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With the plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander, Mitsubishi has not only presented “the first” SUV with plug-in hybrid technology, the Outlander PHEV is also the first plug-in that not only “pulls juice” but “electricity too returns ”.
Bi-directional charging - Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid
A question from “Hatze Schmitz” also fits this topic. He wanted to know what actually happens to his house electricity when the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is used as a house battery. From where to where does the electricity flow? Doesn't the electricity just flow straight into the grid?
Mr. Schmitz is very interested in the bi-directional store and would like to know what he needs to do to use the power from the PHEV Outlander in the house.
I am not an electrician, but:
The corresponding keyword is "Netzgekoppelte Selbstversorger" (and alternative loadleveling on smart grid is still quite interesting).
For example, anyone who already produces a good amount of electricity with their own voltaic system on the roof usually feeds this “power” into the electricity supplier's grid. Or he could. In any case, you have to do something with the “solar power” as soon as it arises. Either you feed it into the electricity supplier's grid and receive a refund for it. Or you can use it, for example by charging your e-mobile with it. The reimbursement is now barely more than 13 cents per kWh. However, anyone who purchases green electricity from the network operator currently pays just under 28 cents per kWh. So it only makes sense not to feed the self-produced electricity into the grid, but to use it yourself.
But there is a problem here: the electricity is usually produced during the day, but we, we often only need the electricity in the evening. The output produced must therefore be stored. If you are interested in many other topics related to this problem, you should enter the keyword “Smart Grid” on google and get an overview of which topics we will face in the future.
The fact is:
Of course, the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid is not simply plugged into a home outlet and then gets the juice of the 12 kWh battery delivered home in the event of a power outage. You have to be a bit on the side of electricity, batteries and consumers. A corresponding control electronics is the basis of self-sufficiency.
But: Once you have dealt with who has a house roof, whose location is ideal and therefore would like to use the free solar energy, which must just think about the buffer memory. One solution is: You buy a battery from the energy supplier. eFor example, .ON offers a lithium-ion battery at. However, its storage capacity is only 3.24 kWh. The Outlander offers at least 12 kWh, of which 10 kWh are available with the “bi-directional” network. Such a Samsung battery then costs around € 8.000. Otherwise, the technology in this battery is very similar to the vehicle technology from plug-in hybrids and electric cars. Now think for a moment. 8.000 € for a battery that can not drive?
What's the point?
Nothing yet. Because we are still one step away from being feasible. No electricity supplier has yet offered a corresponding “smart grid” solution for connecting e-mobiles. What the consumer and therefore Hatze Schmitz is missing is a usable and orderable solution. Energy suppliers must do more educational work here and participate in the development of the appropriate “switch boxes”. There are currently many projects, but no usable solutions. And that although this topic has been topical for more than 4 years. (Fraunhofer, e-Mobilie)
But if you now imagine the e-car and the plug-in hybrid as family cars in front of the roof planted with solar panels, then there is probably always a buffer storage “at home”. An ideal solution - as soon as you can use the plug-in for it.
But why can the Outlander PHEV already do that now and what does it bring me?
Mitsubishi is a Japanese company and there, in Japan, there are working solutions. However, after the Fukushima disaster and the rapid phase-out of nuclear energy, the Japanese power grid is more fragile than ours. A sensible solution to relieve the network, such as the use of Outlander PHEV and its little e-car brother “EV” (i-MiEV) as a buffer storage and emergency power generator, was simply necessary.
But with us the Outlander PHEV will at least turn the beer cold next summer!
If we in Germany do not manage to implement the “smart grid” and the intelligent storage solutions in a timely manner, then from this year we can still fall back on the option of “bi-directional” charging.
Mitsubishi power box
In his email, reader Hatze Schmitz not only asked about the house battery, he also wanted to know whether the PHEV can be used as a “power generator”. For example, reader Schmitz would like to have a power supply in his forest hut that can supply more than just an LED reading lamp. And here we come to the current, practical, implementable additional benefits of the Outlander PHEV. (Although I do not want to say that we do not have the first energy provider in the next 12 months, who recognizes the above problem and offers intelligent home electricity supply with integration of the e-mobile and an acquisition such as the one of new Car, that's still something long-term with us.)
And again, this solution already exists in Japan. For Germany, however, the box had to be revised. But before summer Mitsubishi wants to offer a power box, the size of a beer crate and weighing around 10 kg, with the help of which one can tap a continuous output of 2.700 watts from the “Outlander PHEV”. The peak power of the power box will be 5kW. This power box is therefore not only suitable for Reader Schmitz's forest hut. Diverse possibilities can be implemented with it. From the forest worker who quickly starts up the electric chainsaw to a motor pump to pump out the neighbour's cellar, regardless of whether the electricity grid is working or not. Think of your next camping holiday, parties at the quarry pond and and and ... Suddenly you always have your 230V power connection with you. And we're not talking about a small voltage converter that you plug into the 12V socket of the cigarette lighter. With an output of 2.700 watts, refrigerators can be kept alive or large light masts operated at accident sites.
The future
Yes, that's right, much of this article concerns the future. Smart grid is still in its infancy in Germany. The power box is coming this year and if we ever in Germany with power outages really have a problem and the Outlander PHEV then becomes the savior in de-energized need - it is in the stars. But that shows one thing above all: The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid is extremely future-proof. The whole concept is a start. And that's it Outlander plug-in hybrid not just the “first” SUV with plug-in hybrid technology, it is also a pioneer in many other areas.
The next week we will take care of the service! The one for the car. What happens when the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid has to go to the workshop? And does a plug-in hybrid still need an oil change?
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Everyday life in the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid
I look forward to answering further questions in the future as well. If you have a topic that has not yet been edited, but you are interested, write to me!