Can your shiny new electric vehicle power your home? It’s a question we see a lot these days, especially with the rising popularity of EVs. Technically, most EVs have enough energy in the battery to power a home for several days, but things are a little more complicated than that.
All the EVs on the road store tons of energy in the battery, but they lack the right hardware and features to transfer all that battery power elsewhere. So for most EV owners the answer is no, you can’t power your home with an EV. However, new vehicles like the Chevy Silverado E and Ford F-150 Lightning can charge in two directions and can share that battery power.
Here are a few additional details about how this technology works, how you can turn an electric vehicle into a generator, and how long your EV can power your home.
What is bidirectional charging?
Let’s say you want to use your electric vehicle as a generator and power your home in case of an emergency, power outage, or other situations like we’ve seen in California or Texas. In that case, you’ll need a newer EV that supports bi-directional charging. And while Nissan technically had its Leaf-to-home program, you generally need a new EV.
This will likely be one of the biggest selling points for new EVs in the near future. So what does that word mean? Bi-directional charging means your electric car or truck can send battery power in both directions. So instead of just receiving power from the wall, it can send it back to your home or the grid.
You can also think of this as “V2H” or “V2G” technology, which stands for vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-net. Anyway, they all have a similar idea, which is to share the battery power of electric vehicles with other devices.
GMC and Chevrolet just signed a partnership in California to conduct a pilot program where the new Silverado E electric pickup can power homes or even help return power to the grid during peak loads. Some automakers call it vehicle-to-everything, such as the Hyundai IONIQ 5.
How does bidirectional charging work?
The first electric truck with bi-directional charging is the Ford F-150 Lightning. This technology is built into the truck, allowing it to use the built-in battery in an emergency to power tools on a job site or at home.
However, to power your home with an electric car, you need more than just the vehicle. Owners need an upgraded charging system, a power box that can convert the car’s DC power into usable AC power for home outlets, and pay an electrician to hook everything up safely. It’s more expensive than a traditional EV charger, that’s for sure.
Since the Ford F-150 Lightning is one of the first vehicles with bidirectional charging, we will use it as an example. Ford already sells what it calls the Ford Power Station Pro, and it’s $1,300 to add to your home.
Connecting the F-150 Lightning in your home requires the 19.2 kW Ford Charge Station Pro, which comes standard on longer range models and costs extra on base models.
You’re all set once your home is wired to handle bi-directional charging. While V2H capabilities exist now, we expect to wait a while before it’s widely adopted. It’s also worth noting that older homes may not have wiring that can handle the high amperage of vehicles.
Basically, it’s still new technology, complicated and not as simple as buying a new EV and getting all the chargers needed. That said, it’s the future and we expect most new EVs to support this feature.
In addition, Tesla has its Powerwall technology, which stores the power that comes from solar panels on the roof. This is a very different technology. The Tesla Powerwall is an industry-leading backup battery storage system for your entire home, but it won’t run away from a Tesla vehicle.
How long can an electric car power a house?
Now that you know that your next electric car could potentially power your home, you’re probably wondering for how long. Again, this is not an easy answer for several reasons. This depends on the size of the battery in your electric car or truck, the size of the house and how much power you use in a typical day.
The Chevy Silverado E, for example, has a large 200 kWh battery inside, which is larger than most EVs on the market today. According to the EPA and the US Energy Information Administration, the average US household uses about 893 kWh per month, or 30 kWh per day.
Do the math: At 30 kWh per day, the Silverado’s 200 kWh battery can power the average home for about six days. That said, the actual numbers will differ due to the loss of energy from DC to AC and other factors.
Then several other electric cars have a much smaller battery capacity, often around 70 KwH, meaning you might get power for a day or two as long as it supports bi-directional charging.
Is there enough power to go around?
One thing to keep in mind is the total power requirement. We’ve seen power outages in California, Texas and Nevada during the hot summer months. For example, last summer in Las Vegas, we had several days where the city asked residents not to use the air conditioning to keep the electrical grid running.
If you consider the millions of EVs that will hit the road in the coming weeks, months and years, this could make the situation even worse. As a result, we see a future where cars can use and share power when needed, for a house or an entire city grid.
We are still in the early stages of bidirectional charging and electric vehicles. However, as things evolve, improve and battery capacity increases, this technology could be vital for any EV buyer.