Guide us to thy perfect light

Only one thing's better than driving home for Xmas: powering the lights with your EV when you get there.

- PHOTOGRAPHY MAX EDLESTON

Three years ago, Nissan celebrated building 250,000 Leafs at its Sunderland plant by using one to power a giant Christmas tree, complete with reindeer, outside the factory.

There was snow (real, not fake) on the ground too, making the whole scene look very festive – well, as festive as a grass verge next to a chain-link fence and a security hut can look.

To use an EV’s drive battery in this way requires the vehicle to have V2L (vehicle-to-load) capability. This enables it to convert the DC current that powers it back to AC, the form it received it in the first place unless it was provided by a DC fast charger. The AC power is drawn via a special adaptor, one end of which plugs into the car’s charge port while the other has a conventional three-pin socket into which external devices or equipment can be connected. Some EVs also have a three-pin socket inside the car, allowing power to be drawn directly, even when the vehicle is moving.