Engineers from a rival company of Elon Musk's Tesla, Electrek, found out that the company secretly included bi-directional charging like the Tesla Model Y, otherwise known as vehicle-to-grid charging.
Tesla Model 3 can power a home through its vehicle-to-grid tech.
Tesla Secretly Added Bi-Directional Charging to Model 3
According to a report by The Next Web, engineers from a rivaling company known as Electrek did a reverse engineering vehicle tear down where they found out the Tesla Model 3 is equipped with a charger controller, which is capable of taking on electricity as well as dishing it back.
This means that the car does not only get power from electricity, it can also give it back and charge other stuff.
"The design is fully bidirectional. This means power can be converted from AC to DC the same way as the previous example, but also power can flow in the reverse direction, coming from the battery and ending up on the AC side. This is known as DC to AC inverter, and when this technology is present in a vehicle, it is known as V2G (Vehicle to Grid)," the engineer told Electrek.
Adding Backup Circuitry
According to the engineer, there is three V2G circuitry on the same circuit board, which would be beneficial in the event the main one fails.
If it does, the other two will serve as a backup and will still allow you to charge your electronic vehicle.
Although people at Tesla guaranteed it won't come to that easily, it's still a good idea to have a useful backup system since EVs are useless if you can't charge them and that having them repaired will cost thousands of dollars.
By adding the bi-directional charger, CEO of Jetcharge, Tim Washington, believes that Tesla could significantly reduce the costs of making a household vehicle-to-grid ready.
The addition of V2G allows Tesla owners to use their current wall charger, Washington told The Driven.
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Powering Up Homes
Tesla's system could provide a standard home with around 22kW at any one moment, according to the outlet, meaning that it's more than enough to power the entire home even if they use the HVAC system, a dishwasher, and a dryer.
This could be achieved by using a Type 2 charger on 3 phase power.
Nevertheless, Tesla's current maximum rate of 11kW is already enough to power a home.
But Tesla's move to add V2G tech on their cars, specifically Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3, will likely push car manufacturers to match their feature, which will allow any car owner to power their homes with their car's massive power battery.
Additionally, some believe that the technology could help provide energy security.
Basically, owners can charge their electric vehicles when the demand on the grid is low, making electricity cheaper, then they can offer that electricity back either locally or back into the grid whenever necessary.
Tesla already has the Powerwall technology that can be charged from the grid or other sources.
Then, the owner can use the electricity it gathered to power their homes rather than use conventional sources.
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