Should You Buy a Home Battery or Wait for Bidirectional EV Charging?

As home energy storage options advance, homeowners with residential solar face an exciting decision: invest in a dedicated home battery, like the FranklinWH aPower 2 or Enphase 10C, or wait for the emerging potential of bidirectional EV charging. We get asked about this a lot, so here’s a whole article dedicated to answering that question.

Why Consider Bidirectional EV Charging?

The idea of using an electric vehicle (EV) battery to power your home is, in my opinion, the ideal scenario. EVs have massive batteries compared to home storage batteries, cost way less per kWh, and you can drive it to work. In terms of storage comparisons, a single FranklinWH aPower 2 has a usable storage capacity of 15 kWh, while many EVs far exceed this:

• Ford F-150 Lightning: Up to **131 kWh **(that’s the equivalant storage capacity of almost 9 FranklinWH aPower 2 batteries!)

• Chevrolet Silverado EV: 100 kWh

• Tesla Cybertruck: 123 kWh

With proper integration, an EV can serve as an incredible source of backup energy, all while being used day-to-day. The downside is that this concept is still largely under development and the power output (i.e. amount you can actually discharge) is currently much less than what home batteries currently offer.

Current State of Bidirectional Charging

Bidirectional EV charging—also known as Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) or Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)—is developing quickly, though no universal standard currently exists. Various automakers, including Ford, GM, Kia, Hyundai, Rivian and Tesla, are leading the charge, but each uses proprietary systems, limiting compatibility across brands.

For instance, Ford’s Intelligent Backup Power system for the F-150 Lightning, in partnership with Sunrun, can supply V2H power. However, it requires specific equipment and integration and doesn’t seem to easily pair with anything other than SunRun solar systems. If you want to use Enphase Microinverters, you’re out of luck– You’ll have to use Delta micoinverters, and hope they are just as reliable.

Similarly, Tesla has announced its Powershare roadmap, which aims to introduce V2H charging for its EVs as part of its long-term plan. This could make Tesla EVs a more versatile option, although Powershare’s widespread availability is still pending, with full rollout not expected until at least 2025​. At the moment it’s brand new to market, and only available to Cybertruck owners. It’s also unclear if Powershare will support 3rd-party inverters, the way the FranklinWH aPower 2 does, or if it will only integrate with other Tesla inverters. It could be a great solution for new installations, but may not be an option for retrofits, unless you already have a Tesla inverter.

Enphase and SolarEdge have also entered the bidirectional space. Enphase’s Bidirectional EV Charger, slated for 2025 (fingers crossed, please deliver), will work within the Enphase ecosystem, allowing seamless integration with Enphase microinverters and energy management systems. This charger is expected to provide an accessible V2H option for various EVs, but will only integrate with solar systems using Enphase microinverters. As an Enphase installer, this is still exciting for us, but it won’t be a one-size-fits-all solution for existing systems.

V2H today, with FranklinWH

There’s actually one way to get a V2H-style setup today: the FranklinWH Generator Module. If your vehicle has a built-in 240V outlet — like the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV, or Rivian R1T/R1S — you can plug it into the FranklinWH aPower 2 just like a portable generator. It won’t give you the fully automated, seamless failover of true V2H, but it does let you use your vehicle’s battery to keep your home powered during an outage, with hardware that’s already shipping.

EVs like the Ford F150 Lightning and Cybertruck have massive batteries, capable of powering your home for days, with the right technology.

Comparing Home Batteries and Bidirectional EV Charging

Feature	Home Battery (e.g., FranklinWH aPower 2)	Bidirectional EV Charging (e.g., Ford, GM)
Storage Capacity	15 kWh per FranklinWH aPower 2, or 10 kWh per Enphase 10C	EVs range from 60 kWh to over 130 kWh (e.g., Ford Lightning)
Power Output	11.5 – 30 kW, depending on system design	Varies by EV; Ford F-150 Lightning provides 9.6 kW
Availability	Readily available	Limited, expanding in 2025–2026
Solar Integration	Seamless with most solar systems	Limited compatibility with solar systems
Generator / EV Integration	FranklinWH’s Generator Module accepts portable generators, standby generators, and EVs with a 240V outlet	Not applicable
Reliability	Always available on-site	Limited by EV location and availability during outages

Should You Buy Now or Wait?

If you need reliable backup power now, a dedicated home battery like the FranklinWH aPower 2 or Enphase 10C is probably your best choice. These batteries provide whole-home backup, seamless integration with solar, and excellent performance. Plus you can monitor all your home’s energy, and take your home off-grid, straight from the app.

For those willing to wait, bidirectional EV charging may finally be around the corner. As companies like Tesla expand their Powershare roadmap and more universal systems like Enphase’s bidirectional charger enter the market, EVs may soon offer a cost-effective and convenient alternative for both home energy storage and transportation. As soon as it becomes a viable option, we’ll be all-in, and look forward to supporting our customers that want a V2H charging solution.