Incentives · Grid programs

VPP Earnings Calculator

What would the grid pay to borrow your home battery? Enter your ZIP to find residential battery virtual power plant (VPP) programs where you live, then see how battery size, the share you enroll, skipped events, and time-of-use savings change what you earn and how much of the battery it pays for.

VPP total—
Per year—
Cost recovered—
Payback—

Cumulative value toward the battery’s cost

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What moves your number

Change in the VPP total if one assumption changes and everything else stays the same.

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Your battery in every program

Same battery and participation settings, run through each program’s published terms. The dashed line is your battery’s cost.

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Program rules

Read these before enrolling. They decide how often the battery is used and how much backup you keep.

    Batteries aren’t the only grid asset

    Many of the same programs also pay for EV chargers, smart thermostats, heat pumps, smart water heaters, and solar inverters. This calculator covers the battery alone. For the other devices, see Drive Economics for EV managed charging and Heatpump Economics for heating and cooling.

    How this estimate works

    • Event powerAverage kW = the smaller of continuous output and (usable kWh × share enrolled ÷ event hours). Skipped events reduce the average proportionally.
    • Upfront paymentsApplied in year 1 using each program’s formula: per kWh of storage, per kW of committed or rated power, or a flat amount, with published caps.
    • Ongoing paymentsPer-kW, per-kWh, monthly, or annual rules applied for each program year, with capacity fade reducing delivered power each year.
    • Program termPublished terms are used where they exist. Otherwise, today’s rate is assumed to continue for the analysis period. Proposed and at-risk programs are labeled.
    • Not includedAggregator shares, taxes, discounting, backup value, and energy payments beyond those listed. Totals are gross program payments.

    This is a planning estimate, not a guarantee of program revenue. Program rules and rates change often; confirm current terms, eligibility, and warranty implications with your utility or installer before buying or enrolling. For the research behind these programs, see Case Study 03: What virtual power plants really pay.