General Motors Launches Home Energy Products to Pair With Its EVs

By
Laurance Yap
July 6, 2023
4
min
General Motors is in the energy business now. Through its new GM Energy division, you can now purchase products including EV chargers, power walls, and solar panels - taking advantage of vehicle-to-load capability on electric cars and also securing your home from power outages.
Ultium Home Energy System in use
Share:

Power Products to Go With Your EV

In late 2022, General Motors, the parent company of Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac, announced that it would launch a new business called GM Energy, which would offer solar panels, EV chargers, and battery storage for homes and businesses. The new business takes a page from Tesla’s book with a suite of products that complements GM’s electric vehicles, and makes life with them more economical and convenient.

GM Energy, the new venture, builds not just on GM’s battery expertise, but also its software, which in an electric car manages the flow of energy between the battery, electric motors, vehicle systems, and charging hardware. That same expertise can help maximize the efficiency of power usage in a home or business – helping GM Energy customers optimize their vehicle charging and also providing energy security in the case of electrical grid disruptions.

The first products offered by GM Energy will be available to residential customers, and will be called Ultium Home. They’re designed to provide customers with greater energy resilience as well as maximizing efficiency ad lowering costs – and enable the use of backup power when electricity isn’t available from the grid. Three bundles will be sold initially: the Ultium Home V2H bundle, the Ultium Home Energy System, and the Ultium Home Energy Storage Bundle, which let customers select the solution which best meets their energy needs and budget.

Ultium Home V2H Bundle

Ultium Home V2H Bundle

GM Energy’s Ultium Home V2H bundle is designed for consumers that want to leverage the vehicle-to-home capabilities of their General Motors electric cars. The bundle allows the battery pack in a General Motors EV to power the consumer’s home. It includes:

  • The GM PowerShift Charger, which enables bi-directional charging with a compatible General Motors EV and has an exceptionally fast 19.2-kW charging speed on AC power
  • The Ultium Home V2H Enablement Kit, which includes an electric inverter, home hub, and “dark start” battery to power the home when the grid is down. The kit allows the house to draw 9.6 kW of power from the electric vehicle, and safely disconnects the home from the grid when in use
Ultium Home Energy System in use

Ultium Home Energy System

The second bundle is designed for customers that not only want to use their GM EV’s vehicle-to-home functionality, but also want to have static energy storage. It includes:

  • The GM PowerShift Charger
  • The Ultium Home V2H Enablement Kit
  • The GM PowerBank, which can connect to the enablement kit to further extend backup power capability and store solar or grid energy. Two versions of the PowerBank are available, a 5-kW/10.6 kWh version and a 7-kW/17.7 kWh version.
Ultium Home Energy Models

Ultium Home Energy Storage Bundle

The final bundle is designed for customers that want to have energy storage at their home, but don’t have an EV yet, so it doesn’t include any products that connect to a vehicle. Included are:

  • GM’s PowerBank
  • Inverter and home hub

Integrating Solar Panels With EVs

In addition to the initial suite of Ultium Home bundles, customers that want to integrate solar energy into their home can work with SunPower. SunPower is GM Energy’s exclusive solar provider and its preferred EV charger installer, and can install solar panels that can deliver power to the home and vehicle – providing additional value and potential electricity cost-savings.

Front view of a Tesla Model 3 driving through canyon roads

Join the sustainable transportation evolution.

Subscribe to receive the latest GreenCars news, products, and updates

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.