Letting a car push energy into a house cycles the battery in a way the driving warranty may not have assumed. Some makers allow specified bidirectional equipment. Some are silent. Silence is not approval. Before you buy a bidirectional charger, get the manufacturer position for your model year in writing, and use only pairings they support. A voided traction-battery warranty is worth more than the charger.
Bidirectional charging and the vehicle warranty
Ask the dealer, not only the charger brand. Keep the email.
- Get the car maker's view in writing
- Charger adverts are not warranty cover
- Unclear means do not do it
- A normal wallbox avoids the issue
Check bidirectional charging and the vehicle warranty before you accept a price
If the answer is no or unclear, install a normal one-way wallbox and revisit later.
The price effect of bidirectional charging and the vehicle warranty
The cost of guessing is a warranty dispute years later, when proving how the car was used is hard.
A miss that shows up later: bidirectional charging and the vehicle warranty
The mistake is a 'the battery is warranted for V2G' line on a charger advert that the car maker has not echoed.
Write bidirectional charging and the vehicle warranty into the quote
Attach the car maker's written position to the order for any bidirectional product.
Frequently asked questions
Does occasional vehicle-to-load count?
Boot sockets are a feature of that car. Use them as the manual describes. They are not a home export system.
Will the dealer know?
Ask them to obtain the position from the manufacturer if the salesperson is unsure.
Can software lock it out?
Some cars simply do not enable bidirectional charging. You cannot contractor your way around that.
What about leased cars?
The funder and the maker both matter. A leased car is a bad place for an experiment.
Core buying guides
Start with these high-intent guides, then dig into the rest of the library.
Related guides
Sources and further reading
How this guide was prepared
This guide was written by the Local EV Installers Editorial Team. We compare official guidance, legislation and established consumer information, separate general information from project-specific advice, and show publication dates and sources. We do not accept installer accreditation claims at face value.