In the midst of Cyclone Alfred and its aftermath, there were upwards of 450,000 homes in south-east Queensland and north east NSW blacked out at some point over the past week. Even a few days after Alfred became an ex-tropical cyclone, there were still more than 120,000 properties without power.
But some houses – including those with home batteries and EV owners with vehicle to load technology – were able to keep their appliances going and their lights on. And the EV owners in particular have been taking to social media to report how their batteries on wheels helped them power their homes through the storm.
Vehicle-to-load (V2L) technology allows power to be sent from a car’s battery to external appliances – though not all EVs have V2L capability, including Australia’s two most popular EVs to date, the Tesla Model Y and the Model 3.
Chris Baker, director of Sunshine Hydro, a company proposing to combine pumped hydro with green hydrogen production to support large customers in Queensland, took to LinkedIn to share that his 2013 Nissan leaf had kept the lights and fridges running.
“With a simple inverter connected to the 12V battery, we’re keeping food fresh, phones charged, and laptops going,” Baker wrote. “The Leaf stays switched on so it continues to recharge the 12V system from the main battery.
“This moment is a reminder of how energy isn’t just about supply, but about orchestration – bringing together all available resources to keep things running when they matter most. “It’s also a lesson that energy storage, not just energy production, is the backbone of energy resilience.”
Meanwhile, in a post in Hyundai EV Enthusiasts Australia, one EV owner said his family had been, “saved by our 24 Kona EV”. The Brisbane-based family, who were flooded in without power for two and a half days, connected an extension cord into the car and were able to power their fridge and freezer, microwave, kettle, lighting and telephones, helping them get by while also providing cups of coffee for their neighbours.
That poster said they had currently used about 18 per cent of their battery power, and he estimated they’d have been able to keep afloat for another few days had the power not been switched back on.
Meanwhile, another poster in an MG4 owners’ group on Facebook said his family had relied on their MG4 for power for 36 hours, over which time they’d been able to run “a beast of a fridge, devices, kettle, and my coffee machine (vital)”. More of this article (The Driven) - link - more like this (V2G) - link - more like this (Australia) - link
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