Nissan unveils Leaf-loving home of the future [video]

Has solar panels and a fuel cell

Nissan has unveiled their NSH-2012 "Smart House of the Future" at CEATEC Japan.

Designed to be the perfect abode for Leaf owners, the NSH has an aircraft-inspired monocoque structure and is meant to be part of a 'smart' community that combines eco-friendliness with comfortable living. As such, the home has solar panels and a fuel cell. Additionally, a LEAF to Home charging system enables a Nissan Leaf to provide power to the house during emergencies.

Source: Nissan

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NISSAN'S STAND-ALONE ENERGY COMMUNITY FEATURING THE "LEAF TO HOME" CHARGING SYSTEM TO BE EXHIBITED AT CEATEC JAPAN 2011

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced its participation in CEATEC JAPAN 2011, an annual exhibition showcasing cutting-edge electronic and information technologies. At the show, Nissan will showcase its "Stand-alone Energy Community" exhibit with the "LEAF to Home" (V2H) in the Smart Community ZERO area within the special Smart Community Innovation 2011 exhibition zone. "V2H" stands for the "Vehicle to Home" system, which enables energy that is stored in an electric vehicle's batteries to be used in residential homes. CEATEC 2011 will be held at the Makuhari Messe convention center near Tokyo from October 4 to 8.

Exhibit overview:

1. Exhibition
Smart Community ZERO (Stand-alone Energy Community)
Smart Communities are now attracting attention as a system which can provide environmental friendliness, comfortable living, and help society become more resilient in the face of potential disasters. At CEATEC, Nissan will show a potential stand-alone community of the near future which is part of a society that uses low levels of carbon; where people access health/medical services through IT; and with housing that connects with the LEAF to Home system, which enables LEAF owners the option of powering their homes with their cars' batteries.

With an actual Smart Community as part of the displays, visitors to CEATEC can see energy being generated and consumed through Smart House, Smart Healthcare, Smart Cottage, Smart Rental Car and Smart Food Stand exhibits. These interactive exhibits will be jointly presented with the cooperation of various companies.

Each Smart facility has a stand-alone energy system using solar power generation, fuel cells, storage batteries or EVs. Each of them not only independently generates and consumes energy, but also complement each other by supplying power and are interconnected within the power grid.

NSH-2012 Smart House of the Future
In the Home Zone within the Smart Community area, Nissan will display its Smart House "NSH-2012", which uses the LEAF to Home charging system. To maximize available space, NSH-2012 adopts the high-floor style of ancient Japanese housing design. A polyhedral room, which can fit in the urban landscape of the near future, features a monocoque structure used in aircraft; the outer panel of the main body is also subjected to structural stress. With a power supply system that combines double power generation (solar power and fuel cell power) with the LEAF to Home system, this home can maintain stable in-house power supply that is not affected by weather, and can rely on solar power and power stored in an EV's batteries if power is cut off during a disaster. With an energy management system that uses next-generation mobile communications, the home's electric appliances also employ energy-saving and remote-controlled maintenance features.

The Smart Community Stage powered by Yokohama's Smart City Project
Supported by the Yokohama Smart City Project (YSCP) - a collaborative project between the City of Yokohama and private enterprises, of which Nissan is a member - presentations and talk shows will be conducted on the venue stage. These events are organized by the participating companies and organizations as part of the Smart Community ZERO concept, and will be supported by a truck equipped to supply solar-generated power that was used in areas in Japan affected by the March 2011 earthquake. The program will also include a live radio broadcast by the FM Yokohama radio station on October 7.

FM Yokohama "E-ne is good for you SPECIAL Smart Community ZERO
Time & Date: 13:00-17:00, Friday, October 7, 2011
Place: Smart Community ZERO, Exhibition Hall 3, Makuhari Messe

2. Presentation
Guest Speech "EV. the New Energy"
Well-known journalist Taro Kimura will moderate a talk between Osamu Masuko, President and a Representative Director of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, and Toshiyuki Shiga, Chief Operating Officer at Nissan, who will discuss changes in the operating environment for automobiles and the future of the EV business.

