Posted by: @davidb

↑

I have read threads on this forum and know there is knowledge of V2H etc etc within the community.  I am also aware that the technologies are developing quite fast and some of the electrical stuff is a bit beyond me.   That said I am interested in views on how the technology and regulations are developing and potential for adoption in my situation.

Our house has a 3.5kW ASHP and finally a working smart meter.  Our second vehicle is dying (K reg Golf) and won’t go past the MOT in September.  We live on an island so most of our driving is quite short distances.  An EV would make some sense.  We currently have no battery storage of any sort.  Ideally I would like to use a time of use tariff to charge the car and use that energy during the day to power the house - when the vehicle is not in use. Our house typically uses max 10 to 15kWhrs a day.  Is the concept of pursuing V2H a logical direction to go and should that influence our choice of EV if we buy one now - or should we wait a few more months or years?

V2H/V2g is imho a logical direction to go  but the technology is not quite/only just available which is a problem if the need is urgent.  Octopus power pack is about the only concrete offer I know of and it depends on a charger which is described as 'v2g ready', ie it doesn't yet support v2g but may in future.  

An EV with an EV tariff (eg go or intelligent go) is anyway a good match with a heat pump, it's what I have and it works out well.  Do your dhw at night and if you wish have a modest nighttime 'set forward' and your average leccy price for the heat pump alone will likeky be cheaper than the standard tarrif, because it's colder at night so the heat pump is running harder. 

 If the need is urgent perhaps consider an older EV for not a lot of money, or alternatively an EV that supports v2g for when the chargers are available. 

If you haven't driven an EV I recommend you take a test drive.  Many, perhaps most, find them a first class driving experience.  Even James May (interviewed last night on R4 following the release of the electric Ferrari) had to admit that fossil fuel cars objectively make little sense, that this has been known for a century, and the only thing that has kept them going was the lack of battery technology.

Hi, David

I'm far from an expert, so take my comments purely as the opinions of the layman I am. However, I've been trying to look into this for some time and, in short, what looked like it was almost ready for market a couple of years ago still hasn't quite got there.

If I were in your situation, I'd do three things:

1. Assume V2H (or, indeed V2X - the electrical version, not the smart vehicle version) is not going to be implemented before your need to confront a car purchase comes around.
2. Base your EV purchase - if you go down that route - on a manufacturer and vehicle that support bidirectional charging. I know, for instance, my VW ID3 doesn't because it's only a 58kWh battery but the 77kWh models do.
3. Get a wallbox that supports bidirectional charging (once again, if you decide to go ahead with an EV). That does narrow down the list a lot, but I know there are several available.

This doesn't answer your question, but it does decouple whether or not to go EV from the question of when V2H will be available mainstream. If you follow points 2 and 3 you won't be making any significant compromises (unless you don't like any of the wallboxes available) whilst still leaving your options open.