Integrating future V2H EV charger into soon to be installed residential solar system

[Ampster]

I bought a used Nissan Leaf pack in 2016 for $1500. I am guessing it had a capacity at somewhere around 20kWh. That price was $0.75 per kWh. I reconfigured the modules into a nominal 48 volt pack to run an Outback Skybox. That Nissan pack is nominally 350 volts and the Solaredge Storedge runs at about that voltage. The Storedge used to only work with the LG Chem high voltage battery but that battery has been recalled.
A new pack at $7000 for 40kWh is around$175 per kWh. You probably cannot find LFP cells in the States for that price but last year I bought 42kWh of LFP cells from two different Alibaba vendors for $125 per kWh delivered to my door. There are examples of brands like Battleborn which are going for $1000 per kWh. Batteries can be expensive but if you have DIY skills you can save money.

[solardreamer]

By the way I was checking online the price of a new Nissan Leaf battery (30 or 40 kW I am not sure): somewhere in the range of 6 to 7 grands. Not bad for that size. I wonder if it can be hooked up to a Solaredge system or similar. The problem would be the size. We put both our cars in the garage right now and the space is very limited with everything else (four bikes, shelves, etc.).

Does you garage get hot in the summer? If so, I wouldn't recommend installing any large battery system in there.

[Ampster]

Sure, Ford has already done it.

Ford's solution may be just a 240 volt AC inverter which would might interface with an extension cord. Details are few but it could function like a generator.

Tesla would rather build out more gigafactories to selll PW's than V2H. They want to build a virtual power plant business around all the PW's they sell which wouldn't work with just V2H. Perhaps more competition will change their thinking but I don't anytime soon.

Yes, Tesla must not see that there is a very big market for V2H. As mentioned earlier, they don't want to cannibilize their Powerwall business. I also see issues with the vehicle battery warranty if the vehicle battery is cycled more. To their credit they did move quickly when they saw a market for home batteries and commercial installs of Powerpacks.

[soby]

The Storedge used to only work with the LG Chem high voltage battery but that battery has been recalled.

Somehow, mine was not part of the recall. I'm hoping it lives a long, fireless life in my cool basement.

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[solardreamer]

Ford's solution may be just a 240 volt AC inverter which would might interface with an extension cord. Details are few but it could function like a generator.

Yes and no. F150 Lightning supports both AC and DC based V2H. The AC based V2H works much like a generator. However, to Ford's credit, they are working with Sunrun for solar integration for their DC based V2H (an option for high end models) with additional external equipment. Not much detail is available yet but I suspect Sunrun will likely integrate the DC based V2H with a hybrid inverter system that includes its own (smaller?) battery system.

[Ampster]

..........However, to Ford's credit, they are working with Sunrun for solar integration for their DC based V2H (an option for high end models) with additional external equipment. Not much detail is available yet but I suspect Sunrun will likely integrate the DC based V2H with a hybrid inverter system that includes its own (smaller?) battery system.

I will be interested to see how that works out. If the hybrid inverter can AC couple with an existing grid tied solar system then that would allow the GT system to charge the batteries of the hybrid and possibly the vehicle as well as supplying house loads. That would give them the same functionality as a Tesla Powerwall. AC coupling a GT inverter would not work well without a dedicated battery. The V2H would be additional icing on the cake.

[curro]

Does you garage get hot in the summer? If so, I wouldn't recommend installing any large battery system in there.

Yes, Texas hot!. Good point. So back to the Nissan Leaf V2H engineering design ...

[curro]

Ok, so today I talked with my installer and I have more specifics to share. The PV system for my house will be based on the Solaredge inverter model SE10000H-US + optimizers so there will be plenty of room to grow if needed in the future (the 5.6 kW system is being designed around 14 monocrystalline panels @ 405w). He said that Solaredge is already doing beta testing in California with new firmware for their HD-Wave inverters to allow for bi-directional charging on an EV like the Nissan Leaf.

So I am hopeful that in about a year or so this will become a reality in other states including Texas.

[solardreamer]

Ok, so today I talked with my installer and I have more specifics to share. The PV system for my house will be based on the Solaredge inverter model SE10000H-US + optimizers so there will be plenty of room to grow if needed in the future (the 5.6 kW system is being designed around 14 monocrystalline panels @ 405w). He said that Solaredge is already doing beta testing in California with new firmware for their HD-Wave inverters to allow for bi-directional charging on an EV like the Nissan Leaf.

So I am hopeful that in about a year or so this will become a reality in other states including Texas.

If you don't care about producing solar power during power outages then standard SE grid-tied inverters should be fine. Otherwise, you may want to consider the SE Energy Hub Inverters, assuming you want to stick with SE, to avoid the cost and complexity of adding on a hybrid inverter later on.

[curro]

If you don't care about producing solar power during power outages then standard SE grid-tied inverters should be fine. Otherwise, you may want to consider the SE Energy Hub Inverters, assuming you want to stick with SE, to avoid the cost and complexity of adding on a hybrid inverter later on.

Actually this was a point that I did ask my installer and he said that the approach Solaredge is taking with the SE HD Wave inverters accounts for enabling also island grid management during power outages with the solar power recharging the EV battery during this time.

[Ampster]

Actually this was a point that I did ask my installer and he said that the approach Solaredge is taking with the SE HD Wave inverters accounts for enabling also island grid management during power outages with the solar power recharging the EV battery during this time.

The EV charging sounds like the the HD Wave inverters with integrated Charging Stations which have been available for several years. I do not understand the phrase, "enabling also grid management during power outages...". There is no grid to manage during a power outages.

[solardreamer]

Actually this was a point that I did ask my installer and he said that the approach Solaredge is taking with the SE HD Wave inverters accounts for enabling also island grid management during power outages with the solar power recharging the EV battery during this time.

HD Wave is just the internal inverter technology that is used in both standard SE grid-tied only inverters (e.g. SE10000) and the newer hybrid SE Energy Hub inverters. The firmware may be updated in the standard SE grid-tied inverters but they do not have all the necessary hardware components to form island grid and support integration with DC based V2H. You may want to ask your installer to identify all the additional equipment you will need to have island grid and integration with DC based V2H.

[solardreamer]

The EV charging sounds like the the HD Wave inverters with integrated Charging Stations which have been available for several years. I do not understand the phrase, "enabling also grid management during power outages...". There is no grid to manage during a power outages.

You missed the "island" part.

[curro]

You missed the "island" part.

Thank you solardreamer for answering and your inputs in post # 27. And also thanks to Ampster for your contribution.

I am going to share this thread with my installer to further consult on the subject with him.

[Ampster]

You missed the "island" part.

Thanks for the clarification. It is much more clear in that context. I agree with your comments that it will take a lot more hardware to form an "island grid".