Does EV home-backup capability outmode the Tesla Powerwall?

GM last week announced details regarding its vehicle-to-home (V2H) system, set to launch with the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST, that will help EV owners back up their home without the help of a storage battery like a Tesla Powerwall or a backup generator.

It’s ultimately part of GM’s big energy play that sees EVs becoming home power banks and more. Trucks like the Silverado EV are literally huge mobile battery packs, with this truck’s massive 205-kwh capacity the equivalent of 15 Powerwalls; even making a small portion of the pack available should be enough to power an American home for days.

According to GM the V2H bundle will initially only be available for purchase in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, and Texas. “We are closely tracking interest in other states and laser focused on delivering an unparalleled experience for our customers, and we will be able to share more about the availability of the products throughout the U.S. in future updates,” said spokesperson Sanaz Marbley to Green Car Reports.

GM Energy app

The automaker has a bigger vision for the product. GM once again noted with the announcement that it plans to expand V2H bidirectional charging technology across all its Ultium-based EVs by model year 2026. It confirmed that the 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1, 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, 2024 Cadillac Lyriq, and the future Cadillac Escalade IQ will also be part of that rollout. It's more recently clarified that these products won't be walled off to a GM Energy app, as previously envisioned (above) but instead as part of their respective brand apps—for Chevy, GMC, or Cadillac, for instance.

In the case of the Chevy Blazer EV, for instance, GM has already confirmed that models delivered from the start have all the hardware needed for compatibility with these GM Energy components, but the software to use it won’t be in place until sometime later in the year.

GM Energy home bundle — displayed with Chevy Blazer EV

Batteries included, other hardware needed

The GM Energy Powershift Charger that’s initially mandatory to access the vehicles’ bidirectional functionality will cost $1,699. It’s good for charging at 19.2 kw