Still plugging in your EV the second you park? That was fine in 2018. In 2026, it is leaving money - and grid resilience - on the table.

The problem: great hardware, wasteful timing

Homes are filling up with flexible loads: EVs, heat pumps, smart water heaters, and home batteries. Meanwhile, AI data centers and electrification are hammering the grid during predictable peaks. If you charge and discharge at the wrong times, you pay more on time-of-use rates, cycle your battery harder than needed, and miss out on payments for flexibility.

The result is a familiar frustration: your smart stuff works, but your bill and battery life do not.

The solution: software-driven VPPs and demand response

A virtual power plant (VPP) stitches together thousands of devices - home batteries, EV chargers, solar inverters, thermostats - and coordinates them with software. Demand response programs then nudge those devices to shift consumption or discharge during peak hours. In exchange, households get bill credits or cash, and the grid gets capacity without building a new power plant.

It is not theoretical. Major utilities and providers are scaling VPPs now, and households are getting paid for smart participation. The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2025 Liftoff update highlights rapid VPP acceleration and customer-sited storage additions across programs, including hundreds of megawatts added in California in 2025, as noted in this report.

Proof it is happening

• Sunrun reports over 400 percent growth in VPP participation, surpassing 100,000 enrolled customers and dispatching hundreds of megawatts across 17 programs in 2024, as noted in this Utility Dive piece.
• Arizona Public Service is running a residential VPP with smart thermostats and batteries that pays bill credits for shifting peak demand, as noted on APS’s program page.
• Policy and markets are opening doors for aggregated home devices to participate in wholesale markets under frameworks like FERC Order 2222, with state-by-state program growth tracked in this summary by the Clean Energy States Alliance.
• Data centers are turbocharging the need for flexible capacity. VPPs are a fast, software-first way to meet AI-era demand while avoiding costly, slow infrastructure, as argued in this RMI analysis.

Why this matters for your home battery, EV, and solar in 2026

VPPs and demand response can dial in three things that directly affect your wallet and hardware health:

• EV smart charging - Shift charging to off-peak windows and cleaner hours. Managed charging programs increasingly automate this, and VPP dispatch can delay or accelerate charging for grid benefit while paying you for flexibility, as discussed by program operators in this overview.
• Time-of-use rates - TOU pricing is the backbone of savings. VPP software aligns your loads with low-price windows, then uses batteries and thermostats to shave peaks when prices are highest, as explained in DOE’s VPP Liftoff update.
• Battery cycling and life - Good programs manage depth of discharge, limit hard peaks, and avoid excessive cycling to preserve battery health while still earning grid payments, as noted in this report.

Solar ROI gets a software upgrade

Solar-alone savings can stall under evolving net metering. Solar-plus-storage, paired with VPP payments and TOU-aware dispatch, creates new value streams. Instead of exporting mid-day at low prices, charge your battery cheap, power the house at peak, and get rewarded for dispatch when the grid is tight.

Utilities and aggregators are building standardized offers for these value stacks, with growing participation by solar-plus-storage customers across state programs, as tracked in this CESA table and discussed in RMI’s analysis.

What to do right now to win 2026

• Enroll in a VPP or DR program - Check your utility or aggregator. APS, Sunrun, and others are actively onboarding customers, paying credits or cash for peak reductions, as noted on APS’s page and in Utility Dive.
• Set EV smart charging rules - Use your charger or vehicle app to restrict charging to off-peak and VPP windows. If your program offers managed charging, enable it. Platforms that automate optimization are emerging, such as those described by Renew Home.
• Lock a battery reserve - Keep a sensible minimum state of charge for resilience, then allow VPP dispatch within set bounds. Many programs let you define limits so events do not drain your battery below comfort levels, as described in this overview.
• Pre-cool or pre-heat - Thermostats can shift HVAC load to cheaper hours and then coast through peaks, especially in hot or cold snaps. Programs typically pay for predictable reductions, as outlined on APS’s site.
• Align solar with TOU - Use your battery to store excess solar and discharge during peak prices. The value stack improves when paired with performance payments, as seen across programs summarized in this CESA resource.

Sample schedules for 2026

• EV charging - Off-peak midnight to early morning. Allow program overrides during events that request a delay or speed-up.
• Battery - Charge during off-peak or high solar production. Discharge during utility peak windows. Keep 20-40 percent reserve if you rely on backup power.
• Thermostat - Pre-cool two hours before peak. Drift 1-2 degrees during the peak window to earn credits.

Bottom line

In 2026, the smartest home energy upgrade is not another box on the wall. It is software that knows your rates, your solar output, and your grid’s stress signals, then choreographs your devices to earn and save. Utilities want flexible power. Your home can provide it. VPPs and demand response turn timing into money, and your hardware lasts longer because it works smarter, not harder.

For more program details and market context, see DOE’s 2025 VPP Liftoff update in this report, Sunrun’s growth in Utility Dive, APS’s program info here, and broader policy tracking via CESA and the AI demand perspective in this RMI analysis.