It is often about the great advantages of bidirectional charging and the growing number of models that support this technology. That is nice, but without a charging station that can charge bidirectionally, you will not get anywhere. Which charging stations are suitable for V2G or V2H and which of the two options do you need to get the most out of your bidirectional charging station?
4 different types of power the battery can supply
Bidirectional charging involves a battery that can not only receive power, but also send it back. For this you need a suitable charging station, which can 'consult' with the electric car and the smart meter in your home to determine whether it should receive or provide. Of course you can also arrange this manually yourself, but then all three components must be present. So you always need a car and charging station that support the technology, and a smart meter in your home or business premises.
There are four different options that are often mentioned interchangeably, but that differ greatly from each other and play a major role when you are looking for a bidirectional charging station from Alfen or want to charge bidirectionally via Wallbox. We have listed all four for you with a brief explanation.
V2H
V2H is the usual variant when it comes to bidirectional charging and is the technology that is already widely used in Asian countries such as Japan to have power when the power goes out. V2H stands for Vehicle to Home, so power from the EV to your home. With this variant you use the battery of your electric car as a home battery and you use all the stored energy yourself.
V2G
V2G is similar to Vehicle to Home, but there is a big difference between the two options. V2G is Vehicle to Grid and with this you supply power back to the network (for example to your grid operator). Although this would be a very suitable way to reduce grid congestion, the Dutch government wants to tinker with the advantages associated with this, which has somewhat reduced the appeal of this option.
V2L
V2L is much smaller than the previous two possibilities. V2L is Vehicle to Load and for this you need a V2L adapter that is plugged into the charging point of the car, where electrical devices (or complete miter boxes) can then be connected. Although this also helps during a power outage, V2L is something that is mainly used during holidays. V2L cannot be used to supply an entire house with electricity.
V2X
V2X stands for Vehicle to Everything (which doesn't really make sense, but that's besides the point) and consists of the combination of all the aforementioned technologies. This would be the end phase of bidirectional charging, where you can use the car as a source point everywhere.
Very few charging stations that can charge directionally
When you start looking for a bidirectional charging station for the Nissan Leaf or a Wallbox bidirectional charging station, you will soon notice that the range of charging stations that can charge bidirectionally is still very small. Not only because the technology itself is still in its infancy, but also because there is (still) relatively little demand for it and the technology is particularly expensive, which means that these charging stations are considerably more expensive on the market.
In the future, big names will also focus on bidirectional charging stations
However, there is a very good chance that this will change in the near future and that you will also be able to find bidirectional charging stations from Alfen and other big names. With new, expensive technology, it becomes increasingly cheaper as the technology is further developed and implemented. There comes a point where the initial costs are (largely) recouped, and then the charging stations become considerably more affordable.
View the current range of bidirectional charging stations directly online
Want to know which charging stations you can already choose to charge bidirectionally? Then click on the link below. There we have collected all available bidirectional charging stations and this is constantly updated. This means that new models are immediately visible when you use the link below.
View all bidirectional charging stations in our range immediately
