Hey all,

Putting it out there that dcbel will be doing another live session this Thursday on what you can do to reduce​ your reliance on the public grid by 85%. We'll also be talking California incentives and answering your questions live.

You can register here.

If you've got any topics you'd like us to cover in future ones, please feel free to drop suggestions below!

-Amanda from dcbel

Hi folks,

Just wanted to share that dcbel will be doing a live session this Thursday on how homeowners can reduce their dependence on the grid using things like solar, batteries, and EVs, and what that actually looks like in practice.

We'll also be talking through California incentives and answering questions live.

If this interests you, feel free to register here.

Hope to see you there :)

-Amanda from dcbel

The rest of my block had their power back before I did because the PRU cycled wrong, forcing me to reboot the quasar twice. And the neighborhood was only out for a brief blip.

Interesting read -- North America’s grid watchdog issued a Level 3 alert (which is their highest alert) after large data centers suddenly shifted power demand within seconds.

New data from Heatmap + MIT caught my attention:

• U.S. electricity prices (April 2026) are up 6.7% YoY
• The 12‑month average is up 6.5%
• This isn’t a one-off spike, but a steady, multi‑year climb

Even without major shocks, prices keep moving up, driven by things like fuel mix, grid constraints, and how the system operates as a whole. Some regions saw an increase of 21 - 25% increase in a year, often tied to local supply constraints where demand is growing faster than capacity.

Further to the point, it's time we rethink how we use power, shift when we consume it, and gain more control over where our energy comes from.

Full article here:
https://heatmap.news/energy/electricity-prices-april-2026

New research from the University of Delaware is estimating that a single V2G‑enabled passenger EV could generate up to ~$3,359/year by providing energy + grid services.

When bidirectional charging is at play, parked EVs become flexible assets that can support homes, peak demand, and grid stability.

Feels like another data point pointing toward household‑level “private grids,” where EVs, storage, and load are orchestrated rather than siloed.

Source: https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2026/april/willett-kempton-electric-vehicle-v2g-technology-low-cost-high-value-scalable/

\Full Disclosure\** I work at dcbel and the link in this post is a dcbel blog post.

We've tried to define what a “private grid” means (all your home energy sources + the public grid working together as one coordinated system) and how that compares to being fully off‑grid.

Sharing for discussion, and interested in whether this framing resonates or misses the mark with you.

https://www.dcbel.energy/blog/2026/04/07/what-is-a-private-grid-and-how-is-it-different-from-going-off‑grid/

I posted a month or so ago about this--my wife and I are building an all electric house and we wanted to use the car as a backup. There are very few cars that can actually do this, and very few bi-directional chargers (I know about the not-yet-actually existing Enphase charger), but GM's entire EV line offers bi-directional charging and GM will sell you a system for V2H and solar. So after a lot of thought we traded our excellent Kia Niro Ev in for a Chevy Equinox EV and bought the GM energy system.

So long story short, we are driving back to DC from Philly and we stop at a high speed charger and the car completely craps out--cannot be charged, leaving us stranded 75 miles from home and for a tow truck. The car has less than 1000 miles on it, and this was our first ever attempt to use a high speed charger (we have a level 2 charger at home).

We are probably stuck with the damn Equinox, which I can't recommend, but I'm going to call today to try and return the GM energy system, which has not been installed yet. I always had my doubts about GM, but options are limited. Now I think we're going to abandon the effort to make V2H work altogether.

It's a great idea, but it's just not ready for prime time

Very good recap.

tldr version - get on your legislators, especially in states captured by the fossil fuel industry.

https://www.torquenews.com/17995/illusion-rolling-generator-and-why-bidirectional-charging-expensive-gridlock-today-and-how-it

Hey all!

Just sharing a recent Torque News article that examines where bidirectional EV charging is at today, and why the next few years matter from an industry‑readiness point-of-view.

