Tesla Cybertruck Faces First Real-World Powershare Test As Hurricane Helene Hits Florida
- by autoevolution
- Sep 27, 2024
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27 Sep 2024, 09:28 UTC
• By: Photo: Calvin Hudson via Facebook
Hurricane Helene hit Florida late Thursday night, leaving people without electricity. For those who bought a Tesla Cybertruck, this is the real-world test of its Powershare feature, which allows it to power the house and keep the lights on in an outage.
Bad weather and natural disasters have become part of our lives, and every year, we hear stories about power outages wreaking havoc on communities across the US. The Americans are especially vulnerable to utilities going out due to the fragmented grid, which doesn't provide redundancy. If the local grid is overwhelmed or down, there's often no outside connection to provide backup. The only thing that helps, besides emergency teams, is having solar panels and an energy storage system such as the Powerwall.
In the past years, there's also a new kind of relief offered by electric vehicles, which can provide electricity to a home. Vehicle to Home (V2H) allows an
EV
battery to function as a backup power in an outage. It's like a Powerwall, only much bigger, keeping the lights on for more days even if solar cannot provide enough power. Even if a house is not equipped with a V2H-compatible charger, the fact that you can run a cable from your EV's outlets to power critical appliances like a refrigerator can go a long way in an emergency.
Until this year, we've read mostly about Ford F-150 Lightning trucks helping keep the lights on at home or business locations. This year, however, Tesla launched its first V2H-capable model: the Cybertruck. Not that other Tesla EVs aren't technically capable of functioning as a power source. A recent experiment showed that Model 3/Model Y can do that, even though Tesla doesn't support it officially.
Cybertruck's V2H feature is called Powershare and was one of the highlights of the truck amid many misses with range and charging performance. Almost one year after the first Cybertrucks were delivered, Tesla's electric pickup truck faces its first Powershare real-world test as Hurricane Helene landed in Florida on Thursday night. The first reports from Cybertruck owners look promising, although we'll have to wait a few more days before concluding.
The most cautious have already charged the battery to the desired level, usually above 90%, while the electricity was still working. Some confessed to cooling the house in advance so they wouldn't have to turn on power-hungry air conditioning during the outage. The Cybertruck's battery has a 123-
kWh
capacity, about the same as nine Powerwall 3 batteries combined, but it's still a limited resource.
The Cybertruck can deliver up to 11.5 kW of power to your home, more than the Ford F-150 Lightning's 9.6
kW
. This means it can provide electricity backup for about 10 hours if used at full power. However, most people would limit electricity use to the most essential appliances to conserve battery as much as possible.
It's not just Powershare that is useful these days. As streets are flooded, the Cybertruck's Wade mode can also help when driving through water. Some owners have already become news sensations, although electric vehicles have been wading water for as long as they existed.
Another Cybertruck owner powering their home with Powershare.
“Our whole community has been without power for about an hour. Our Cybertruck is keeping us comfortable powering the AC, lights and fridge. Based on the current draw, we should have about 48 hours of power.” https://t.co/b6isuv9h1m pic.twitter.com/AgaU89U8nL
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