How an electric car saved the day for Dundonald couple when Storm Éowyn hit
When Storm Éowyn hit the island of Ireland on Friday, one local couple found an innovative way to stay connected.
The major storm led to hundreds of thousands of customers across Northern Ireland being left without electricity.
Nearly 200 electricity engineers have been deployed to NI from other parts of the UK to assist with the operation to restore power to customers. NIE Networks has said it may be February 3 before power is restored to all homes.
David Anderson, 45 and from the Dundonald area, was at home with his wife and cat and dog during the storm. Quick-thinking David charged his electric car beforehand as a precaution. When the power went out, the couple connected the Vehicle 2 Load adapter to the car and ran an existing extension reel into their kitchen. This allowed them to power essentials such as phone charging, running a kettle and a coffee machine, and powering laptops.
David told Belfast Live: "Our power went out at 9am on the Friday and was restored at 5pm the same day. The main thing we did to prepare was to ensure the electric car was charged up the night before as this was going to be a crucial asset to us if the electric did go out, which it did.
"Being able to plug our electric vehicle into the house and have a power source via the V2L meant that we could turn on some essential appliances when needed such as cooking. We were also able to continue working and stay in communication with family by powering laptops and charging our phones.
"Previously we'd have been unable to work from home if the power went out and would have had to use our phones sparingly, to save the battery. This time with the power through our electric vehicle we were able to power, charge and hotspot all devices which enabled us to stay online and work from home.
"Having the opportunity to head out and charge our car at a Weev Charge Point means we were able to power sections of the house as we needed them. It also gave us the reassurance that if the outage had of continued for multiple days, we would have been able to stay turned on and operational."
David said the experience has taught him some lessons: "Having an electric car placed us at an advantage during this storm but in the future, I would love to find a way to isolate the house from the grid and use the V2L to power the bare essentials of the house, such as manual changeover switch and a generator plug.
"That would allow us to power the heating and fridge/freezer also and stay even more connected. We were delighted with being able to power what we did this time round though."