V2H through ChadeMo port

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Coacervate

New member
Joined
Apr 25, 2020
Messages
2
This is my first post. I live in New Zealand in a area with poor quality grid supply and frequent prolonged outages. I have slowly added PV solar systems as stand alone support for things like water pumps and other farm needs that are now independent of the power company.

But our home is still at the mercy of grid supplied electricity. Recently I bought a Nissan Leaf with a 40kWh battery. My plan was to work with a friend who is an Electrical Engineer with many years experience. If we could access that 400VDC battery through the ChadMo connection then he can build an inverter to supply our house with 240VAC as needed during outages.

Could anyone help me understand how to close the battery relay to give connection through from the Chademo port? I can't find any information on all the little pinouts but I am sure they are looking for a signal from the charger for which they were intended. I suppose this info is guarded to protect the innocent. Well, I am not that and my friend knows what he is doing so we should get an exemption... smile

Best wishes and thanks in advance
 
Coacervate said:
Could anyone help me understand how to close the battery relay to give connection through from the Chademo port? I can't find any information on all the little pinouts but I am sure they are looking for a signal from the charger for which they were intended. I suppose this info is guarded to protect the innocent. Well, I am not that and my friend knows what he is doing so we should get an exemption... smile

Best wishes and thanks in advance
TLDR: Buy a gasoline (petrol) or LP generator. Or a solar + battery system.

You need to build a computer that controls the interface. Basically, it will send a message to the car saying what it is (V2H, etc), what it wants to do, and process the messages from the car. There is going to be a safety handshake, where isolation is checked, a small voltage and current is passed, and then a full power connection is made.

Details? That is easy but not cheap. You need to spend ¥500,000 per year.

https://www.chademo.com/membership/join-us/
 
Here is a diagram that might help for the smaller 24kwh pack cars, but something similar would exist for the 40. Unfortunately it is not a direct connection thru one set of contactors. One option to explore might be to use a muxsan CAN bridge from Dala the Great, he has the knowledge and skills to do this, his website is https://dalasevrepair.fi

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LeftieBiker said:
You might want to look into the Wallbox.

Why post a useless link? Believe it or not, but you really don't have to respond in every thread.

wallbox has nothing to do with V2H thru the Chademo port.
 
nlspace said:
LeftieBiker said:
You might want to look into the Wallbox.

Why post a useless link? Believe it or not, but you really don't have to respond in every thread.

wallbox has nothing to do with V2H thru the Chademo port.

I don't, and you may want to actually read the "useless link." The Wallbox Quasar appears, as best I can tell, to be a V2H device that uses the QC port. One of us is having a definite Senior Moment here.
 
Say you run the battery down, the electricity still isn't back on and you have to go somewhere. Now what?
 
Sorry, but the Quasar doesn't exist; it is an imaginary concept similar to the Fenix packs. There is no evidence or any demonstration that it works. The simulated circuits don't even make sense, shown here from their video. Why would they make up chitt if there is a real thing to show? Why not show a Quasar actually plugged in to a car and working?

But they will sell you a reservation to buy one with a pre-order. i would suggest buyers read the fine print about how the information on the website has no value and how to obtain a refund. i did; its all a waste of time, hence a useless link.

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If you want to criticize the company for producing what may be vaporware, feel free to do so. Just don't snarl at me that "wallbox has nothing to do with V2H thru the Chademo port." It does. Also, when I approve a topic from someone looking for suggestions or information, I'll offer some if I can, at the time. Feel free to add me to your Foe list to hide my posts from you, but don't tell me, in effect, to shut up. If I make a mistake, note it - politely - but try to be sure that I have in fact gotten it wrong. We all need to show a modicum of civility here, with so many of us stuck at home.
 
I remember the good old days when some one would invent something and then try to sell it to you.
Now they try to sell you a product and worry about building it later, if the whole thing wasn't a scam, like fenix.
 
