What 200 homes taught Indra about V2H

Indra’s 207-home V2H trial has revealed a range of challenges in scaling the technology, from battery behaviour to DNO constraints, and the need for better collaboration between automotive OEMs, energy companies and hardware providers.

Matt was also keen to point out however, the opportunity for V2H to be an ideal entry point for V2G. Trial schemes like Indra’s allow experts to gather user behavioural data, test algorithms on a small scale and prepare for a much larger roll-out of V2G.

One of the most positive results of the trial is a clear shift in energy use. “We have moved a lot of energy in our sample of suburban homes,” Matt said. “A pleasing aspect is the massive increase we’ve seen in off-peak consumption. From a carbon load point of view that’s how we want it to be.”

Matt revealed the trial has shifted around 100 megawatt hours of energy to a nighttime peak in the space of a year when the research wasn’t even at full capacity. This is the equivalent of a 30% grid load reduction for the homes involved.

In addition, Matt added, “Most people have said they’re saving £400 to £800 each year. Homes with solar cells or heat pumps already installed, alongside the V2H system, reckon it’s up to £1,600.

“Broad brush – it’s halved people’s bills.”

The future for V2H, and by extension V2G, is promising. The pilot has shone a light on challenges to overcome too. “There are significant limitations of the technology on certain sites,” Matt explained. “Indra is working with DNOs to understand those limiting factors and how we can help to overcome them.”

Successful scaling of V2G in the near future hinges on collaboration between various stakeholders  – a challenge Matt threw out to the room: “Manufacturers must make the system simple for users. Energy companies need to leave end users with enough control over the technology so they feel comfortable using it. Vehicle manufacturers should work closer with technology providers. 

“When we’re all on the same page, we’ll end up with a top-to-bottom set of solutions we can roll out very quickly.”

Wrapping up his fascinating talk about the V2H trial Matt commented: “We were really keen to look at the people side of this. We have to bring users along and make it easy for them to operate the technology, powering their homes from a couple of buttons.”

Just as we did at the event, Jumptech is helping to bring together V2G players from across the spectrum. Our platform makes scaling V2G installation faster and more efficient, powering install collaboration and compliance in one place.