Bi-directional power transfer for electric vehicles

A method for operating a vehicle power electronics system, the method comprising:

• connecting a building electrical panel to a vehicle charging inlet of the vehicle power electronics system, wherein the vehicle power electronics system includes the vehicle charging inlet including a first line inlet terminal, a second line inlet terminal, and a neutral inlet terminal, a bi-directional on-board charging module (OBCM) in electrical communication a battery of the vehicle, wherein the bi-directional OBCM includes a first OBCM terminal and a second OBCM terminal in electrical communication with the vehicle charging inlet, and an alternating current (AC) to AC converter in electrical communication with the vehicle charging inlet and the bi-directional OBCM;
• operating the vehicle power electronics system in one of:
• a single-phase mode and a split-phase mode, wherein in the split-phase mode, the vehicle charging inlet is configured to simultaneously provide or receive both a single-phase AC voltage to or from the building electrical panel between either the first line inlet terminal or the second line inlet terminal and the neutral inlet terminal and a split-phase AC voltage to or from the building electrical panel between the first line inlet terminal and the second line inlet terminal;
• and
• transferring energy from the battery of the vehicle to the building electrical panel using the vehicle power electronics system to provide power to the building electrical panel.

A power electronics system for a vehicle, the power electronics system comprising:

• a North American Charging System (NACS) inlet including a first line inlet terminal, a second line inlet terminal, and a neutral inlet terminal, wherein a center of the neutral inlet terminal is substantially equidistant from a center of the first line inlet terminal and a center of the second line inlet terminal, and wherein the NACS inlet is configured to simultaneously provide or receive both a single-phase AC voltage between either the first line inlet terminal or the second line inlet terminal and the neutral inlet terminal and a split-phase AC voltage between the first line inlet terminal and the second line inlet terminal;
• a vehicle-to-load (V2L) electrical outlet for providing AC power to an external device, wherein the V2L electrical outlet includes a first line V2L terminal, a second line V2L terminal, and a neutral V2L terminal in electrical communication with the NACS inlet;
• a bi-directional on-board charging module (OBCM) in electrical communication a battery of the vehicle, wherein the bi-directional OBCM includes a first OBCM terminal and a second OBCM terminal in electrical communication with the NACS inlet and the V2L electrical outlet;
• an alternating current (AC) to AC converter in electrical communication with the NACS inlet, the V2L electrical outlet, and the bi-directional OBCM;
• and
• a switch matrix connecting the V2L electrical outlet to the NACS inlet, the AC to AC converter, and the bi-directional OBCM, the switch matrix including a plurality of electrically controllable switches for operating the power electronics system in a single-phase mode or a split-phase mode.