Frequently-asked questions

How much can I expect to earn?

The exact amount you can make depends on where you live, the size of your EV battery, and how much energy you're willing to discharge. After you make a reservation, someone from Bidirectional Energy will reach out to you to share a personalized estimate.

As a rough estimate, With an 50 kWh EV battery, if you discharge in 80% of the expected ~40 hours per year of high grid demand, we expect you to get paid between $500-$1,000 per year.

How does Bidirectional Energy make money?

Utilities already offer programs for commercial and industrial consumers to make money by offsetting grid load or providing additional capacity on demand.

Bidirectional Energy allows EV owners (like you!) to participate in these Demand Response programs (DR) and Emergency Load Reduction programs (ELRP) through our partnerships with utilities. We aggregate many of our customers' EV batteries into a single virtual power plant (VPP). When the utility pays us for sending power back to the grid, we take a small percentage and pass the majority of the utility payout to you for the use of your EV battery.

How much does the hardware cost? Do I need a special charger

Bidirectional Energy can optimize your charging schedule with any home charger and any EV, but to make the most money and do the most good for the world, you'll need a bidirectional V2G (vehicle-to-grid) charger. Including auxiliary hardware and installation, these can cost up to $10,000, but there are many incentive programs available (we'll let you know all the programs you're qualified for) which can reduce that cost by up to 50%.

What's the difference between a normal EV charger and a bidirectional charger?

A conventional EV charger can only charge your EV's battery. A bidirectional (V2G) charger can both charge your EV, as well as move energy in the opposite direction - discharge stored energy from your EV to your home, or to the grid.

Which vehicles and chargers does Bidirectional Energy support?

For one-way charging (V1G) and smart charge scheduling, we support all EV models and all charger models.

Bidirectional V2G (vehicle-to-grid) charging is currently only supported by a few EV models:Kia EV9Ford F-150 LightningGM Silverado (2025)Even if you have a V2G-capable EV, you probably don't have a V2G-capable bidirectional charger yet. When you reserve a charger with us, we'll make sure you get a model that works with your EV(s).

Can I override the Smart Charging schedule?

You can always start or stop charging manually via the app, and Bidirectional Energy will turn off smart charging for a while. However, there are also many ways to adjust smart charging to your liking. For example, you can configure Bidirectional Energy to never charge your battery above 80% or discharge it below 50%, or charge to 60% when the electricity price is lowest, so you'll always have enough charge for your driving needs. If you're going on a road trip soon, you can also temporarily turn off discharging to support the grid or power your home.

Does discharging my EV's battery into the grid shorten its battery life?

There are many factors that influence an EV battery's lifespan. Research has shown that with bidirectinoal charging could actually increase the battery life by reducing calendar aging of the EV battery. You can read more about how bidirectional charging impacts battery health here.

How does this save the environment?

Demand Response (DR) events occur when the grid is overloaded. During these events, utilities often resort to carbon-heavy power sources like coal plants and diesel generators. When you respond to a DR event by discharging your EV, you help to avoid turning on another expensive, carbon-intensive gas or coal plant. With the Bidirectinoal Energy app, you can see exactly how much carbon you removed from the atmosphere every time you participate in a DR event.