What is V2H? How Vehicle-to-Home Charging Works

When the power goes out, a typical home battery can keep your lights on for 8 to 12 hours. Your electric vehicle could keep them on for days.

The average EV battery holds 60 to 100 kilowatt-hours of energy. A Tesla Powerwall holds 13.5 kilowatt-hours. That’s not even close. And if you already own an EV, that massive battery is sitting in your garage right now, unused for about 95% of its life.

Vehicle-to-home technology, known as V2H, puts that idle capacity to work. It lets your EV power your home during outages, turning your car into the largest, most capable backup battery you can own. For homeowners worried about grid reliability, V2H offers a compelling alternative to buying a dedicated home battery system.

What Is Vehicle-to-Home (V2H)?

V2H is a bidirectional charging technology that allows your EV to send stored energy back to your home’s electrical panel. Instead of just consuming power when you plug in, your car can also supply power when you need it.

During normal operation, V2H works like any smart charger: electricity flows from the grid to your car. But when the grid goes down, or when you want to use stored energy during expensive peak-rate hours, the system reverses. Your EV’s battery discharges through the bidirectional charger, which converts the power and feeds it to your home’s circuits.

V2H is part of a family of bidirectional technologies sometimes called V2X (vehicle-to-everything). Here’s how V2H compares to related capabilities:

The key distinction is where the power goes. V2H powers your home. V2G exports to the grid for revenue. V2L powers individual devices directly from the vehicle. V2H sits in the middle: more capable than V2L, but simpler than V2G because it doesn’t require utility coordination.

How Does V2H Work?

A V2H system requires coordination between your EV, a bidirectional charger, and your home’s electrical panel.

When grid power is available, the system charges your EV normally. When the grid goes down (or when you choose to use stored energy), a transfer switch or gateway isolates your home from the grid, and the system begins pulling power from your EV’s battery. The power is converted to AC electricity that your home appliances can use.

Here’s the critical technical requirement: both the vehicle and the charger must support bidirectional power transfer. You can’t just plug any EV into any charger and pull power out. The vehicle’s battery management system must allow discharge through the charge port, and the vehicle and charger must communicate using compatible protocols.

Currently, this means one of two approaches:

Proprietary systems where a specific vehicle works only with equipment from the same manufacturer. This is how all V2H systems in the US market work today.

Standards-based systems where vehicles and chargers from different manufacturers can work together using the ISO 15118-20 protocol. This approach is emerging but not yet commercially available in the US.

V2H Systems Available Today (Proprietary)

Let’s be clear about what you can actually buy and install right now. All current V2H options in the US are proprietary systems that only work with specific vehicles and equipment.

Ford F-150 Lightning + Home Integration System

Ford was first to market with a mass-production V2H system. The F-150 Lightning can power your home when paired with Ford’s specific equipment:

Required equipment:

• Ford Charge Station Pro (included with some trims, ~$1,310 separately)
• Home Integration System (~$3,895, installed by Sunrun)

Note: Prices shown are for equipment only. Installation costs vary significantly by location and home electrical configuration. Total installed costs typically range from $8,000 to $15,000 or more depending on panel upgrades and other factors.

How it works: The Charge Station Pro sends DC power from the Lightning’s battery to the Home Integration System, which includes a Delta inverter that converts it to AC for your home. The system includes a transfer switch that disconnects from the grid during outages.

Output: Up to 9.6 kW, enough to run most essential loads simultaneously

Backup duration: Ford estimates 3-10 days depending on battery size (98-131 kWh) and home energy use

Important limitation: This is a proprietary system. The Ford equipment only works with the F-150 Lightning. If you buy a different EV later, you’ll need a completely different V2H setup.

GM Ultium Vehicles + GM Energy System

GM offers V2H across its Ultium platform vehicles, including the Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, and others.

Required equipment:

• GM Energy PowerShift Charger (~$1,699-1,999)
• GM Energy V2H Enablement Kit, including Home Hub, Inverter, and Dark Start Battery (~$5,100-5,600)

Note: GM Energy frequently offers promotional pricing. Check gmenergy.gm.com for current prices. Installation costs are additional and vary by location.

How it works: Similar architecture to Ford. The PowerShift charger handles DC bidirectional transfer with the vehicle, and the inverter converts to AC for your home. The Dark Start Battery allows the system to wake up and communicate with your EV when grid power is unavailable.

Output: Up to 9.6 kW discharge (charges at up to 19.2 kW)

Backup duration: GM estimates up to 21 days with the Silverado EV’s 170+ kWh battery under reduced usage

Important limitation: Same as Ford. This proprietary system only works with GM Ultium vehicles.

Tesla Cybertruck + Powershare

Tesla’s Cybertruck includes V2H capability through its Powershare system, with a notably different technical approach.

Required equipment:

• Tesla Universal Wall Connector
• Powershare Gateway (or existing Powerwall system)

How it works: Unlike Ford and GM, the Cybertruck has an internal bidirectional inverter that outputs AC power through the NACS charge port. This means the vehicle itself handles the DC-to-AC conversion, and the external equipment primarily manages the grid connection and transfer switching.