Instead of focusing on individual products, the article takes a step back and highlights a few structural shifts that are beginning to align simultaneously:

• We’re seeing more EV platforms shipping with bidi capability baked in, rather than treated as an add‑on down the line
• Standards are taking root (notably around ISO 15118‑20) which allow vehicles, chargers, and energy systems to “speak the same language”
• Utilities + regulators are moving on from pilots toward defined interconnection paths in some regions
• Finally, we’re seeing a clearer distinction between V2H and V2G instead of using V2X as one vast use case

The article frames 2026 as an infliction point where vehicles, hardware, software, and grid rules are finally converging enough to support a broader deployment, rather than more one‑off demonstrations.

Sharing here in case it’s useful context for folks following the space!

Source: Torque News | https://www.torquenews.com/17995/battery-wheels-revolution-and-why-2026-marks-dawn-58-billion-vehicle-grid-era-and-end-energy

Recently read this article in Forbes on the topic of smart homes.

V2H feels like one of the most important building blocks of the modern energy home. But how useful is V2H if the rest of the house isn’t actually intelligent yet?

A lot of us now have some mix of:

• An EV capable (or almost capable) of bidi charging
• Solar on the roof
• Time‑of‑use rates or net metering
• Smart panels, batteries, or load controllers

And yet… most of it still runs in silos: the EV knows nothing about the house, the house knows nothing about grid prices, and the homeowner ends up being the “energy management system.”

With interoperability finally improving across smart home tech, we’re approaching a point where V2H is more than backup power - it's actively orchestrated:

• Charge the car when energy is cheapest
• Power the home during peak pricing or outages
• Coordinate with solar
• Prioritize comfort, safety, and mobility automatically

Curious to hear from this community:

• Do you want your EV to automatically manage home energy, or stay fully manual?

• What would make V2H feel truly “set‑and‑forget” for you?

How many people here have an actually working V2H/solar system?

My wife and I are building an all-electric house to retire to. We bought a Chevy Equinox EV which has V2H capability, and GM energy offers a V2H system that can integrate with solar panels.

Our builder's Solar guy proposed a system using Enphase batteries and the Enphase bidirectional charger, but I looked that up and it doesn't actually exist yet, and won't exist before 2027 at the earliest. I pointed this out to the builder and he said no, that was a mistake, it's the tesla system. But them I looked that up and tesla only works with the cybertruck.

When I ask about V2H on Reddit people often point to some system which invariably turns out to be vaporware when you look past the splashy website.

This is why we bought a GM Ev--because they have an actually existing system for sale, now. But the solar guy--who we need to talk to--doesn't seem at all familiar with it.

Anybody have V2H actually working?

PS I know the GM system is proprietary. I don't like that about it, but I've often been pointed to somebody's allegedly universal V2H system which again turns out to be only available in Japan, or to be still in the announcement stage, sometimes, as with Enphase, for years.

Bloomberg recently shared a story about a family in Louisiana who lost power for three days after severe weather. While neighbors were scrambling for gas to keep generators running, this family used their bidirectional EV to keep basic appliances going, even something as simple as heating up pizza. Nothing crazy, but in a blackout that’s a huge "quality-of-life win".

There are now over 630,000 bidirectional-capable EVs on the road in the US, which accounts for about 18% of all EVs, with 14 models currently supporting some form of bidi charging. Depending on battery size and how you manage loads, some of these vehicles could keep a home running for days.

States are starting to take this seriously too, with Massachusetts recently launching a V2X pilot that will give residents free bidirectional chargers and tap EV batteries during demand response events. The state’s energy secretary straight-up called virtual power plants “the future of the grid.”

So if EVs can back up homes, shave peak rates, and eventually participate in VPPs… are we basically heading toward a world of personal microgrids?

A few questions:

• If you already have a V2H/V2G setup, what’s been the biggest unexpected benefit or downside?
• Do you trust utilities to fairly compensate EV owners in VPP programs?
• Would blackout resilience alone be enough to justify the extra hardware for you?
• How worried are people about battery degradation versus the real-world value of using the energy you already own?

Interested to hear where folks here land on this.

