Frequently Asked Questions
We hope that the FAQ shown below will answer you questions but if you still have a questions for do sent us a question by clicking on the 'Ive a question' Button bellow.
Let's try and answer some questions
We know that you are going to have loads of questions and in order to make it easier to find the answer you are looking for we have split up the questions in to sections
Question about the Setec Power stations
Question - Will I be left with a flat battery and stranded unable to drive anywhere?
Answer - Thankfully the answer to this question is 'No' - The unit is designed to stop drawing electricity from the vehicle when the battery levels drop to between 30 and 35%. We recently tested this on our 5 year old Nissan leaf which has a 24 KW hour battery. We let the unit run until it turned itself off leaving 24 miles range.
Question - How long will the battery last for on a full charge
Answer - As you would expect the answer depends on how big your battery is and how much you are powering from it. Let's take the example of my car (5 year old Nissan Leaf with a 24kwh battery). It can no longer hold the full 24 kwh battery but let's say it can now hold 20Kwh hours. The power station will shut off when it is down to about 7Kwh in order to avoid running the battery down to 0%. This means that on a full charge we have about 7Kwhs to play with. The average UK house uses about 9Kwh of electricity per day - So you could power the average house for over one day.
Question - What is a Kwh?
Answer - Ok.. I was asking for that one! One Kw is 1000 watts. A small electric kettle will use about 1000watt when it is. If you had that kettle running for one hour, you would then use 1KwH of electricity.
Electric vehicle batteries are measured by Kwh - They range from about 24Kwh (that's the older Nissan Leaf) to lots more!
Question - Can any electric car be used with a Setec Power Station
Answer - Unfortunately not. At the moment only the CHAdeMO charging system is capable of what is know as 'bi-directional charging'. This enables power to be taken from the car as easily as it can be charged. Other charging systems are looking to develop theirs in order to make this possible but at the moment the Setec Power Station only works with CHAdeMo charging ports.
Question - So what vehicles are fitted with the CHAdeMo system?
Answer - It is worth checking to be sure but most of the Nissan Leafs post 2013 will be fine. Several of the Mitsubishi cars also use the CHAdeMo charging system. None of of the Tesla cars are compatible at the moment.
Will this device damage my car battery -
Answer - Studies show minimal impact from V2G or V2H, and even potential benefit in some cases. This type of product is very common in Japan. However, please note that Nissan and Mitsubishi have not endorsed this product or approved its use. It is not covered by OEM warranty and to be used at your own risk.
Question - Can this device be used indoors?
Answer - unlike diesel or petrol powered generators this unit can be used to provide power indoors so would be fine in places such as shopping centres or garages.
Question - Can I use it to charge my car
Answer - Nope.. sorry - this unit is designed solely to power other stuff. It could possibly be used to charge another car?? That might well be the subject of another test/video in due course