Nissan Leaf could be used to power homes

By Cornelius Nunev


Japanese automobile maker Nissan is intending to develop a new feature for its eco-friendly Leaf automobile. They want it to double as a disaster home generator. The Japanese vehicle manufacturer is trying to develop the new engineering as it works to get back to full manufacturing. In March, the country was rocked by devastating earthquakes and an ensuing tsunami. Purchasing one will cost personal loans because of the high price.

Considered pure electric

The Leaf started to sell last year. It was in Dec. that it happened. Battery energy is the only thing used to make the auto run making it fully electric. The Chevrolet Volt and other eco-friendly automobiles are typically hybrid automobiles. A gas-powered generator is used to back up batteries. A high-performance, 24kwh lithium-ion battery can be found in the Leaf. If you want one, you'll have to pay about $37,000 or 2.98 yen.

Automobile to be used for generating power too

Carlos Ghosn is the Nissan president that says Leaf EVs (Electronic Vehicles) will have new technology put in them. They'll be able to put energy into private houses. In just a year, the business wants to have new automobiles in showrooms.

Japan's tsunami and earthquake destruction got several interested in the vehicle. Individuals want something like this for emergencies. The zero-emissions automobiles head in Nissan is Hideaki Watanabe. He said, "Some individuals are saying that rather than installing a generator, they would just buy a Leaf." In Japan, you can get a household storage battery similar to the Leaf for about 2 million yen, or $25,000.

The average house can run for 24 hours in the U.S. with 24 kilowatt hours, which the Leaf can supposedly store. The vehicle could charge the home's power overnight if there were a crisis of some sort.

Hard to discover a charge unit

Nissan Motors hopes to market the home-powering vehicles without the addition of more hardware. The automobile could be able to go to the house with Nissan's quick-charge unit, states Watanabe. This unit takes about 30 minutes to restore about 80 percent of energy. It takes a normal outlet about 20 hours to charge the car. Right now, only Japan sells the quick-charge units. They cost about $15,000 to purchase one. Hopefully, that cost can be dropped to $10,000, Watanabe says.

Plant opening pushed back

There are about 2,000 Leaf cars in the U.S. That is of the 7,600 Leafs that have sold. Manufacturing slowed with the Japan disasters though. That means the Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant was unable to open. The opening will most likely be a while still. It can be late next year before it takes place. "Because of the earthquake, it's putting us in a difficult situation," claims Watanabe. "But we're not giving up yet," he explained.




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