Output: Up to 11.5 kW

Backup duration: Tesla estimates up to 3 days based on 30 kWh daily usage with the ~100 kWh battery

Important limitations:

• Currently only available for Cybertruck (other Tesla models don’t have the internal bidirectional inverter)
• Powershare with Powerwall integration has been delayed to mid-2026
• This is a proprietary system that only works with Tesla vehicles and equipment

Nissan Leaf (CHAdeMO)

The Nissan Leaf was actually the pioneer of bidirectional charging, supporting it as early as 2013 through the CHAdeMO connector standard.

Charger options:

• Fermata FE-20 (commercial/fleet applications)
• Limited residential options in the US

Important limitations:

• CHAdeMO is a declining standard in North America; most new EVs use CCS or NACS
• Most CHAdeMO V2H equipment is designed for commercial, not residential, use
• As the market moves to NACS, CHAdeMO infrastructure will become increasingly limited

Standards-Based V2H: What’s Coming

The proprietary systems above work, but they lock you into one manufacturer’s ecosystem. If you buy a Ford system and later switch to a Chevy, you’d need to replace all your V2H equipment.

The industry is moving toward an open standard: ISO 15118-20 for bidirectional communication over the NACS (SAE J3400) connector. This will allow chargers and vehicles from different manufacturers to work together.

Vehicles expected to support ISO 15118-20 bidirectional:

Note: “ISO 15118-20-ready” means the hardware supports the standard, but functionality depends on vehicle software updates. Always verify current capability before purchasing.

The advantage of waiting for standards-based systems: you’ll have more charger options, likely at lower prices, and you won’t be locked into one vehicle manufacturer.

How Long Can Your EV Power Your Home?

This is the question everyone asks. The answer depends on your EV’s battery size and your home’s energy consumption.

The average American home uses about 30 kWh per day, though this varies widely. During an outage, you’ll likely be more conservative, running just essentials.

Compare that to a typical home battery. A Tesla Powerwall 3 holds 13.5 kWh, enough for roughly 8 to 12 hours of essential backup. You’d need five or six Powerwalls to match what a single F-150 Lightning provides.

Factors that affect backup duration:

• What you’re powering: Running AC or electric heat drains the battery fast. Lights, fridge, and a few outlets use far less.
• Starting battery level: If your EV is at 50% when the power goes out, you have half the backup time.
• Minimum reserve setting: Most systems let you set a floor (typically 20%) so you can still drive if needed.

V2H vs. Home Battery: Which Makes More Sense?

If you’re considering backup power, you might be weighing V2H against a dedicated home battery. Here’s how they compare:

The math heavily favors V2H if you already own a compatible EV. You’re getting 5-15x the backup capacity at a fraction of the cost per kilowatt-hour. The main tradeoff is availability: your EV needs to be home and plugged in when the power goes out.

For some households, the best solution is both. A small home battery provides baseline backup when the car is away, while the EV provides extended capacity during longer outages.

Saving Money with V2H (Beyond Backup Power)

V2H isn’t just for outages. If your utility uses time-of-use (TOU) pricing, V2H can save you money every day.

Time-of-use rates charge different prices depending on when you use electricity. Power is typically cheapest overnight (off-peak) and most expensive in late afternoon and evening (peak). The spread can be significant. In some California markets, off-peak rates are around $0.12 per kWh while peak rates exceed $0.45 per kWh.

With V2H, you can charge your EV overnight when rates are low, then power your home from the EV during peak hours. You’re buying electricity at a discount and using it when it would otherwise cost three to four times as much.

Potential savings depend on your rate structure:

• Markets with modest TOU spreads: $200-400/year
• Markets with significant TOU spreads: $500-900/year
• Markets with extreme TOU spreads (California, parts of Arizona): $800-1,500+/year

Note: Not all current V2H systems support daily cycling for TOU arbitrage. Some are designed primarily for backup power. Check the specific capabilities of your system.

Getting Started with V2H

If you’re interested in V2H, here’s how to evaluate your options:

If you want V2H now:

You’ll need to choose a proprietary system that matches your vehicle:

• Ford F-150 Lightning → Ford Charge Station Pro + Home Integration System
• GM Ultium vehicles → GM Energy PowerShift + V2H Enablement Kit
• Tesla Cybertruck → Tesla Universal Wall Connector + Powershare Gateway
• Nissan Leaf → Limited options (CHAdeMO, primarily commercial)

Each system costs $8,000 to $15,000 or more fully installed, depending on your home’s electrical configuration. You’re locked into that manufacturer’s ecosystem.

If you can wait (2026+):

Standards-based V2H systems using ISO 15118-20 are coming. These will offer:

• More vehicle compatibility (any ISO 15118-20 compliant EV)
• More charger choices and likely lower prices
• No manufacturer lock-in

Vehicles with announced ISO 15118-20 support include the BMW iX3, Volvo EX90, Mercedes-Benz electric GLC, and others arriving in 2026.

Questions to ask:

1. Is my vehicle (or planned vehicle) V2H-capable?
2. What equipment is required, and what’s the total installed cost?
3. Is this a proprietary system or standards-based?
4. Does the system support daily TOU arbitrage, or only backup power?
5. What’s involved in installation and permitting?

V2H represents one of the most practical applications of bidirectional charging. The technology works today through proprietary systems, with more flexible standards-based options on the horizon. If you own a compatible EV, you may already have the largest home battery on the block. V2H just lets you use it.

For related capabilities, see our guides to V2G (vehicle-to-grid) for earning money by exporting to the grid, and V2L (vehicle-to-load) for portable power without any installation.