Nissan LEAF Battery To Power Homes

The large capacity battery in Nissan's LEAF electric vehicle will soon be able to power entire homes. Nichicon has developed a new Vehicle to Home System called "EV Power Station" that can both charge and discharge the EV's batteries, distributing its electricity to the household. The EV Power Station is said to be the world's first such charging device capable of supplying household power.

The charging station is about the size of an outdoor air conditioning unit, which means most homes will be able to easily accommodate it. Also, multiple units of the charging station can be installed on one supply line to accommodate multiple LEAF vehicles.

While conventional battery chargers take about 8 hours to charge the LEAF to 80% capacity, the new EV Power Station takes only 4 hours. The electricity returned to power the home can supply about two days' worth of power for the typical household.

The EV Power Station will go on sale starting in July with pre-orders taken in mid-June through Nissan dealers in Japan. The unit is priced t 480,000 yen or about $6,000 USD. Including a subsidy from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Infrastructure, brings the cost down to 330,000 yen or about $4,100.

[via DigInfo]