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April 7, 2025EV Bidirectional Charging: How It Works, Benefits, & The Future
Electric vehicles, known simply as EVs, are a major part of the clean energy revolution. For a long time, EVs were just seen as an eco-friendly, energy-efficient mode of transportation, while solar panels and batteries have long been considered the tools for harnessing and storing clean energy for our homes. However, an innovation in the EV space has changed the entire game: bidirectional charging.
Bidirectional charging is a new technology that allows EVs to send power back to homes, devices, or even the electrical grid. It has been increasing in popularity as the desire and need for energy resilience continues to grow. Major players like Tesla and SolarEdge have entered the game, with some Tesla models already supporting bidirectional charging. Other manufacturers state that they will be adopting the feature as well later in 2025 and 2026.
What is Bidirectional Charging?
Bidirectional EV charging is the ability of electric vehicles to charge their battery and discharge it in order to charge other systems. EV charging has traditionally been one-way, with electricity flowing from the grid to your EV, generally via a charger in your garage. Bidirectional charging allows electricity to flow both ways, adding a layer of flexibility and efficiency to your home by essentially turning your EV into an additional backup battery. This means your EV could be used to power your home during a blackout, provide your home with power when electricity costs are at their highest, or help you sell power back to the grid during peak hours.
More broadly, this concept is referred to as V2X, or Vehicle to Everything charging.
What is Smart Charging?
Before diving into the specifics of bidirectional EV charging, let’s take a step back and look at the broader concept of smart charging. Smart charging refers to the efficient, optimized charging of EVs based on various factors, including grid demand and electricity costs. Smart charging systems work together with bidirectional charging to make it more efficient, as they can determine the best times throughout the day to charge, or discharge, your EV battery based on a variety of factors. For example, a smart charger may charge your EV battery when utility rates are lowest, and send power back to the grid when buyback rates are at their highest.
Types of Bidirectional EV Charging
There are a few different types of bidirectional EV charging, each with specific benefits and use cases. These are V2L (vehicle-to-load), V2G (vehicle-to-grid) and V2H (vehicle-to-home).
V2L Bidirectional EV Charging: Vehicle-to-Load
Vehicle-to-load (V2L) is the most common and widely available type of bidirectional charging. With V2L, your EV provides electricity directly to external devices. This can be used to charge anything from a mobile phone to a coffee machine to another vehicle. Technically speaking, most vehicles already offer this today, as essentially every car on the market can charge your phone, although it’s not exactly the same thing. V2L utilizes an EV’s main battery, while charging your phone in a standard car does not, allowing only for the charging of small devices. With V2L, you can power TVs, refrigerators, grills, and other large appliances.
V2H Bidirectional EV Charging: Vehicle-to-Home
Vehicle-to-home (V2H) essentially converts your car into a home battery system, allowing your EV to supply power to your home. In V2H, power flows directly from your EV to your electrical panel, letting you power lights, HVAC systems, and other appliances when needed. Much like a regular solar battery, you can pair your EV with your solar panels to store excess solar power during the day and discharge it at night to power your home. SolarEdge is currently developing inverter systems designed specifically to integrate EVs together with your home and a solar panel system. Additionally, having an arbitrage system, which helps determine when to charge and when to discharge, can make V2H bidirectional charging much more efficient. Currently, SolarEdge batteries, as well as the Tesla Powerwall 3, already have this feature.
V2G Bidirectional EV Charging: Vehicle-to-Grid
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is the most complex form of bidirectional charging. However, it also has the highest potential to be a game-changer. V2G enables EVs to send power directly to the utility grid. This not only helps the vehicle owner earn money back, but provides the most power and therefore the most stability to the electric grid.
With V2G, the grid can pull power from EVs during high-demand periods. During low-demand times, EVs can charge their batteries at a lower cost. This helps utilities provide reliable power to the grid while relying less on fossil fuels and helps the vehicle owner save money. V2G is also seen as a popular solution for larger entities that have fleets of vehicles, such as bus companies, car rental agencies, and truck companies, where vehicle downtime is predictable and energy usage can be managed and optimized.
Benefits of Bidirectional EV Charging
Bidirectional charging offers a wide range of benefits for EV users, utility companies, and even the rest of the planet.
- Emergency Backup Power. V2H and V2L give homeowners access to backup power during outages, much like a backup battery would. As Californians have unfortunately learned in recent months and years, having backup power is a necessity.
- Energy Independence & Savings. When paired with solar panels, your EV becomes part of a self-sustaining energy ecosystem, charging during the day and storing energy to power your home when you need it. By sending excess power to the grid, you can also save money and earn credits toward your utility bills.
- Sustainability. As with most clean energy initiatives, bidirectional EV charging reduces strain on fossil-fuel-based energy generation, especially during peak demand periods.
The Future of Bidirectional EV Charging
EV bidirectional charging is growing in popularity and appears to have great potential to be a major part of the future of sustainable energy. Companies like Tesla and SolarEdge have already begun bidirectional capabilities into some of their products, and many more, including Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, and Kia, have announced that they will begin integrating it into models starting in 2026.
While you should expect bidirectional EV charging to continue its upward trajectory, some challenges still remain. Most vehicles don’t currently have bidirectional charging capabilities, and costs are currently higher than standard EV charging systems. There’s also uncertainty about its exact place in the solar-battery home energy ecosystem, as there is a lot of overlap between bidirectional charging and home battery systems. Many experts believe that there is room for bidirectional EV charging and home batteries to coexist together, though nobody knows for sure.
Be Ready with Solar Discovery
While bidirectional EV charging isn’t widely available yet, it’s clear that it’s part of the future of home energy—and that future starts with solar. Whether you’re planning ahead for vehicle-to-home integration or simply want a smart, reliable solar system today, Solar Discovery is here to help. As technology evolves, having a well-designed solar and storage setup now will give you the flexibility to take advantage of innovations like V2G and V2H down the road. Contact us to learn how you can future-proof your home with solar power that’s built for what’s next.
