Mitsubishi Unveils the Dendo Drive House

Mitsubishi Motors is bringing the heat this year with concepts and technology galore. With the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show, the automaker has unveiled their oddly-named crossover, the Engelberg Tourer, and possibly a new lifestyle. To put it simply, Mitsubishi Motors has unveiled a power system that lets consumers vehicles power their home. We discussed this a little bit last week, with the promo of the Dendo Drive House. Now with everything out in the open, there’s a lot to talk about, and we’re loving this new tech.

Dendo Drive House

A little catch-up – the Dendo Drive House (DDH) was a concept in the making back in the spring of 2018. Mitsubishi Motors partnered with ENGIE and Hitachi Europe Ltd., to create neutral energy. ENGIE, a France-based natural gas distribution company, had designed their HQ building as a Building Energy Management System (BEMS). Equipped with solar panels, ENGIE is able to collect and store energy for use, but what happens to the excess energy. How does Mitsubishi fit in? When Hitachi Europe comes to play with their vehicle-to-everything V2X charger, a bi-directional charging unit becomes a part of the picture.

Cue the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. When the building has collected more solar-converted energy than it can store, this excess energy is transferred through the V2X bi-directional charger and into the Outlander PHEV battery, effectively recharging it. Later at night, ENGIE can then use the energy stored in the building’s power grid, and in scenarios where more energy is needed, like the winter, instead of tapping into ground lines, the Outlander PHEV is there to provide back up.

Is it coming together? That was the groundwork for the Dendo Drive House. Like ENGIE, a DDG will come with solar panels to collect and store energy in a large home battery that powers the house and its appliances. A bi-directional charger is installed into the home battery and through the garage where…yes, the Outlander PHEV resides. Think of the possibilities. Think of the downfalls after a night of driving during the winter.

Let’s focus on the positive. Not only is the DDH an ecosystem family unit, but there are a number of potentially beneficial scenarios. Families could cut the cost of utilities, charge their plug-in hybrid for free, and basically kill the night owl hours of the electricity bill. Curious about the research? Think it’s all hullabaloo?

Think again. Mitsubishi Electric took the neutral-energy project and ran with it. After a small project in November 2018, Mitsubishi Electric found that energy-management technology could reduce electric power costs by 5-percent for an office building. That may not sound like much, but with the state of Florida spending nearly $7k a year for electricity, that’s $500 for groceries, bills, wherever it needs to go. A DDH could even pay for itself…eventually.

Mitsubishi Motors says the Dendo Drive House will be available to buy in late 2019. They’re even talking about package deals at dealerships with the purchase of a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and professional installation of the maintenance service systems (no self-installation foreseen). Just be prepared to spend $11,000 smackers on the bi-directional charger alone.

Mitsubishi Motors is bringing us into the future. What are your thoughts? Let us know on University Mitsubishi social media. Find out why the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is the way to go with a test drive today.

Photo Source/Copyright: theverge.com