this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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In the US, I'm worried our power grid wouldn't handle the load if everyone swapped to EVs. We're already struggling with all the data centers moving in.
Diesel fuel generators will solve that problem. /s
If the grid can handle all these fucking data centres it can handle charging some cars.
Battery technology is improving so rapidly that it will become economical soon to charge a stationary battery from home solar during the day, and charge the car from that battery at night (which also means much more expensive fast-charging technology is just not needed to get to work and back). For many people doing some amount of home office or driving modest distances, charging from home solar is already the cheapest option.
And here in Europe, employers are offering charging at work.
EV charging really isn't as demanding as you'd think. Most people would be able to charge a couple days of use overnight using the same amount of power as running a space heater.
Sooo maybe you're right of you live in Texas.
In Texas if there were a shitload of cars plugged into backfeed capable chargers it would probably save their shitty grid, not hurt it.
As an electrician who designs charging stations, I beg to differ. The small 120v trickle chargers work the way you imagine. There's a much larger energy demand needed when you're running 60-120 amps per pedestal times 10 to 20 per station times how many stations we would need for every day commuters.
Edit: Here's a link to a fleet EV charging station . https://www.eaton.com/content/dam/eaton/products/emobility/green-motion-dc-ev-chargers/eaton-green-motion-dc-fast-charger-datasheet-td154002en.pdf
These are the chargers we install in mass for every day general public use. Your going to want to look for input amps to see how much power they require. Your trickle charger is in the single digits compared to these.
The point is that most commuters don't need the larger chargers, they can get all their commiting energy from a 120v wall charger and save fast chargers for road trips. I've been driving a PHEV or EV for 6 years, 120 mile commute ~3 days a week, and have used fast chargers maybe 10 times total.
Just because you do it doesn't mean the majority does.
it's typical car industry misinformation to highlight extreme use cases as if they were a reasonable average case. That's why Americans pony up to buy and pay for a massive truck while a french citizen in the same situation would be satisfied with a Fiat 500 or a Citroën CV2.
I've had an ev for 8 years. I slow charge overnight for 95% of my milage. Same for everyone I know that lives in a house or townhouse. Apartment living varies depending on how old the apartment is and they may need to use other paid charging. Putting more all day or all night slower charging would help with load. Most people only have to use high speed charging when they don't have accessible charging either at home or at work.
Oil refineries use so much energy that they quite often have a dedicated power plant. The energy required to refine enough fuel to drive 100km could instead be used to drive an EV more than 50km.
Switching to EVs will have much less of an impact on the grid than it initially appears. With overnight or midday charging, EVs can even help spread the load throughout the day and help reduce the evening peak.
V2G/V2H can reduce this peak even further, while only using a tiny amount from each car battery.
Air-conditioning is also a big concern for the energy grid, but as with all new technologies, the grid will be upgraded to handle it. Unless you are employed by a grid operator to plan for the future, you don't need to worry about it.
At the scale of minutes and seconds, this isn't wrong. It just misses a few nuances like frequency maintenance issues due to lack of inertia in a majority solar grid
My local grid frequently hits 100% renewable power, and has even exceeded 100% of demand from only rooftop solar with commercial solar and wind also producing at that time.
The grid needed a few modifications, and there was some brief instability, but everyone survived it and the grid has been stable for over a year.
I think we'll be fine.
For sure and it'll need to be done, one way or another. It'll just take a longer time for the unprepared grids
I'm a electrical designer and this is a discussion we have nearly weekly. Charging EVs on a commercial scale is very different on a residential scale. Our energy grid is in shambles.
Most EV charging is done over night during the most "off-peak" hours you can find. It won't really be a problem.