Automotive

Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid can now power homes during an outage

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has been approved for vehicle-to-home power use in Japan
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has been approved for vehicle-to-home power use in Japan

The ability to plug electric vehicles into the mains raises the potential for their connecting to and powering other devices as well. Mitsubishi has announced that its Outlander PHEV can now do just that. Japanese users will be able to power their homes in the event of a power outage.

Mitsubishi has dabbled in vehicle-to-home (V2H) power technology before, as too have other car manufacturers like Toyota. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV series can already be used in a V2H capacity, but the company says that Outlander PHEV is the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in the world to provide the functionality.

According to Mitsubishi, the use of a V2H system is only approved for all-electric vehicles in Japan. As the Outlander PHEV's engine doesn't run whilst it's connected to a V2H system, however, the company says it has now been approved for recognition as an all-electric vehicle in this situation.

To use the V2H functionality, the Outlander PHEV must have a quick-charging socket installed. Users can then attach it to Mitsubishi's Smart V2H system, Nichicon's EVPower Station or Tsubakimoto's Tsubaki eLINK. Mitsubishi says the vehicle will be able to power a home for a day on a full battery charge and up to 10 days with a full tank of gas. Other suggested uses are at evacuation or disaster sites and for outdoor leisure activities.

Source: Mitsubishi

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6 comments
Bob64
I would really like a PHEV Toyota Hilux (Tacoma for US readers). The Outlander is not big enough for all my camping and diving gear. Anyone know if it is likely? Its hard to justify having a large car when you live in a city and only go bush on weekends and holidays, a PHEV Hilux would make commuting fairly cheap, but still allow some real off roading on the weekend.
bobluc
I would have liked some indication of continuous and max loads.
Nick Huggins
If the engine doesn't run when the Outlander is connected to a V2H system, how do you get 10 days home charging out of a tank of gas?
EyeMars
Unfortunately, the usefulness in an outage is greatly diminished if its engine can't be used in this mode. If a hybrid car could give back say 10kW it could effectively become a whole-house back-up generator when connected. It's wasteful right now to have a perfectly good 125kW engine sitting in a vehicle right next to the house and to separately buy a 15kW stand-by generator for the 3 days/year you're going to need it...
tyme2par4
@Bob64 Don't hold your breath on anything plug-in from Toyota. They are more interested in chasing the hydrogen pipe dream than anything battery powered (other than the Prius of course)
Chevy has the best chance with its Volt based power train, but haven't even hinted at anything larger than the Volt.
LeeColleton
The reason this V2H system can't run the engine is because of asphyxiation and fire hazards. In my building's garage, the exhaust fan only comes on when either of the garage doors are opened. If a vehicle remote-starts and the exhaust fan stays off, it could cause a problem. There is also a carbon monoxide sensor that may trigger the fan, but that's not safe.
I imagine one would have to manually start the car when it needs to recharge the battery.