You drive your electric car into the garage and plug it in to charge.
Or, depending on the energy needs of your home, the house might even draw power from your car.
On the roof are the latest ultra-efficient solar panels converting the sun’s energy to electricity and storing it in the home’s battery. The panels are backed up by windows which double as solar panels.
Inside is a perfect temperature thanks to the ultra-efficient airconditioner which turned itself on before you got home, creating the perfect environment to prepare for the hydrogen-powered barbecue you’ll be hosting later that evening.
It’s a glimpse of what could be the near future, with experts saying the key is making EVs affordable and accessible for families.
Currently, the ticket price of EVs is generally far higher than petrol equivalents.
But companies like BYD Automotive are out to change that.
In its first year to this month operating in Australia, it has sold 10,000 Chinese-made ATTO 3 SUVs priced at around $50,000. Its new model hatchback Dolphin is due for release next month with a price point of $38,890 and it also has plans for a ute.
The Electric Vehicle council points to models including the MG ZS EV, Hyundai Ioniq and Nissan Leaf as other reasonably affordable options.
“As competition, investment and innovation increase, the costs of EVs will continue to fall while conventional vehicle prices stay the same,” the council says.
“(And) contrary to a popular myth, EV batteries last as long as the lifetime of your car.”
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In what may be a game-changer for the EV market, BYD has ordered 100,000 chargers to retail at $500 to make fast home charging the norm, with delivery expected from next month.
Financial experts also point to a combination of salary sacrificing and the waiving of federal fringe benefits tax (FBT) on EVs that can make financing attractive.
The key is having an employer willing to allow a salary sacrifice deal for the employee to take a novated lease on an EV. The Australian Taxation Office says employers do not pay FBT if they provide private use of an electric car, subject to some conditions — and the federal government will complete a review into this exemption by mid-2027. For now, monthly payments on a $50,000 EV can be the same as on a $35,000 petrol car.
Another game changer on the home front is the rise of home batteries, as they also come down in price.
The latest Clean Energy Report estimates some 50,000 home battery systems were installed in 2022, up from 34,731 the year before – bolstered by still-generous subsidies and incentives for them in some states and territories.
Liam Navon, national sales manager with Smart Energy, said the drop in price for power generated by solar panels was fuelling a rise in people installing batteries.
Last year there were a total of 19,208 simultaneous installations of panels and batteries – a 46 per cent jump on the previous year. With power bills on the rise, more people are expected to be looking to the sun.
When it comes to car batteries, most of BYD’s sales have been with the extended battery option giving a range of 480km, compared to around 400km with a standard option.
Buyers can charge their cars at home using an extension cord to a standard power point, or like Lingwen and Joy Kong from Adelaide, install a charger to take advantage of their rooftop solar panels and battery.
“It is a really good family vehicle with room for child seats for our two children in the back,” Mr Kong said.
“We’ve had it for almost a year and it is very good value for money, very comfortable with good acceleration and no engine noise.”
Mr Kong said overnight charging was fine to give him plenty of range for extended city driving.
Mark Harland, chief operations officer of EV Direct, the distributor of BYD in Australia, noted early adopters of EVs tended to have also been early adopters of solar power, so many ATTO 3 buyers had solar panels and batteries.
He said owners with solar panels could effectively have free car power if they charged their vehicle during sunny days at home. And there were plans for the vehicles to be able to feed power back to the grid or to the home at night.
“The vehicles can soak up the solar during the day then potentially give it back to the house or grid at night, but more testing is needed,” he said.
For city driving, plugging into a wall socket could take around four hours for a charge, while an installed charger cut it to one-to-two hours. An on-the-road fast charger station takes about 30 minutes.
Mr Harland expected the 100,000 7KW chargers at $500 for faster home charging “will rock the market” as consumers weighed up their options.
He said the arrival of the Dolphin next month opened a new pricepoint category in the Australian EV market.
Originally published as New must-have for Aussie homes