With soaring energy bills showing no signs of slowing down, UK families are looking for ways to ease cost of living pressures. Now, Octopus Energy and the National Grid have come up with a new solution, as they announce the first successful integration of vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G) in the UK.
With this technology, electric vehicle owners can effectively turn their car into a battery pack that can power their home “off-grid”. The technology would charge their EV during off-peak hours when demand is low and electricity is cheaper.
By acting as a reserve of electricity, the vehicle could then power the home during peak hours of the day, when electricity is expensive. According to a statement from Octopus, this marked the first time that V2G technology has been demonstrated in the UK, to show that electric vehicles can receive a direct signal from the ESO to support system balancing, as seen in The Express.
