, roughly £5k.

Bidirectionality isn't a huge deal; my solar inverters (4 kW) were around AU$1000 (though that's nearly 10 years ago), and they have a bidirectional DC-DC converter in them. Unfortunately the battery end of those is 48 V nominal, so not suitable for V2G. But the same principle could be adapted to higher voltage.

 

[Everest]

There doesn't seem to be a great place to move it to. General Chat seems too general to me, and the Solar & charging forum seems to be charging focused. Plus, there are mostly questions at this stage.

I think for now I'll leave it.

Could I put in a vote for a V2X sub forum (maybe under the solar and charging forum)? Obviously V2L capability is available in multiple vehicles in the MG range, so of interest to many (and more so, I suspect as time goes on).

Up to now I've found useful V2L postings both under MG4 and MG5 and in the depths of your 80 page 'mg4 in Oz' thread.

But, if you search on V2L you get no results - presumably because 3 characters is not enough - so other postings are hard to find.

 

[MBCYB]

We have a home MicroGrid system which has a 16A Commando Socket input that we can program to pull any power level from any AC source, including EVs with V2L. We use both our Cyberster GT and Genesis GV60 Sport Plus to power our system if required, which is further backed up by 15kWp Solar PV and 45kWh of static Battery Storage. The Cyberster will discharge to 50%, and the GV60 to 20% if required. Each can deliver a maximum of 3.6kW of power. The GV60 will typically provide 2.5kW of power for 24 hours, and the Cyberster for 15h, almost 40 hours combined. Total storage in the system is effectively 145kWh. This setup is programmable for any EV with any level of V2L capabilities.

As others have suggested, there should be a separate thread for Vehicle to Load (V2L) or V2X V2G and V2H, as they're all related to the same solution.

 

[Coulomb]

As others have suggested, there should be a separate thread for Vehicle to Load (V2L) or V2X V2G and V2H, as they're all related to the same solution.

Until your post, I was thinking that V2L is rather different to the other V2Xs. Your solution is elegant, provided it sorts out the thorny earthing issues, and is using V2L as a method of achieving V2H and perhaps even V2G. So now I'm not sure whether to lump V2L in with the other V2Xs. I guess the V2L discussion just stays in suitably titled threads, with a slight overlap like the post above.

Are you totally off-grid now? I suppose that if you run out of energy during the inevitable long run of bad weather, you could drive off and charge one of the cars at a public charge point, while the other would be helping power the house. That energy would be relatively expensive, but it means that you don't need a smelly, expensive, and maintenance heavy petrol or diesel generator.

Also, do you have a "dead time" when changing over EVs? Or is the battery big enough to power likely loads when no car is plugged in? It would be convenient if they could both be plugged in at once, so that there is no dead time. Also, you may not need to do a changeover if you have enough energy in the two cars till you get good weather again. Deciding how to discharge the two cars might be tricky though.

This setup is programmable for any EV with any level of V2L capabilities.

Is it reasonably affordable? I mean the inverter or whatever is needed to make this all work. Solar and a house battery are nearly a given these days, particularly solar. Cost has been the bugbear of this sort of technology. There are hints that the cost may come down soon.

 

[MBCYB]

We have one of the best setups we could design. It has cheap overnight power form the grid, an input for any EV with V2L, or generator, with earthing taken care of for all scenarios. It has enough static storage to operate for a day in a power cut, so no issues with timings of connecting/disconnecting any EV. Plenty of time also to go and recharge the EV on a public charger that's no affected by the outage. We can therefore run indefinitely in any length of power outage. It's a relatively costly solution, but being connected to the grid as your primary energy source is much more expensive, since your bills never come to an end, so are technically uncapped. We've capped out costs, and in fact can sell power back to the grid for more than we purchase it overnight. win-win.

 

[Coulomb]

Could I put in a vote for a V2X sub forum (maybe under the solar and charging forum)? Obviously V2L capability is available in multiple vehicles in the MG range, so of interest to many (and more so, I suspect as time goes on).

I've written a post in the Moderators Private Forum to discuss this. I don't have the power to create subforums, and we need a consensus about things like whether to call it a V2X forum (including many existing V2L posts scattered across various model specific forums), or call it something like V2G and V2H. The latter might have to be extended to other V2Xs as they arise, though I suspect it will converge to just V2L in vehicles, and V2G externally. AC wiring is just so ubiquitous.

 

[MBCYB]

 

[Everest]

Until your post, I was thinking that V2L is rather different to the other V2Xs. Your solution is elegant, provided it sorts out the thorny earthing issues, and is using V2L as a method of achieving V2H and perhaps even V2G. So now I'm not sure whether to lump V2L in with the other V2Xs. I guess the V2L discussion just stays in suitably titled threads, with a slight overlap like the post above.

My vote would be for it to all go in together. There are several on here (as I have mentioned before) that use the V2L capability to power their home via inverter and battery, @Bricktop X PWR and @wattmatters spring to mind. And I will plan on doing the same once I get an MG4.

So, V2L will directly lead into V2H for those with that capability and I have already answered many questions, especially about earthing matters on the V2L threads.

Edited to add, I don't expect there will be enough postings to warrant separate V2L and V2H forums, so IMHO putting them together would be good.

We have one of the best setups we could design. It has cheap overnight power form the grid, an input for any EV with V2L, or generator, with earthing taken care of for all scenarios.

Out of interest, do you have an inverter with a generator input - like a Sunsynk does - or do you deploy a chargeverter or similar as an additional input to the battery storage?

 

[MBCYB]

We have a separate inverter which is dedicated to charging the 48V batteries in the system, which can accept power from almost any source. The rest of the system has 15kW of output, covering the entire property's consumption.

 

[cgwhite]

Just to say thank you to all those who have so far contributed to this thread. It may be in a few years that the cheapest way of adding ~60kwh of battery storage to your house solar system is to purchase an old EV. You can nearly get an MG EV for less than the price of 15kwh of solax batteries now!

Regards, Chris.

 

[Everest]

You can nearly get an MG EV for less than the price of 15kwh of solax batteries now!

Must be expensive batteries - 15kWh should only be around £2000-£2500 atm.

The other consideration of EV vs. static ESS batteries is efficiency of converting to/from the EV taking into account the quiescent draw of the vehicle.

 

[cgwhite]

Solax 5.8kwh bats currently about £1400 each. 4 Yr old MG EV £5k (tongue in cheek)

 

[kevin ellard]

Solax 5.8kwh bats currently about £1400 each. 4 Yr old MG EV £5k (tongue in cheek)

I did see a post some time ago from someone who paid very little money for an old nissan leaf and just had it in his back garden as a battery.

 

[wattmatters]

We have a separate inverter which is dedicated to charging the 48V batteries in the system, which can accept power from almost any source. The rest of the system has 15kW of output, covering the entire property's consumption.

That's how the earthing issues Coulomb refers to are bypassed. I have the same approach. Only very occasional use though during long grid outages.

 

[Barrie]

Must be expensive batteries - 15kWh should only be around £2000-£2500 atm.

The other consideration of EV vs. static ESS batteries is efficiency of converting to/from the EV taking into account the quiescent draw of the vehicle.

I paid €1584 (Euros) for 15kWh of batteries including battery box and all busbars etc delivered free from the EU. Chinese origin of course but they carry stocks in Poland rather than wait for the slow boat from China !! They are high quality EVE cells.