Drivers could save £800 on energy bills by selling power from their electric car
Electric vehicle (EV) drivers may be able to shave hundreds of pounds off their energy bills through a new trial.
The idea is that Brits will be able to charge their car using cheaper off-peak energy.
They could then use this surplus energy to either power their home at peak times, or sell the power back to the National Grid.
The big players involved in the new Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) trial are OVO Energy, Volkswagen UK and smart energy company Indra.
Ovo ran a limited trial from 2020 until 2022, and some users managed to save up to £800 a year on energy bills.
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The scheme is currently only open to Ovo customers who own Volkswagen electric cars.
Drivers also need a special "bi-directional" charger - which effectively lets power flow two ways - to take part in the trial.
Drivers could make money from their electric car (Getty Images/iStockphoto)These can cost thousands of pounds - This is Money claims there are some selling online for just under £6,000.
It isn't clear if households will have to pay for this charger themselves as part of the next Ovo Energy trial, which launched on January 21.
If drivers have to fork out the cost of the charger themselves, then this could potentially mean it would take years to claw any money back.
Ovo Energy said it "won’t share final details" at the moment about who will pay for the charger.
Regardless, the scheme is being praised, with many - including ministers - saying that the UK needs a "new network infrastructure" in place for EVs.
Homeowners will be able to make a profit from this in two ways (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Energy and Climate Minister Graham Stuart said: “We want to make smart charging an easier choice for drivers of EVs, whether that is charging on the driveway, at the workplace, or parked on the street.
"To do that we need to build new network infrastructure at pace, using the latest available technologies.”
Alex Thwaites, Head of Zero Carbon Living at OVO Energy, said: "OVO has been leading the way in supporting customers to transition to electric vehicles and bring them on the journey to zero carbon living through exciting new products and offerings.
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"This is not just about driving renewable energy solutions forward, it’s about demonstrating how customers can actually reduce their energy bills by making the switch to an EV.
"With OVO's V2G tariff trial we saw some EV drivers save up to £800 a year on their bills.”
Scott Neuman, Chief Executive Officer at Kaluza, added: “V2X will have a transformative effect on decarbonising our energy system but only if we make it accessible and affordable for all.”
The scheme is currently only open to Ovo customers who own Volkswagen electric cars, but the energy firm hopes to expand it to owners of other car firms in the future.
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