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Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) Solar Calculator

Enter your EV model, driving habits, and home energy use — get backup capacity, hours of power, and TOU arbitrage savings vs. Powerwall.

Your EV and driving
mi/day
mi/kWh
Home energy and solar
kWh/day
kW
$/kWh
$
V2H capacity and savings
51.3 kWh available for home backup
Total battery capacity77 kWh
Reserved for driving (+ 20%)10.3 kWh
Usable V2H capacity51.3 kWh
Home backup duration1.5 days (37 hrs)
Annual TOU arbitrage savings$1,385/yr
Annual solar value (7 kW)$1,470/yr
Combined solar + V2H savings$2,855/yr
Cost per kWh stored: V2H vs Powerwall$97 vs $852/kWh
V2H charger payback (arbitrage only)3.6 yrs
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Extended AnalysisBackup capacity, TOU savings & solar integration
%
kW
$/kWh
$/kWh
Your Ford F-150 Lightning at 80% SoC provides 78.4 kWh for home backup — that's 26.1 hours at 3 kW average load (1.1 days).
Backup duration by load level
Critical loads only (500W)156.8 hrs (6.5 days)
Essential (1.5kW)52.3 hrs (2.2 days)
Average home (3kW)26.1 hrs (1.1 days)
Full load (5kW)15.7 hrs (0.7 days)
EV battery (usable)
98 kWh
Available at current SoC
78.4 kWh
Backup at 3kW load
26.1 hrs
V2H charger required
Ford Charge Station Pro
V2H vs Tesla Powerwall 3
V2H (Ford F-150 Lightning)
Capacity: 78.4 kWh
Charger cost: $3,800
Cost/kWh: $48/kWh
Powerwall 3
Capacity: 13.5 kWh
Installed cost: $11,500
Cost/kWh: $852/kWh

How to Use This Calculator

Select your EV model and enter driving habits

Choose your EV from the dropdown — each model's battery capacity is pre-filled. If your vehicle isn't listed, choose "Custom EV" and enter the usable battery capacity from your owner's manual. Enter your average daily driving miles; the calculator automatically reserves enough battery for that distance plus a 20% safety buffer, so you never wake up without driving range.

Enter your home energy use and solar system

Your home's daily kWh consumption determines how many hours of backup the V2H capacity provides. If you have solar, enter the system size — solar charges your EV during the day and maximizes V2H usefulness at night. The utility rate drives the TOU arbitrage calculation: charge at off-peak (cheap) rates, discharge during peak (expensive) hours.

Understand the outputs

The calculator shows usable V2H capacity after your driving reserve, home backup duration in days and hours, annual TOU arbitrage savings, and cost per kWh stored compared to a Tesla Powerwall. The charger payback is calculated using arbitrage savings only — backup value (avoiding outage costs) is additional upside not captured in the number.

The Formula

Driving Reserve = (Daily Miles ÷ Efficiency) × 1.20 Usable Total = Battery kWh × 0.80 (10-90% SOC) V2H Capacity = Usable Total − Driving Reserve Effective V2H = V2H Capacity × 0.90 (round-trip efficiency) Backup Hours = V2H Capacity × 0.90 ÷ (Home kWh ÷ 24) Off-peak Rate = Utility Rate × 0.60 Peak Rate = Utility Rate × 1.40 Arbitrage/Cycle = V2H Capacity × (Peak − Off-peak) × 0.90 Annual Arbitrage = Arbitrage/Cycle × 250 cycles/yr Combined Savings = Annual Solar Value + Annual Arbitrage

The 0.80 SOC range (10-90%) reflects best-practice battery management for longevity — most V2H chargers enforce this range automatically. The 0.90 round-trip efficiency is typical for bidirectional chargers. The TOU spread of 0.60x / 1.40x reflects a moderate TOU tariff; actual savings vary significantly by utility — California's NEM 3.0 with E-ELEC tariff can achieve 3-4x spreads.

Example

Maya — Daily commuter with Ioniq 5 in California

Maya drives 30 miles per day in her Hyundai Ioniq 5 (77 kWh battery, 3.5 mi/kWh). She has a 7 kW solar system and pays $0.15/kWh average. She's considering a $5,000 V2H charger.

EVHyundai Ioniq 5 (77 kWh)
Daily commute30 miles @ 3.5 mi/kWh
Home usage30 kWh/day
Solar7 kW system
Rate$0.15/kWh average

Result

Driving reserve10.3 kWh (30mi ÷ 3.5 × 1.2)
Usable V2H capacity51.3 kWh
Home backup duration1.5 days (37 hrs)
Annual TOU arbitrage~$690/yr
Annual solar value~$1,470/yr
Combined savings~$2,160/yr
Charger payback (arbitrage)~7.2 yrs
V2H vs Powerwall cost/kWh$98 vs $852/kWh

Maya's V2H setup provides over 37 hours of home backup — enough to ride out most power outages — at a fraction of the cost of a Powerwall per kWh. Combined with solar, she saves over $2,100/year. The Ioniq 5 supports the ICCU V2L standard (vehicle-to-load) out of the box; V2H (vehicle-to-home) requires a compatible bidirectional charger like the Ford Charge Station Pro or a compatible third-party unit.

FAQ

As of 2026, V2H-capable EVs include the Ford F-150 Lightning (with Charge Station Pro), Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6, Kia EV6 (V2L/V2H via adapter), Tesla Cybertruck (V2H with PowerShare), VW ID.4 (V2H in some markets), Nissan Leaf (CHAdeMO-based V2H, Japan), and Rivian R1T/R1S (bidirectional pending). V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) — powering 120V devices — is more widely available and works with many EVs using standard charge ports.
It depends on the manufacturer. Ford explicitly supports V2H with the Charge Station Pro and does not void the battery warranty when using it. Hyundai and Kia support V2H in specific configurations. Tesla Cybertruck's PowerShare is a factory-supported feature. Using aftermarket third-party bidirectional chargers with vehicles that don't officially support V2H could affect warranty coverage — check with your dealer before purchasing a charger.
V2H uses your existing EV battery — which you're already paying for — as home storage. A V2H charger costs $3,500-10,000 and gives you access to 30-100+ kWh of storage. A Tesla Powerwall 3 costs about $11,500 installed for 13.5 kWh of dedicated storage — that's $852/kWh vs as low as $50-200/kWh for V2H (charger cost only). The downside: your car must be home and plugged in to provide backup, and cycling the EV battery for arbitrage adds charge cycles that could reduce battery longevity over time.
Daily V2H cycling does add charge cycles to your battery, which can accelerate degradation slightly. However, modern lithium-ion EV batteries are rated for 1,000-3,000 charge cycles to 80% capacity. If you cycle 1 kWh of V2H per day for arbitrage, you add about 0.01-0.02 extra cycles per day — minimal impact. Operating within the 10-90% SOC range (which most V2H chargers enforce) significantly reduces degradation compared to charging to 100% or discharging to 0%.
TOU (time-of-use) arbitrage means charging your EV at off-peak rates (typically midnight-6am at $0.08-0.12/kWh) and discharging back to your home during peak hours (4-9pm at $0.25-0.50/kWh in California). The spread determines your savings. On California's NEM 3.0 E-ELEC tariff, peak rates can exceed $0.50/kWh vs $0.08 super off-peak — a 6x spread that makes V2H highly profitable. On flat-rate utilities with no TOU option, arbitrage savings are minimal. Check if your utility offers a time-of-use plan — most major utilities now do.

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