Thanks Rivian - from people with power outages

[PhatDaddy]

What progress has "the industry" made as far as tapping into one's EV as a backup home battery (EV to 240v house panel)?

In that charging the Rivian is at 10+ Kw/h (L2), and I don't use that much power to run my house, I would figure that the same cable that charges the Rivian should be able to pull power from it to run my house. No?

I've been researching a whole-home backup battery (UPS) system (no solar), but the cost of wall-mounted Kw is huge as compared to the 130+ Kw on tap from the Rivian.

I know additional hardware would be required, and that's my question. How close are we?

Progress has been slow. Much of this has been covered in other threads here, including the earlier referenced 'Ghetto Method' thread. As I responded there, and copied here in semi-response to your question:
"Ultimately all of this points to the clear desire by owners to make full use of their ‘battery on wheels’. Weather for backup power, for off-grid electrical access in the wild, or for ‘work truck’ options when the grid is not readily accessible. What we need is full OEM support for (safe, straightforward, subscription-free and non-proprietary) Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) use. The capability was claimed by RJ to already be built in to our delivered vehicles: vehicle hardware is capable of bi-directional transfer and Rivian would release software updates to provide actual support once third-party companies produce products (bi-directional chargers) that can actually be purchased. We have all invested in a VERY capable and VERY expensive portable battery - let us use it! If Rivian does not give us V2H (or at least communicate a roadmap) we owners (or the open market) WILL find a way to squeeze the juice out of our investments. Safely or otherwise. Even if some Darwin Awards (and bad PR for Rivian) are granted along the journey. It is just the way the world works."
We are still waiting for Rivian and the industry to provide more options...

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[Visket]

Progress has been slow. Much of this has been covered in other threads here, including the earlier referenced 'Ghetto Method' thread. As I responded there, and copied here in semi-response to your question:
"Ultimately all of this points to the clear desire by owners to make full use of their ‘battery on wheels’. Weather for backup power, for off-grid electrical access in the wild, or for ‘work truck’ options when the grid is not readily accessible. What we need is full OEM support for (safe, straightforward, subscription-free and non-proprietary) Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) use. The capability was claimed by RJ to already be built in to our delivered vehicles: vehicle hardware is capable of bi-directional transfer and Rivian would release software updates to provide actual support once third-party companies produce products (bi-directional chargers) that can actually be purchased. We have all invested in a VERY capable and VERY expensive portable battery - let us use it! If Rivian does not give us V2H (or at least communicate a roadmap) we owners (or the open market) WILL find a way to squeeze the juice out of our investments. Safely or otherwise. Even if some Darwin Awards (and bad PR for Rivian) are granted along the journey. It is just the way the world works."
We are still waiting for Rivian and the industry to provide more options...

Thanks.

I was wondering if there were any current (pun intended!) updates since the 2022/2023 threads on the topic. Apparently, not.

Didn't Ford/Lightning have a consumer-available solution? Or was that just hype?

 

[Scoiatael]

Thanks.

I was wondering if there were any current (pun intended!) updates since the 2022/2023 threads on the topic. Apparently, not.

Didn't Ford/Lightning have a consumer-available solution? Or was that just hype?

Yes, Lightning you can power your house, but the system cost something like $10k to install. Alternatively the Lightning has a 240v plug that you can use as a cheaper alternative.

 

[isakhnov]

FWIW, I do not need a smart solution coupled with my charger. All what I need is a cable I can plug into my generator 240v on a switch panel on one side, Rivian charging port on another side and a software gesture in the cabin to reverse and start the flow

 

[srnyoung]

What progress has "the industry" made as far as tapping into one's EV as a backup home battery (EV to 240v house panel)?

In that charging the Rivian is at 10+ Kw/h (L2), and I don't use that much power to run my house, I would figure that the same cable that charges the Rivian should be able to pull power from it to run my house. No?

I've been researching a whole-home backup battery (UPS) system (no solar), but the cost of wall-mounted Kw is huge as compared to the 130+ Kw on tap from the Rivian.

I know additional hardware would be required, and that's my question. How close are we?

Has anyone asked this question recently of u/Wassym on Reddit?
Seems like something worth asking!

 

[Nikhiluor]

One basic question - Can I plug in my microwave directly in Rivian for cooking ? Don’t care about anything else really ..

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

One basic question - Can I plug in my microwave directly in Rivian for cooking ? Don’t care about anything else really ..

I assume you know the answer already, but check the wattage. If <1500 then sure. Give it a shot.