Well I want to thank you for most of the inputs. I had suspicions that there would be a computer involved. I found a video showing how to tap into the CAN bus. I've played around with arduinos and might have access to the service manual so I won't give up just yet. I'm as awnry as any Yank. Its my battery, I paid for it, it would be here if I hadn't worked for it so I might have to build a computer to sweet talk my car. But you know, somewhere in there are two posts. One is high and the other is low. When I find those, thats the day I void my warranty. :)

oh right... what really got me riled was the price on just a ChadeMo connector. They haven't found a number big enough to write it down in Kiwi dollars. Now I'm bout to pitch a fit ya'll

I do appreciate the help. If I find joy I will report in.
 
With 2 Leaf Pluses, I contacted wallbox about their Quaser bidirectional charger. They reached out to me and told me the box is going to be ready now in early 2021, and that in 2020 they will only be offering a level 2 charger.

I will let the board know if I hear more. I would like solar on the roof, but even if I could get power continuity through a V2H box I would consider that a step forward.
 
Coacervate said:
I do appreciate the help. If I find joy I will report in.

Yes do keep us informed. Many of us are interested in a commercially available V2G/V2H device. To clarify, the WallBox Quasar Unit is a V2G unit that will shut down if the grid goes down - according to the US representative. Also told that it is available in Spain (maybe other 220 VAC single phase countries based on code approvals). They plan on offering a US compliant -240 VAC split phase unit in (now due to Covid) 2021 (would not put money on it just yet). The only tried and true V2H unit that I am aware of (again commercially available) is the Setec Power unit - that claims works with both the Nissan Leaf CHAdeMO AND with CCS. Not sure what CCS/EV allows it to be used - anyone, anyone?

The US rep did indicate that their plans are to include V2H capabilities in the US unit - which will require a "transfer" device of some kind to auto transfer to your home back up panel if/when the grid goes down. There are no plans to include a MPPT type solar PV input. Too bad - a real ground breaker with all those features!

This is information from the official US rep - I do not represent WallBox in any way!
 
Hello @Coacervate. Have you made any progress with the CHAdeMO port? I'm considering buying a Leaf with this project in mind.

I don't have detailed knowledge on the Leaf battery but my initial thoughts were to run an independent power line to the main hot terminals of the battery. I'm only interested in discharging from the pack.

My thoughts are then to run the DC supply to the MPPT input of a Fronius solar inverter. The Fronius solar inverter is equiped with a feature called Dynamic Power Reduction (combined with a Fronius Smart Meter at the switchboard). As such it can be commanded to regulate to zero grid outflow with the inverter AC output then matched to household needs (maximum 5kW output).

The solar panels are obviously just a 'dumb' DC power source. I hope to research an equivalent 'dumb' DC power source from the Leaf. Charging of the Leaf would occur via the *edit - Type 1* port (but not at the same time!). Hopefully I'm not displaying my complete 'dumb' ignorance on the subject, but I need to start researching somewhere.

Does the Leaf have a 'hot' DC supply preceeding the CHAdeMo relays?
 
Thanks. I've looked a bit closer at the schematic on the previous page.

System Main Relay 1 and System Main Relay 2 seem to be accessible via the connection points on Pins 14 and 17 of the battery interface. Would it be feasible to parallel an appropriate voltage onto those pins to activate the relays? Thus bypassing the handshake protocols?

Please keep in mind the 'use case' for the CHAdeMO port is discharge only. The solar inverter load would be self-regulating to a maximum of 5.2kW discharge. I don't need or intend to use the CHAdeMO port for charging.

I anticipate I would modify the CHAdeMO port to be a simple physical interface only for connection to the Leaf. ie. I've watched a video where the main DC cables are spliced into a 'Y's at the battery connection point and bypass the DC\DC Junction Box.
 
smkettner said:
...you may as well just install a PowerWall and throw some solar up on the roof.

I'm already there with a 15kW solar array and a 24kWh battery. The problem with the battery is it's insufficent for winter requirements (a large household with split-system aircon heaters etc.). The battery is over-provisioned for summer requirements.

Adding extra fixed battery storage is not cost-effective. Getting an electric car to store excess solar generation, plus act as another battery reserve will be cost-effective.
 
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