Click to enlarge.
There was a time when only the Nissan Leaf was able to do this: supply electrical power from its internal battery. Now the Mitsubishi i-MiEV can do the same… well, almost.
The unit that makes this possible is called the ‘MiEV power BOX’ that plugs in directly to the quick-charge connector. It converts the energy stored within the battery into AC 100V. A fully charged battery is able to supply up to 1,500 watts of electrical goodness and it is good for a constant supply of up to six hours, which according to Mitsubishi, is the amount of power consumed by an average Japanese household in a day.
Click to enlarge.
The MiEV power BOX is not designed to power an entire house, just the essential electrical appliances. The grand vision is that, with this converter, the i-MiEV can be an alternative power source when you are away from home or in an emergency. Undoubtedly, this will come in very handy when during natural disasters that knocks out the national power grid.
The unit will go on sale in Japan on April 27 for ¥149,800 or approximately RM5,800.
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or,
with few hundred bucks, I can buy an inverter from any computer shops and plug the inverter into the cars 12V DC port and get few hundred watts of AC supply…
enough for a fan, lights and even LED TV…
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what is the relevant of your comment to this article? aiyyoo…
Actually, I’m mystified as for the true use for this device. As it is, the car batteries have barely enough juice to power the car for day-to-day travel. Now, we want to suck it up for domestic use. What am I missing here?
Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Charge this “powerbox” FROM the household outlet to be used TO CHARGE the car battery when needed. Basically, it should be the same concept as the portable power chargers for smartphones.
How often would electric cars run out of juice in middle of journey? It would be pretty common – just as common as our smartphones running out of juice when you need it the most. How often do our houses experience blackout? Not very often I’d say..
and yeah, RM5.8k for power inverter is too much.
pakai genset lagi bagus! rumah jiran pun boleh kasi terang!
Nice portable device!!
Just imagine the possibilities, this device can provide enough power to run power tools or an air compressor or electric cooking appliances etc while parked in the middle of nowhere.
Commercial EV’s would find this very useful for tradesmen working on properties where electric has not been established or is temporarily unavailable after a cat event.
Ultimate fail would be when you have powered your items for an extended time and forgot to charge your car before driving out and getting stranded on the road shoulder.
Nice handy device for the “i-wished-i-had-power” times. Eg: Powering a fan/portable air cooler when there’s a power failure.
Unless I am mistaken, in Japan as well as in a fair number of other countries, the electricity rate varies depending on the time of day. It is more expensive during the day time than it is at night. So by charging your battery at night and using it to power the house in the day time, you’re saving money on higher electricity rates. I am unsure however, as to how beneficial this may be due to the high cost of the battery.