First ID. models support bidirectional charging. Foto: Volkswagen AG
Since December 2023, many models in the ID. family models have enabled bidirectional charging with the “Vehicle to Home” function. This means that with a home power station and the integrated Home Energy Management System (HEMS) from Volkswagen partner HagerEnergy GmbH, customers can cover as much of their electricity needs as possible with their photovoltaic system. Both companies have launched a pilot project in Sweden in which an entire housing estate is being equipped with vehicles and the corresponding charging infrastructure.
ID. models with the 77 kWh battery (net) can serve as an additional energy storage unit for the home in future thanks to the bidirectional charging function. VW will also be able to activate the function for vehicles that have already been delivered as soon as they have also received the ID. Software 3.5 via an update. Thanks to the high storage capacity of the cars, a house can be supplied with solar power even over several cloudy days. The same applies in the evening when the sun has set and the photovoltaic system is no longer supplying electricity. Customers can decide for themselves when to draw energy from the public grid and when to use the self-generated electricity stored in the vehicle battery.
In addition, clever electricity tariffs and algorithms already make it possible to charge the car precisely when there is a lot of renewable energy available. For example, wind turbines do not have to be curtailed because the electricity generated cannot be drawn. The e-cars can in turn feed electricity into the customer’s home grid (vehicle-to-home) and also help to stabilize the electricity grid in the future.
The Stenberg estate in Hudiksvall, Sweden, is the site of a pilot project for bidirectional charging. The farm, which was converted as the basis for the new estate, has been standing for around 350 years. Swedish entrepreneur Klas Boman wants to make the houses future-proof and sustainable for another 350 years by converting them.
Boman: “Stenberg is a once-in-a-lifetime project. When we decided to realize the ‘another 350 years project’, energy and the environment were key. Every decision was made with these aspects in mind. The use of electric vehicles as energy storage was considered from the outset. Volkswagen thankfully joined the project in April 2021 and we are now ready to go. This will be one of the biggest changes in the energy market.”
Volkswagen is one of the first providers of a bidirectional charging solution based on the CCS (Combined Charging System) DC charging standard, which is widely used in Europe. Bidirectional charging is based on ISO standard 15118-2, which describes the communication between electric vehicles and wallboxes.
The bidirectional charging function in the ID. models in combination with DC charging technology is an extension of the home storage system. This takes over the main energy supply of the house. The vehicle is activated by the home power station when the home storage unit requires additional energy. As soon as the home storage system is recharged, the vehicle stops transferring energy and goes into standby mode.
Assuming an average consumption of a house of approx. 15 kWh per day, the battery of an ID. model can supply it with electricity for around two full days. The car’s high-voltage battery cannot be discharged below 20 percent state of charge to ensure constant mobility.
In the first version, the ID. models are only compatible with the DC home power station of the S10 E COMPACT series from HagerEnergy GmbH. Other home power stations are to be enabled for operation with a bidirectional charging station (wallbox) at a later date.
