Bidirectional EV chargers (V2G and V2H)

What V2H and V2G mean

Vehicle-to-home (V2H) lets energy stored in your car’s battery run your home, so the car behaves like a home battery. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) goes further and exports to the grid at peak times. In some schemes you are rewarded for it. Both need a car that can discharge, which most cannot. Octopus says “the vast majority of EVs” are not capable of discharging back into a home, and Wallbox says bidirectional charging is “only permitted with certain EV manufacturers”.

A normal smart charger only sends power one way. A bidirectional setup needs the right car, the right charger and, for export, a supplier that wants the power. If any one is missing, nothing happens.

The one route that works today

Octopus Power Pack is an add-on tariff that sits beside your normal import tariff. Octopus schedules charging when power is greenest and exports when the grid needs help, and your EV charging is credited back so it is free. Octopus says a typical V2G driver could save £620 a year against Flexible Octopus and £161 against Intelligent Octopus Go, based on 7,500 miles at 0.306 kWh a mile. Those are Octopus’s figures, not ours.

The conditions are tight:

• Equipment: Octopus lists one combination, a V2G-enabled BYD Dolphin with a V2G-enabled Zaptec Pro.
• Metering and tariff: you need a smart meter, and you cannot be on Tracker, Agile or an Intelligent Octopus tariff, so you switch first.
• Plug-in time: at least 12 hours a day on 20 days a month, with under 210kWh of charging a month (about 625 miles).
• Export permission: a G99 certificate from your network operator.

Octopus sells the combination as the Power Pack Bundle, available only as a lease: a Dolphin, a Zaptec Pro fitted by Octopus with up to 10m of cable, servicing and free home charging up to the mileage in your lease. The launch release gave a price of under £300 a month and said leasing prices were subject to change. You must drive under 12,000 miles a year, have single-phase power and not plan to move within six months. Octopus applies for the G99 for you, which can take up to 12 weeks and is not guaranteed. Zaptec said at launch that deployments would run through a waiting list. Our Octopus tariffs guide covers the wider range.

Bidirectional chargers: what is on sale

Zaptec Go 2. Zaptec calls it “bidirectional-ready” and the UK’s first V2G-ready AC charger. Its launch release says the ISO 15118 support “paves the way” for energy sharing “as standards are finalised, and car manufacturers activate V2G features”. The unit costs £665 and works as an ordinary smart charger today. Octopus’s list names the Zaptec Pro, not the Go 2.

Indra. Indra says it launched the world’s first domestic V2G charger in 2018 and ran a large V2H trial from 2022 to 2024. Its support page, updated on 24 September 2026, says “we do not currently have a market-ready bidirectional charger available”. In February 2026 it said it was in the final stages of developing a bidirectional AC charger built for ISO 15118-20 and would bring it to market “very soon”. Trial units went only to trial participants.

Wallbox. The Quasar 2 is a DC unit with a CCS2 connector. Wallbox’s UK page claims savings of up to £850 a year, under assumptions that include a time-of-use tariff, and says it does not guarantee them. The page asks you to complete a form for news and gives no UK price. In the US, Wallbox lists $6,489 before installation and estimates installation at $4,500.

Nissan and Hypervolt. Nissan said in October 2024 that its AC bidirectional charging would launch in the UK from 2026, with grid certification already in hand and a wallbox priced “comparable to a mono-directional charger” (hardware only). In March 2026 it announced a partnership with Motability Operations to “explore” V2G. We found no on-sale date or price. Hypervolt says it is building V2G technology, but we found no V2G product. OVO’s V2G page says it is “preparing for the next phase” and lists no product to join.

What it costs and whether it pays

The Octopus bundle bundles car, charger and tariff, so there is no separate hardware bill. Outside it, nobody has a UK price you can order at. For comparison, a mainstream fitted smart charger typically costs £949 to £999, and our installation cost guide explains the extras. Anything bidirectional will cost more, and a DC unit such as the Quasar 2 needs more installation work.

On earnings, the only published figures are makers’ claims: Octopus’s £620 and £161, Wallbox’s “up to £850” and Indra trial participants’ own expectations, where half expected annual savings of £400 to £799. None are measured results for a household that buys today. Power Pack pays in free charging, not cash per kilowatt hour, and it is built for modest use, with under 210kWh of charging a month.

Should you wait?

For most households, yes, with one exception. If you were already planning to lease a BYD Dolphin from Octopus and fit the criteria, the bundle is a real, live V2G offer. Otherwise choose a charger for today’s tariffs and treat V2G as a possible later upgrade. Do not pay extra for “V2G-ready” on its own, because it only matters if the car, the software, the tariff and your network operator all line up. Our best home EV chargers roundup ranks what you can buy now, and our Intelligent Octopus Go explainer covers the tariff most buyers use.