OVO Vehicle-to-Grid Trial
Our V2G Charger stores electricity in your Nissan LEAF battery when it’s cheaper and more likely to have been produced by renewable sources1, then sells energy back to the grid when it’s in demand, which might even save you enough to charge your car for free2.
Building a better grid for everyone
The grid is the UK’s energy network, connecting millions of homes to thermal power stations and renewable energy sources. And it’s getting greener. But green energy is intermittent by nature. We can’t switch it on when demand is high. And without flexibility, adding more renewables to the grid is complicated and expensive.
For a flexible, balanced grid, we need more control. And that starts on your driveway.
Help shape the UK’s low carbon future
We’re excited to have been specially selected by the UK Government to pioneer vehicle-to-grid technology in the UK in collaboration with Nissan, Indra and Cenex.
Through Project ‘SCIURUS’, we’re offering our innovative technology to 1,000 UK households at no cost, with funding for a 2 year trial provided by the government’s innovation agency Innovate UK.
How it works
Your charger will handle most of the clever stuff itself – all you need to do is tell the Kaluza app when you need your car to be ready and a minimum charge level. Then, just plug in your car when you get home. The Kaluza intelligent energy platform will then decide when to charge your battery and when to export to the grid – all while having your car ready for when you need it.
1. Tell us when you need to use your car and your chosen minimum charge level, via the Kaluza app.
2. Plug your car in to your charger whenever you’re at home.
3. We’ll charge your car when demand on the grid is low, and export when demand is high (working around the charging schedule you’ve set in the app)
4. Anything exported that your house doesn’t use, we’ll sell back to the grid. You’ll see the money you’ve saved on your monthly statement.
The smarter way to charge
Through the Kaluza app, you'll be able to:
- Set charging schedules with the option to override them for unexpected journeys.
- Set minimum charge levels.
- See live charging updates (i.e. when your car is discharging or charging).
- Keep a close eye on things by viewing your historical charging data.
How much money could I save?
Each month, you'll get a credit for all the energy you have exported back to the grid.
You'll see this on your energy bill as a 'Vehicle-to-grid Trial Export Credit'.
V2G with no microgeneration
If you have no other form of microgeneration at your property, we’ll pay you at your electricity unit rate + 6p for every kWh sold back to the grid. So you're making a profit of 6p on every kWh that we sell back to the grid.
You could save up to £3052 on your energy bill!
V2G with solar energy
If you have solar or other microgeneration systems, we'll pay you at your electricity unit rate + 2p for every kWh sold back to the grid, as measured by your OVO Smart Meter. That includes all of the energy exported from your other microgeneration, as well as the energy exported via your vehicle-to-grid charger.
Power Output: 6kW on charge and export
Weight: 27kg
Dimensions: 520 x 230 x 690mm
Charging Cable: 5m Waterproof CHAdeMO cable
Installation: Outdoor, wall mounted
Compatible with: Nissan LEAFs with a battery capacity of 30kWh or more
For full specifications please see our user guide
Want to be a part of the future of energy?
1. Register your interest
Register your interest via our online form. By doing this, we'll be able to get a general overview of your eligibility for the trial.
2. Desktop survey
We'll then contact you and ask you to submit some photos of your install location. We'll use these to determine whether we can do an install at your property.
3. Switch to OVO
If you're not already an OVO customer, we'll ask you to start your switch. You can sign up to any of our single-rate, fixed term tariffs.
4. Get a Smart Meter
We'll also arrange a Smart Meter installation for you, if you do not already have a compatible one.
5. Installation day
An engineer from our installation partners will come and install your charger, on a day that suits you best. You'll get access to the Kaluza app and will be able to set up your schedule, and start viewing your charging history.
6. Receive your export credits
You'll be paid for your exports on your monthly statement, for the entire month previous. So, you will receive all your exports for July in August, for August in September, and so on.
Frequently Asked Questions
You'll need to own or lease a Nissan LEAF.
You’ll also need to be an OVO energy customer on any of our fixed term plans. You’ll also need to have a smart meter installed and have your data sharing preferences set to half hourly. You also need a suitable space to install the charger, and unfortunately we can’t support people on Economy 7 tariffs.
Once on the trial, to remain eligible you’ll need to make sure your data preferences are kept as half hourly and that the V2G charger is the main method of charging your electric vehicle. If not, your charger may be removed.
The trial is for OVO customers only. If you’re not an OVO customer, but you’re willing to switch - great! Register your interest here, and let us know you’re prepared to switch. We’ll then let you know when to switch as part of the sign-up journey.