 

[M00v0vr]

Progress has been slow. Much of this has been covered in other threads here, including the earlier referenced 'Ghetto Method' thread. As I responded there, and copied here in semi-response to your question:
"Ultimately all of this points to the clear desire by owners to make full use of their ‘battery on wheels’. Weather for backup power, for off-grid electrical access in the wild, or for ‘work truck’ options when the grid is not readily accessible. What we need is full OEM support for (safe, straightforward, subscription-free and non-proprietary) Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) use. The capability was claimed by RJ to already be built in to our delivered vehicles: vehicle hardware is capable of bi-directional transfer and Rivian would release software updates to provide actual support once third-party companies produce products (bi-directional chargers) that can actually be purchased. We have all invested in a VERY capable and VERY expensive portable battery - let us use it! If Rivian does not give us V2H (or at least communicate a roadmap) we owners (or the open market) WILL find a way to squeeze the juice out of our investments. Safely or otherwise. Even if some Darwin Awards (and bad PR for Rivian) are granted along the journey. It is just the way the world works."
We are still waiting for Rivian and the industry to provide more options...

Progress could get a jump start this year, l'm building a net zero house and expect to use my truck as the battery when needed.
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.c...l-ev-chargers-to-finally-materialize-in-2024/

 

[iansriv]

I used to remember when power wouldn't go out and no one worried about these things. Watching what's happening in CA is concerning. Looks like this is the new normal.

 

[Nikhiluor]

I assume you know the answer already, but check the wattage. If <1500 then sure. Give it a shot.

I tried it but can hear some weird sound and it took double time than what it would take using direct electricity. Not sure if this sound means anything.

Was just told that outage will be fixed by tomorrow evening.

 

[jthormodsgard]

I’m running, large fridge, seprate freezer full sized, forced air hvac gas fired, water heat gas, plus a few other random things. All from the rivian did it last year for 4 days. Loosing about 10% a day

That's great -- do you power all of that with V2H, or just by plugging them all in directly to the vehicle?

 

[mikehmb]

That's great -- do you power all of that with V2H, or just by plugging them all in directly to the vehicle?

I can’t speak for jthormodsgard, but I did the same and just plugged into the truck.

There’s no V2H capability aside from the on-board inverter, yet, though it has been promised for quite some time.

 

[Dark-Fx]

What progress has "the industry" made as far as tapping into one's EV as a backup home battery (EV to 240v house panel)?

In that charging the Rivian is at 10+ Kw/h (L2), and I don't use that much power to run my house, I would figure that the same cable that charges the Rivian should be able to pull power from it to run my house. No?

I've been researching a whole-home backup battery (UPS) system (no solar), but the cost of wall-mounted Kw is huge as compared to the 130+ Kw on tap from the Rivian.

I know additional hardware would be required, and that's my question. How close are we?

The issue with using J1772 (or NACS, even) is the ground wires aren't meant to carry a load and you're not wiring neutral to the vehicle, so you can't directly power a house in reverse since all of your 120V loads won't work. You would need additional hardware to pull a neutral out. It looks like Tesla is probably getting around this with their cybertruck setup by doing this internal to their gateway/powerwall but I don't know any of the technical details in how they are doing it.

IMO this is one of the big "misses" of all of the EV connectors that are in use here.

 

[Glongo]

I like this thread! Mainly because it shows that most of us just need to focus on what is important in a power outage. That list of critical circuits changes from 1 hr to 1 day of outage. But if we take a strategic approach to it, 1.5 kw (i think that’s the Rivian inverter’s capacity) is a pretty good source. For me it’s the gas fired FAU, fridge, modem, and router. If they were on one circuit i would install a transfer switch, but they aren’t -so it’s extension cords for me.

…not to take away from those that want a transfer switch at 50 amp/ 220v to the Rivian. I get that too. Nothing like being the one house completely lit up on a dark street with no generator noise!

 

[mkhuffman]

Progress could get a jump start this year, l'm building a net zero house and expect to use my truck as the battery when needed.
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.c...l-ev-chargers-to-finally-materialize-in-2024/

I don't think I can ever use my vehicle to power my house except in an emergency. Degrading battery health and consequently reducing range is a huge negative. IMO the battery in a vehicle should be used to move the vehicle, not power a house.

I would rather spend a few thousand dollars on batteries that are designed to store power for home use. They have some good LFP ones now that last a lot longer and can be charged to 100% with less degradation than the battery in the R1.

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