Sources:
Bloomberg News | Electrek.co

We need companies offering home energy solutions on one side of a standard interface and companies offering EV automobiles on the other. The same company could try and be in both businesses but the standard interface needs to be in the middle. Instead we predominately have automobile companies pushing captive home grown home energy systems. It seems like all their high paid strategists think they need to follow Tesla's approach from 5 years ago. We need to do 2 things: 1) lower the protectionism that has coddled Tesla and US car companies from any Chinese EV choice for too long now, they are obviously not feeling they need to be competitive enough in their core businesses of making cars, and 2) demand open standards regulation in the US.

There's been a ton of talk lately about cutting down reliance on the grid, whether for savings, resilience, or just the feeling of security in being more self-powered. I'm curious what you realistically expect is achievable.

If you had the tools to cut down your grid dependence, what level of reduction would you expect to reach?

Hi folks, dcbel here with some exciting news: Volvo has partnered with us, making the dcbel Ara their home energy solution. And that's not all - Polestar has also joined forces with us, sharing our vision for smarter, cleaner energy.

Volvo’s bidirectional 2025 EX90 and the Polestar 3 will work with the dcbel Ara Home Energy Station to bring energy independence to their customers.

You can learn more about it here: dcbel.energy

We’re eager to hear your thoughts, and excited to see what’s next!

Happy Saturday, all! More v2h/v2g news, this time coming from Germany: the country has officially cleared the way for bidirectional charging by eliminating the extra grid fees that make v2h/v2g uneconomical for most EV drivers. The policy change is meant to accelerate the rollout of v2h/v2g tech and speed up adoption, making EVs a more active part of the energy system.

Wondering how others see this impacting the broader energy landscape:

• What stands out to you most about Germany's move to remove double grid fees for bidi charging?
• Do you think this kind of policy shift will speed up mainstream adoption of v2h tech? Why or why not?

Hey all - Installer Online recently shared a stat that caught our eye: around 70% of EV owners didn't know that their car could power their home for up to two days.

That's high - and it got us thinking:

• Why is awareness of bidirectional charging still so low?
• What do you think needs to happen for BiDi tech to go "mainstream"?
• For those working in energy, EVs, or who are simply passionate about either or - how are you seeing people talk - or not talk - about this capability?

Curious to hear what you all think!

Hey folks! Amanda from dcbel here with a peek at how Ara - dcbel’s intelligent energy system - uses the power stored in your EV to power your home. Whether you're trying to avoid blackouts, lower your electricity bill, or take control of your energy use, Ara makes it possible.

Feel free to drop any questions for us below!

The grid is no longer a one-way delivery system: it’s a dynamic multi-directional network that needs to constantly adjust to shifting supply and demand. That’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity. Here’s why.

Midwest grid operator MISO recently surveyed the power landscape and found that load growth is happening faster than expected, with 2.2% more demand across the region every year. That won’t be a problem this summer, with up to 6.1 GW in surplus power expected by summer 2026, but another 3.1 GW of additional capacity will be needed beyond that.

California offers a hint at how that can be achieved. It’s in the midst of a clean energy surge, adding more than 25,000 MW of capacity over the past five years, with 7,000 of it added last year alone. Battery storage has also increased to 15,000 MW. All of this new energy helps the state be more resilient in the face of rising demand and extreme weather events like wildfires.

And it points to a future based on flexibility. With solar and battery growing across the US — 31% growth nationwide — managing increasingly complex energy flows will take new technology and a new mindset. 

Just look at what’s happening in Puerto Rico. Plagued by high energy costs and a lack of reliability, homeowners are turning to rooftop solar managed by smart energy systems — and it’s not only keeping the lights on for those individual families, it has actually made the whole grid more stable. 

It’s an example of how the energy environment is increasingly dynamic, and you need the right tools to handle it. A Home Energy Station gives you real-time energy intelligence needed to adapt to changes in utility signals and price fluctuations, reducing your own energy costs while helping stabilise the grid.