At this stage, the trial is only for people on a single-rate tariff. If you are on a dual-rate tariff and want to be part of the trial, let us know and we can get you switched over.
The LEAF is currently the only vehicle we will be supporting as part of our trial. So you’ll need to drive one to take part.
But if you don’t own a Nissan LEAF, don’t sweat it. In future we plan to expand our V2G charger to more electric vehicles.
Our agreement with Nissan currently only guarantees warranty coverage for batteries with 30kWh or 40kWh capacity. If you have a 24kWh LEAF and your existing warranty period has expired, you are also eligible to join the trial. However, if your battery capacity is 24kWh and you are still in your warranty period, we are working on an agreement with Nissan that will allow you to take part in the trial.
We are working closely with Nissan to ensure that no battery degradation is caused by V2G charging beyond what would be expected from normal charging using a standard EV home charge point. We continue to work with Nissan to make sure that during our trial, your existing warranty will remain unaffected.
If you have a 30kWh or 40kWh Nissan LEAF, your existing battery warranty remains unaffected by your participation on the trial.
If you have a 24kWh LEAF that is already out of warranty, you are also eligible to join the trial.
If you have a 24kWh and are still in your warranty period, we are still working with Nissan to confirm that you can take part and hope to have more news soon.
The trial will last for 24 months from the date your charger is installed. You’ll need to remain an OVO customer throughout the duration of the trial on any OVO plan. During the trial we’ll ask you for regular feedback to help us develop and refine the product for the future.
As it is a trial, the terms may be subject to change. At worst, if we need to change or cancel the trial, we will let you know 30 days before doing so.
We’ll own the charger at all times during the trial. At the end of the 2 year trial you can either keep it, or have it removed for free. You’ll be responsible for any loss or damage caused to the charger during the trial.
To install the V2G charger you’ll need off-street parking and a wall we can attach the charger to. We'll assess your property as part of the installation process, and confirm whether we can install a charger.
We will support any standard installs for free as part of the trial. If it’s a very complex install, we’ll provide you with a no-obligation quote for the work, or advise you that we can’t install at your house during the trial. Either way, we’ll make sure you’re 100% happy with the detail of the install process before we start any work.
You'll see your export credits as a line item on your regular statement. The amount shown will be for the entire calendar month previous.
For example, if you get your statement from us on the 10th of each month, on the 10th July you'll receive your export credits for June 1st - June 30th. You'll see July's credits in August, and so on.
If you have solar panels, we will be paying you for all of your exports, not just those from your vehicle-to-grid charger. As we'll be paying you at a rate of your electricity unit rate + 2p per kWh, you will be receiving significantly more than your current deemed export payment.
Terms & Conditions
1 Subject to what you choose as the Vehicle to Grid charger's charging schedule,it will charge your vehicle battery with electricity from the grid when electricity is cheap and more likely to be of a lower carbon intensity. The charger will discharge your battery when electricity is expensive and more likely to be of a higher carbon intensity.
Electricity is more likely to have come from a renewable or green source, when carbon intensity is low. Carbon intensity is a measure of the grammes of CO2 emitted in producing a kWh of electricity, which is usually lower for renewable or green sources of energy.
2 If you discharged your EV battery at 5.4kW from 4-7pm every day for a year, you'd potentially export 5913kWh to the grid. You'd likely use some of this to power your home - we estimate 14% of your EV battery's output. This would equate to 830kWh annually (based on a PC1 consumption profile and our average EV driver's annual electricity consumption of 4722kWh). For the kWh you don't use in your home, that we can sell back to the grid, we'll pay you a net export payment of £0.06. Based on the above assumptions, means you could save £305 annually:
(5913kWh - 830kWh) x £0.06 = £304.98
The estimated average annual charging cost for a Nissan LEAF is £282.14, based on the following assumptions:
- Average annual mileage for private vehicle: 7,500 miles (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts09-vehicle-mileage-and-occupancy)
- 4.2miles per kWh
- Unit price of 15.80p per kWh (the price for an OVO customer on our Better Plan excluding regions 16, 17 & 18 where V2G is unavailable)
(7500/4.2) x £0.1580 = £282.14
Using this example, the estimated average annual costs of £282.14 would be covered by the estimated annual export credit of £305.
All data and calculations are presented as at 06.06.2018
3 Free entry to the trial, provided that your installation is classed as a "standard installation".