Time & Date: 11:30-12:30, Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Place: Convention Hall AB, 2nd floor, International Conference Hall, Makuhari Messe

Panel Discussion
"Rechargeable Battery Networks and Mobile Communications: Building the Next-Generation Energy Society"

The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 highlighted that energy storage is essential for saving and generating energy. Participants in this panel will discuss the role of specialists for battery storage technology, EVs, and mobile communication networks within the context of energy use in a future next-generation disaster-resilient society. Minoru Shinohara, a senior vice president at Nissan, will participate as a panelist.

Time & Date: 16:00-17:30, Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Place: Convention Hall AB, 2nd floor, International Conference Hall, Makuhari Messe

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eddie

Leaf is may next car. I always fly when I leave town and my commutes are of short duration. It will be nice to not pay for fuel, oil changes, tuneups etc. It is fairly luxurious

October 5, 2011 1:11 pm

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3 replies

AshleyTankard

Except for the batteries which expire after 2-3 years and need replacing, costing nearly ?8000 each. Not a typo.

October 5, 2011 1:25 pm

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dbehmoaras

If you don't like paying for fuel, than just get a car that consumes less or diesel, like VW TDI or something. This whole battery powered car craze has to stop. It's sending us in the wrong direction of innovation. The day will come when people realize that it was a wasted effort and that they should have invested elsewhere. I can only hope that the day comes sooner rather than later. Hydrogen. Enough said.

October 5, 2011 2:54 pm

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scratchy996

@ eddie , in all seriousness, what will you do during the zombie apocalypse with an electric car ?

October 5, 2011 10:37 pm

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car-o-bar

Next Decade homes on what planet? This is not EARTH.

October 5, 2011 4:20 pm

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porschecarreragtmay6

I can't wait until all the sheep and stupid automakers realize electric cars just aren't practical, and aren't the answer to the non existent environment problem. Personally, I think electric cars are all just a bunch of political bull $hitt scams. It's all about money power and control. Think about all of the dirty acid that goes into the Earth when the batteries are disposed of, and all the dirty industrial mining and shipping that goes into making the batteries. And where do all these idiots think the electricity comes from? Air? No! It comes from coal burning power plants!! And plus, whenever there is a power outage, your car is not going anywhere without a charge, and think about all of the problems all these electric cars would cause for the power grid. Just listen to Top Gear they know what they're talking about. The answer is efficient gasoline and diesel engines along with some hydrogen powered cars. Honda is smart investing in hydrogen.

October 5, 2011 5:28 pm

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6 replies

MRAD

A non-existent problem that the majority of the world's scientists and anyone who can take their head from out their ass to realise is taking place around them. You are also assuming that the rest of the planet is as far behind in its power generating technology as the US is, not all nations rely on coal power as much as the US does, some nations, such as Germany and Portugal (as well as Denmark, just to name a few) are developing a substantial amount of their power from renewables. On top of all of this, most of a modern battery can re recycled and those elements that currently can't are being worked on, heck the production of the battery is also far safer and cleaner than it would have been even five years ago. You can look for yourself at the updated reports on the production of batteries for the Prius for example. Pretty much all of what you are saying is the standard ignorant bag of garbage that is often shot out by those who are either in denial or ignorant of what is going around them. Also guess what, when gasoline runs out, where is your car going? The same place that it would if it were electric with the grid down. If you listen to Top Gear as a source of facts and information on the future of wide scare commercial cars and the environmental situation, you are pretty lost as things stand.

October 5, 2011 6:14 pm

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stylovale

@Mrad: What the heck are you talking about? Nearly half of Germany's engery comes from Coal, three quarters comes from fossil fuels. Germany has one of the highest consume of coal. And what do you think how fast those countries will switch to renewables? Five years? probably 50+! And as long as Li-Oxygen/Li-Sulfur Batteries are not ready for mass production (20+years) there is absolutely no reason to buy an EV. Every one with short comutes buy a bicycle ore use the bus (a technology which you can use allready today).

