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V2G Profit Calculator

Test a vehicle-to-grid scenario using separate export compensation, recharge costs, fees, and a battery wear allowance. All defaults are illustrative; they are not current utility offers.

Your scenario assumptions

Use the capacity available to the approved system, not a vehicle compatibility claim.

Reserve enough charge for driving. This simplified model treats exported energy as battery discharge.

Count only eligible events you expect to attend; assumes at most one session per day.

Illustrative value. Enter the written compensation rate from your program, not its peak retail purchase price.

Use the marginal delivered cost, including applicable per-kWh charges.

0.90 means 90%. Includes energy needed to replace charging and discharge losses.

Include only fees added by participation, not an existing bill you already pay.

An editable allocation assumption, not a quoted replacement price.

Used to allocate battery cost to throughput. It is not a measured fade rate or a warranty.

Replace this example with your quote, including required interconnection equipment.

How to check a V2G estimate

Model and example checked September 21, 2026. The following is an arithmetic scenario, not observed earnings or a utility price quote.

A reproducible example

With 15 kWh exported on 100 days, annual export is 1,500 kWh. At an assumed $0.25/kWh payment, revenue is $375. With 90% round-trip efficiency, replacing that energy requires 1,666.67 kWh. At $0.12/kWh, recharging costs $200.

A 75 kWh battery supplies 1,500 ÷ 75 = 20 equivalent full cycles, not 100 full cycles. Allocating a hypothetical $15,000 battery cost over 2,000 full cycles assigns $150 of wear cost to this year's export. This cost allocation does not predict a percentage of capacity loss.

With no program fee, annual net is $375 − $200 − $150 = $25, or $2.08 per month. A $5,000 installed charger would take 200 years to recover under these fixed assumptions; this is far beyond a sensible equipment horizon. The 10-year net is $250 − $5,000 = −$4,750. Operating income alone does not justify installation.

Which input changes the decision?

Keeping the other example inputs fixed, lowering export compensation to $0.15/kWh changes annual net to −$125. A $5 monthly fee reduces the original $25 net to −$35. Setting export compensation to zero still incurs recharge and wear costs if you schedule discharges; setting sessions to zero removes energy costs but leaves any monthly fees.

The break-even export payment before equipment cost is import price ÷ efficiency + battery cost per kWh ÷ cycle life + annual fees ÷ annual exported kWh. In the default example this is about $0.2333/kWh. If export volume is zero, a per-kWh break-even value is undefined.

Documents to obtain before relying on the result

  • Written export compensation, qualifying events, payment caps, availability obligations, and additional fees.
  • An eligible vehicle and charger combination, export authorization, installation quote, and applicable warranty restrictions.
  • Your actual recharge tariff and a schedule that preserves your driving reserve. Demand charges, fixed availability payments, and hourly dispatch require a separate model.

References and next steps

PG&E EV rate plans explain retail purchasing rates. The separate PG&E V2X program describes participation and interconnection. These references do not validate this calculator's sample prices or battery life assumption.

For ordinary charging expenses, use the EV charging calculator. Read our methodology or report a correction.

Reviewed by Jiseok LeeLast reviewed