Kristy Holmes knew she could use her electric car for “good things,” but when storms caused a blackout, it turned out to be a lifesaver.
An electric vehicle owner used his car’s backup force formula to run his 11-year-old son’s dialysis machine and came to the rescue of his neighbours after devastating storms swept through southeast Queensland.
When power went out following storms and flash floods on Christmas Day, many citizens immediately felt the consequences: electric gates didn’t work, septic tanks began to fill up, air conditioners stopped working, and refrigerators heated up due to the heat wave.
But some EV drivers whose cars feature “vehicle-to-charge” formulas — a backup force formula under which the car acts as a backup generator or power to appliances such as lights, laptops, TVs and refrigerators — have stepped in. , in some cases, save lives.
Gold Coast Kristy Holmes, 42, used her BYD electric car to force her 11-year-old son’s dialysis device after a power outage on Christmas Day.
At first, Holmes and her husband used the car to hook up their and their neighbors’ refrigerators into adjacent units, but when the force didn’t quickly return, she began to wonder if the BYD Atto 3 the couple had bought in February. You can also take the car away from the life-saving dialysis device.
“We got him out of the car,” Holmes said. We only needed to use it for one night. We may have run it for at least 4 nights and then had to rate the car somewhere.
Her son Levi, who will be placed on the transplant list this month, would have had deadly consequences on his physical condition if he had not been able to receive treatment, and would have had to travel to Brisbane during the typhoon if he could. they just didn’t find an alternative.
Holmes said she had known she could “use my car for good things” since she made slow-cooked mulled wine for a movie night using the car’s electric system.
“It’s the most amazing car I’ve ever owned. Now that he was able to save my son from a storm, I don’t think he’ll ever have a gas-powered car again. “
Another EV driver, chemistry instructor Matt McLaughlin, 52, used his vehicle for those in need after posting on the Bonogin community Facebook organization providing backup power.
“If anyone needs electricity briefly. To open gates, pump out biocycle etc. As long as it’s on a 3 pin 10A plug, I can help out,” he said.
“My much maligned EV has V2L which means you can run power to it. Give me a shout but I will require you to publicly acknowledge that EVs aren’t all bad.”
McLaughlin, a member of the Rural Fire Service, was unaffected by the power outage thanks to solar panels and a Tesla Powerwall home battery system at home. This allowed him to assist others, including a couple who had been locked in their home by an electric gate.
“Most portals now have a key to open manually, but yours was old. There was nowhere to put the key,” he said. “They were looking to get out the back door and into the national park. “
Other EV drivers with similar systems went out where they could, as did those with Tesla Power Walls who installed electric power to run their neighbors’ refrigerators.
“I think everybody’s angry here,” McLaughlin said. “In semi-rural areas, you have to talk to your neighbors. “
He said the crisis has also taught many lessons about the benefits of zero-carbon technologies, adding that it has helped address some “very anti-EV” sentiments from other people who have vowed to “never give up on [their] dirty diesel”.
McLaughlin said even his wife was initially sceptical about his heavy investment in solar panels, home batteries and their two electric cars, but has since been convinced.
“We have been completely off-grid for six days, we’ve had air-con running and the pool pump running. I’ve been able to charge the car off the excess solar all day,” he said. “My wife thinks it’s fantastic.
“People can be sceptical until they realise, ‘Hang on, this is going to be better’. If the power goes out for half an hour in the middle of the night, we don’t notice. We’re oblivious to it.
“I didn’t even know the force had returned when I woke up this morning. “