October 6, 2011 4:47 am

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MRAD

I didn't say that batteries are ready for mass production, but rather that their production isn't as harmful as the moron above me is claiming. In terms of energy, Germany doesn't produce all of its energy from renewables, but produces a substantial and increasing percentage compared to many other markets. Note, I didn't say that all of their energy is renewable or clean, what I did say is that they don't rely on it to the same degree as the US, or China in fact. Germany in fact as of earlier this year has made it past the 20% renewable mark and is set to increase that percentage drastically over the next 10 years, with the government setting a target for 100% within a 50 year period starting during in the mid 2000's. China is in fact also heading towards renewables and that county is quite capable of doing this, as it has demonstrated with many of its projects. Throw in many of the South American and African projects, combined with the few that you see in North America, they have already started the transition. In the future, don't comment on something that you don't have the slightest clue about.

October 6, 2011 5:50 am

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dbehmoaras

Hydrogen. There, argument over.

October 6, 2011 6:49 am

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stylovale

Wow MRAD guess what. I am from Germany. And I was involved in building one of the first commercial ebikes in Germany. And nobody buys it... The whole tale about Germany and renewables is the difference between energy consuming and generating. You know what they do? They generate cheap coal energy and trade it to the scandinavian/austrian/dutch and trade it for expensive hydro/wind energy and sell it then to the consumer. That's the 20% renewables. I pay 26c/kWh. (which is the highest price worldwide http://www.picspace.de/image/8596.jpeg ) What do you pay? Too little rivers for hydro/too little area for wind/ too little sunshine for solar. Where the eco energy should come from??? Don't belive everything the media says.

October 7, 2011 12:49 am

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MRAD

That's right, I don't believe what the media says and my information is from working for several Energy companies within Europe while interning in a few law offices. On top of this, I am back in Canada at the moment, where we are starting to invest (within the province of Ontario) in more alternatives, with our rates being far below what I was paying in Europe (having been in Portugal, the UK (England) and France).

October 9, 2011 6:38 am

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buruchaga

@dbehmoaras: If you hate the battery power craze, love it now. The tesla cars would re-invent the continuation.

October 6, 2011 7:29 am

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4 replies

scratchy996

Tesla will go bakrupt , they are losing too much money , other than some Hollywood types and rich hipsters, no one will buy their cars. Elecric cars will never be more than a second or third car for short commutes.

October 6, 2011 10:03 am

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buruchaga

Remember electric cars has been around in the early twentieth century together with steam driven cars. Due to the discovery of large quantities of oil,they had to use that resource. But now, the kinda politics goin on in that area is not healthy. Perhaps the transition is steep but this is the way forward and would create more jobs

October 12, 2011 1:25 am

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dbehmoaras

Wrong. Tesla is in so much trouble right now, they are struggling to survive. I will not post a long-winded argument, because I have argued on this point many times before on this site. The battery power craze is exactly that: a craze. The transition to Hydrogen is much less steep than the battery, and the potential gains from Hydrogen R&D extend well beyond the automotive industry. It's just dumb.

October 13, 2011 9:31 am

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buruchaga

They may be in trouble right now but there may be options such as reworking on the battery power and getting the prize down. Electric cars are now being introduced to consumers after so many years of absence and you would expect a hard-lined fuel consumers to nitpick the tech. All the same i don't hope Tesla goes bankrupt.

November 15, 2011 12:43 am

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eddie

Your hydrogen fuel cell battery will really make the electric car. The battery lasts for ever as long as you keep pumping in hydrogen and oxygen. Also they are experimenting with with leased battery pace that can be exchanged in 3the minutes

October 9, 2011 11:17 am

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JakeLawrence

I guess it will come down to Nissan vs. Tesla in the end. I wonder who will win. I found a similar video explaining how to use the Leaf in your home : http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOLOGY/MAGAZINE/power_your_home.html No more power companies?

December 9, 2011 2:16 pm

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