The rise in electric vehicles in recent years has gone hand in hand with major advances in EV technology, which has come on leaps and bounds. There are now far more electric vehicles on the market in Ireland, and charging has become much cheaper and more accessible for EV owners.
The popularity of electric vehicles is expected to continue on its upward path, with technological advances giving road users more reasons to opt for electric over fuel powered vehicles.
One of these recent advances, which is currently in its infancy but could become widespread in the coming years, is bidirectional (two-way) EV charging.
The key takeaways:
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What is Bi-Directional charging?
Most electric car chargers are unidirectional, meaning that energy flows in one direction – from the power source into the EV battery via the car charger.
With bidirectional charging, energy from the battery inside an electric car can be used outside the vehicle to power other appliances, your home during a blackout, or directed back to the grid.
A small but growing number of manufacturers are adding this two-way charging feature, which could prove to be popular among some Irish EV owners in the future.
How does bidirectional charging work?
The EV charger is actually located inside the vehicle, converting AC electricity to DC electricity. This DC power is what is stored in the EV battery, and this is then converted back into AC electricity to power the car – to move the wheels, essentially.
Instead of sending this AC electricity back to the motor, bidirectional charging allows for the electricity to be transferred back out of the charging port, meaning the power can flow in two directions as opposed to just one. This electricity could then be used for a variety of purposes.
Types of Bi-directional Charging
There are three main types of bidirectional electric vehicle charging: vehicle to load, vehicle to home and vehicle to grid.
Does my charger support bidirectional charging?
Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) bidirectional charging both require a compatible EV charger in order to function. These options are still less common and more expensive than most home EV chargers.
If you are interested in bidirectional EV charging then check if the charger you are purchasing supports it.
Which EVs offer bidirectional charging?
All BYD models and large parts of the Volkswagen ID family support bidirectional charging now, with other brands such as the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq 5 & 6, Kia EV6, EV9 & Niro also popular options.
The list of cars which support bidirectional charging grows rapidly with MG, Audi, Skoda, Volvo and more also putting out new models supporting the shift. In time it is expected that all EVs will be capable of bidirectional charging.
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