The growing number of electric vehicle (EV) owners in Lismore and the Northern Rivers may or may not realise a possible benefit of owning certain EVs during a blackout, like many realised during Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Winds howled around us for a few days, with strong gusts knocking down trees that brought down powerlines, causing blackouts for over 43,000 homes and businesses, some for quite long periods.

While those who experience regular blackouts may have a petrol or diesel-powered generator, some EV owners were purchasing a V2L (vehicle to load) cable that allows them to run the essential electric items in their house through an adaptor. The same way a caravan or generator would, with extension chords and power boards.

This system cannot be used to power your home on a permanent basis, that will eventually be done by a V2G (vehicle to grid) setup, which is currently only legal in South Australia. This would be where your car powers your house instead of a house battery. The issues surround feeding electricity back to the grid, which we are told can be stopped if you really want to pursue that avenue. The rest of NSW residents will have to wait for legislation to change, and we know how quickly that system works.

According to a local solar provider, powering your home appliances, such as fridges, computers, and internet devices, takes a minimal charge. As reported in the Lismore App's Talking Lismore podcast series, the average EV battery is about 5-7 times bigger than a home solar battery.

Unfortunately, this option is not available for all electric cars. EVs with V2L technology are: 

• BYD: Atto 3, Seal, Dolphin, Shark 6
• Kia: EV5, EV6, EV9, Niro
• MG: ZS EV, MG4 
• Hyundai: Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6
• Ford: F-150 Lightning, Ranger 
• Genesis: GV60, GV80
• Mitsubishi: Outlander 
• GWM: Cannon Alpha 
• Renault: 5 E-Tech 
• Peng: G6
• Zeekr: X

The other disadvantage is that your EV would need to be fully charged when the power goes, so it is dependent on how you use your EV.

V2L cables can be purchased from the vehicle manufacturer, and through cheaper sources, but do your research first.

The recommendation is to order your cables when there is no storm, because as the storm approaches, the queues get longer.