Technology

Most drivers prefer plugging in at home or nearby, especially overnight. While this offers convenience, it creates problems for the power grid, which is already under stress during peak evening hours.

Wildly misleading title. Overnight charging doesn't pose a problem, charging in the evening may pose a problem. All EVs today have scheduled charging so you can plug it in when you get home but it won't charge until nighttime where load and price are low. This is a non-issue, it has already been solved for everyone but the most dense idiot consumers.

This absolutely depends on your location. My power company recommends charging at night, when the grid isn't as strained. My area primarily uses hydro and wind, and this article seems to be talking about solar which is not very efficient here.

Much of the study is focused on the area around Stanford, which has access to a large amount of solar power nearby, so it would make more sense there.

Well I got distracted by work and such so now everyone has already said this, but fuck it, here's my version.

Recent research shows charging habits are more complex than expected. Most drivers prefer plugging in at home or nearby, especially overnight. While this offers convenience, it creates problems for the power grid, which is already under stress during peak evening hours.

So schedule the charging to start at off-peak hours, such as 9PM.

In contrast, shifting charging to daytime hours, particularly during periods of abundant solar energy, could alleviate grid stress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This presumes your local grid makes use of solar. This is not a significant source of power in my area.

“Policymakers should consider utility rates that encourage day charging and incentivize investment in charging infrastructure to shift drivers from home to work for charging,” Rajagopal stated.

First, where I live they already charge more during peak hours than non-peak hours, which incentivizes charging at home after peak hours.

Where I charge at work, the charging is free, but you are not guaranteed a spot. So charging at work would mean anxiety about getting to charge at all. Also, not everywhere has free charging.

There is an existing, simple solution to the problem and it is not to discourage charging at home.

Basically they want people to charge during the daytime when solar power is available, instead of in the evening when the grid is strained by higher demand and lack of renewable energy.

EVs have timers in them to prevent them from charging during peak demand or high electric cost hours. My power company charges triple rates from 2pm-7pm weekdays. We just have the EV timer set to not charge during that window.

It will cause what?

Then give financial incentive to do so.

The study the article is talking about, is a possible solution to cover California's solar energy glut problem during the day, because the state doesn't have enough batteries. It is a case study. In trying to do that, it may create other problems, such as infrastructure to get people to charge their cars during the day while they work. This means employers must pay or get somebody to pay for chargers at the work place, adding onto more costs onto the employee and/or employer. Nighttime charging may be cheaper and more convenient, but remember, the study wants you to capture all the wonder solar power during the day, not use potential green house gases from natural gas at night. The more complexity, the more problems you have.