More info on the new dedicated BEV platform. https://www.hyundainews.com/en-us/releases/3211 Can the infrastructure keep up to support 800V charging? I do like the bi-directional power conversion function.
I think as there are more 800v vehicles the charging will follow. It will mostly be along major highways where very quick charging for long road trips is needed. Most charging takes place at home. On road trips under 500 miles your only going to need one charge and whether it 15 or 30 minutes it probably not that critical. Stop for a meal and charge. On Long road trips say 800 miles per day then quicker charging become more critical. But these are going to be a very small percentage of the over all charging. I to am looking forward to bidirectional power flow. It sure would be convenient rather than having a separate system for the house and the car or also for camping
I am a little disappointed in the range (500kms), for a vehicle that is still a few years out. If they really wanted to get a leg up on the competition, a higher range would have been an opportunity, at least for a couple of their model trims. I get that now with my Kona (under ideal conditions), so maybe that 500 is really 600.
This is a step in the right direction. The range doesn't bother me as much as what they did not announce. They did not change their battery chemistry. We know the Kona right now is suffering from a chronic "burning car" syndrome. This is not going to be fixed by boosting to 800vdc charging. It also will not reduce the price and increase safety of the pack. Cobalt is in short supply in the world and mostly comes from Congo, Africa. Much is mined by child labor. Batteries with it have a higher energy density. Hyundai has not done their research on battery tech and I am not going to buy another car that has to be downgraded to be safe. They did address collision safety with some impressive structural improvements. The power feed back to the grid doesn't impress me much as I drive most every day and don't want to add to the charge/discharge count with only limited number available. Without a battery chemistry change, you could be left with replacing the battery pack in 3-4 years. Who has 25k to help the grid?
I like the power feed back not for every day use but for the times when the power is out. This is usually only once or twice a a year during fire season so it would not be much additional cycling. That said I live in the country and drive once or twice a week so it would definitely work for me. And it cheaper than installing a $30K power wall system. Though in my case I can get 100% rebate on the power wall system from California so I am in the process of doing that as well. I am in an area prone to fires and on a water well. The state wants to keep the well powered if the grid goes down and is paying to install power walls.
I bet the power-out feature will be a paid-for option though. At thw very least it will need either an additional connector for the mains out, or a customised EVSE
We get occasional power outs where I live and that would be handy. But even more helpful, would be at our lake cabin, which is off grid and on solar. Our battery storage there is limited, and with less daylight and more clouds/rain in the winter, wouldn't take much to delete the batteries.
Not to condemn the idea. My choice, and I live in the country also is to have a backup generator. It cost me a bit to put the plug in but $750 generator that will power all my appliances and computers seams more cost effective. The use of a car to feed back into the grid is not the same as using it for a backup power source. When using it as a backup power supply, you must disconnect your entire house from the grid before you can power your home. This is to keep from killing linemen who are trying to fix the lines. The generator also needs your house to be disconnected from the grid. These generators can produce 7000 watts or 7 kwh. They can run 6-10 hours on 5 gallons of gas making the cost about $15- $20. Then I can refill it and do it again. Same effort to use the car (if it was able)as a generator and if you did start out at 80% it would only give you about 7 hours then it would be dead. Then you wouldn't have a car either. It is just not for me.
I I also have a back up generator (well actually 3 of them) with a 250 gallon propane tank and a transfer switch as well to keep the line men safe. . So I agree be safe abide by the electrical code. Have it inspected (always good to have a second pair of eyes on any design and implementation). The inspectors where I live are most helpful. That said late in the evening I would rather have a quiet battery system than a quiet generator running. I have run my house off my Kona at night during power outages. I am limited to 1kw as that is all I can draw from the battery through the DC to DC converter. If the car came with 3.5kw out put I would plug it in to the generator port on the transfer switch and I could run my well pump too. As far as the car going low not a problem I can fire up the generator for a few hours a day and keep it topped up. and if that doesn't work there is always the the F250 4x4.
I have two generators. One is a small inverter one, that is super quiet. I used to disconnect my solar in the winter at the cabin, and use that for TV, internet, lights, etc. I also have a larger one that I need for bigger power tools, and my electric wood splitter. But now I keep the solar going all winter at the cabin, so I bring home the generators in case we have a longer power outage here. Rare, but it can happen. I also have an inverter for the Kona battery, and can use that for low wattage usage. Haven't had to use it yet.
