Charged EVs | The Mobility House and Wallbox fire up a bidirectional charger in San Diego

Bidirectional charging, which has the potential to transform the world’s transportation and energy systems, is gradually moving from the pilot stage to commercial deployments.

The Mobility House and Wallbox recently reached a milestone by installing and interconnecting a Wallbox Quasar 2 bidirectional charger in a San Diego County home. The homeowners can now use the unit to charge and discharge their Kia EV9 in a grid-parallel system with export. This means that the system works with the utility grid, and can also provide backup power to the customer without islanding. Energy from the car’s battery can be used to reduce electricity bills by offsetting the home’s consumption (V2H), and generate revenue by exporting power to the grid (V2G). The unit was installed by Wallbox installation partner COIL. 

“Many people don’t realize you need an interconnection approval with the utility, even if you only manage your home energy and never export power beyond the meter,” said Russell Vare, VP of VGI, The Mobility House North America. “We have accomplished this, and have gone one step further to enable the system to export power and realize the value of V2G.”

The Mobility House worked with local utility SDG&E to coordinate the interconnection approval, permitting, installation and inspection, completing the full process from initial utility outreach to Permission to Operate in less than six months.  As the first interconnection in the service territory, the project highlighted many issues involved in deploying V2G, including permitting, panel compatibility, utility coordination and placard requirements.

The installation is the first instance of a Quasar 2 integrated with The Mobility House’s Cascade EV Aggregator platform. The aggregator receives utility signals and creates charge plans that schedule charging and discharging for optimal savings and revenue potential, enabling vehicle owners to earn revenue from utility programs such as demand response, time of use and dynamic rates.

Source: The Mobility House