- Nissan Leaf house owners are getting a brand new, higher-power, bidirectional charger possibility
- Utilizing the FE-20 bidirectional charger will not void the Leaf’s guarantee
- Nissan did not say how a lot the FE-20 bidirectional charger prices
Nissan has authorised an up to date bidirectional charger to be used with its Leaf EV, giving house owners another choice for utilizing their vehicles as cell power sources.
Nissan Leaf fashions have had the {hardware} for bidirectional charging since 2013, the automaker famous whereas saying approval of the brand new charger, the 20-kw Fermata Power FE-20. However Nissan did not formally allow or endorse use of the characteristic within the U.S. till 2022, when it authorised use of the Fermata FE-15 charger. Like that 15-kw charger, the FE-20 can be utilized with out voiding a Leaf’s guarantee.
2025 Nissan Leaf
The FE-20 boasts some enhancements over the FE-15, together with 33% extra energy, an up to date design that lowers manufacturing prices, and a decrease retail worth, in response to Nissan, though the automaker didn’t quote a selected worth.
Nissan additionally guarantees a larger capability to maneuver power backwards and forwards between the automotive and the grid than the FE-15 which, in a proof-of-concept check on the automaker’s Franklin, Tennessee, U.S. headquarters helped cut back electrical energy payments by $9,450 over 4 years. Fermata Power’s personal software program administration device may help house owners obtain these financial savings by drawing energy from a automotive’s battery pack to assist energy buildings throughout high-demand, high-cost durations.
2025 Nissan Leaf
Different firms, equivalent to Wallbox, market bidirectional chargers that might let owners use EVs as backup energy sources, however that depends on approval from automakers like Nissan. As with the FE-15, the the FE-20 charger was authorised to be used with the Leaf after it was confirmed to fulfill Nissan’s personal necessities and acquired UL 1741 certification.
Nissan hasn’t up to date the Leaf in a number of years, which means it is now the one EV nonetheless utilizing the CHAdeMO fast-charging customary. It additionally now not qualifies for a federal EV tax credit score, but it surely’s nonetheless cheaper than the Nissan Versa economic system automotive, in some situations a minimum of. Bidirectional charging supplies one more reason to contemplate the aged hatchback past a doubtlessly low buy worth.