V2H: Can electric cars power our homes?

Introduction

They say the grid can’t handle a world full of electric cars. That if we all plugged in at once, the lights would go out. But what if we’ve been thinking about this all wrong?

What if electric cars aren’t a threat to the grid…but the greatest resource?

If we do a few things right, EVS won’t just charge from the grid: they could power our homes, balance the system, and reshape the entire energy economy from the driveway.

When I first heard about this, a few obvious questions came up:

• Would this wear out the car battery and ruin the value?
• What if I had an emergency and the car was flat?
• How does this work with the grid?

But the more I thought about it, the more it started to make sense: power cut protection, local grid balancing, dispatching power during peak hours, and buying back energy when it’s cheap.

The concerns suddenly felt solvable.
Keep some reserve for emergencies. Don’t use the system 24/7. Only deploy when it matters. Link it to grid prices and sell energy high, buy it back low.

Why is this a thing?

V2X is really about adding battery storage to the grid, something we desperately need. Solar and wind are brilliant, but not dispatchable. They produce power when it’s available, not necessarily when we need it. Batteries solve that gap. And what’s already got a big battery sitting in the driveway? Your car.

Such an idea isn’t new; a Japanese standard was the first to support V2X functionality. Enabling cars as home power sources was a design goal after Japan’s 2011 earthquake (to use EVs for emergency power). Nissan and Mitsubishi equipped vehicles like the Leaf and Outlander with a specific charger standard, CHAdeMO, ports from early on.

Is anyone using this?

Is this just a theory, or has it been tested? Turns out, yes. Octopus and OVO Energy ran trials with small groups. The trialists seem happy; they get cheap charging rates without needing to organise anything. Tariffs have followed, but Adoption is still slow.

Adoption could be slow due to a few things: 1. It is pricy, a V2H-capable charger is around £5,000, compared to a £1,000 smart charger, 2: most EVS can’t do bidirectional charging yet (The tech that allows V2H), and 3. the relatively boring bit, standards. If this is going to work for everyone, we need universal rules, consumer protection, and time to get the tech aligned.

Current batteries degrade. Each time you drive your EV, it loses a bit of long-term capacity. So now there’s a trade-off: power your home and save money, or protect your vehicle’s range. Would you take that deal? Interestingly, some pilot projects found that V2H could actually improve battery performance by 9%. Why? Because systems controlled charging to stay in the healthiest range, between 20–80%, just like what your phone tries to do.

The UK government sees the opportunity, backing £30 million in pilot funding, aiming to use electric fleets as part of the national energy system.

How does this look in the future?

The next 5–10 years could be good for tech. Experts forecast significant growth for EVS. By 2030, the UK could have well over 10 million electric cars on the road. Even if a fraction of those use V2X, the impact could be enormous. Industry studies project that by 2040, widespread bidirectional charging could save UK drivers ~11% on their electricity bills (around £190/year on average), and if paired with home solar, could cut bills by up to 43% (≈£380/year). Some forecasts say V2G could save the grid up to £2.5 billion in generation costs.

The US Department of Energy says the EV manufacturing capability is projected to increase 1,000 GWh/year by 2030. If a fraction of these vehicles could be connected, it could revolutionise the power grid.

V2X in the UK is transitioning from niche trials to broader uptake, thanks to favourable regulations, supportive energy companies, and more V2H-ready EVS coming soon. It’s a promising solution for cutting bills, increasing renewables use, and providing backup power. Challenges still need to be overcome, but the industry view is optimistic. One day, you may be making a cup of tea with your car’s power.

Conclusion

Overall, EV Customers, who trialled this scheme, seem excited by the idea, but there are a few kinks that need to be ironed out before they would adopt it again. My opinion is that if you work at home and drive once a day to pick up family, this could work for you. If you are commuting, this doesn’t make as much sense.

Thank you for reading.

Written by MJFrost. Created with the assistance of AI.