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\n Media contact:<\/strong> Kayla Albert, 765-494-2432, wiles5@purdue.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 A future where all homes and vehicles in the U.S. are fully electrified could overwhelm power supply and risk outages unless key upgrades are made, says a new study conducted by Purdue University engineers. But a few strategies could cut two-thirds of the potential costs of reinforcing the nation\u2019s distribution grid to handle this demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Electrifying would mean switching a home\u2019s heating system from a boiler to a heat pump and transitioning from gas- or diesel-fueled vehicles to electric vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we install a whole bunch of new electric heating systems for homes and use more electric vehicles and electric water heaters, then we\u2019re going to increase electricity demand a lot. And that\u2019s basically going to require putting in thicker wires, bigger transformers and other infrastructure into the power grid,\u201d said Kevin Kircher<\/a>, a Purdue assistant professor of mechanical engineering<\/a> and faculty member in the university\u2019s Ray W. Herrick Laboratories<\/a>. \u201cAnd if that happens, utilities will pass the cost of those upgrades to us, the customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study, published in Cell Reports Sustainability<\/a> on Sept. 16, found that reinforcing the U.S. distribution grid, which provides power to residential areas, could cost $350-$790 billion \u2014 about $2,000-$6,400 total per household between now and 2050. Much of this cost would be due to increased electric space heating<\/a>, with the coldest regions of the U.S. experiencing electricity demand peaks up to five times higher than today\u2019s peaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But taking measures such as installing better insulation and air sealing, improving equipment efficiency, and coordinating the operation of the home\u2019s electric devices could mitigate the costs of upgrading the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An example of boosting the efficiency of the home\u2019s electric equipment would be using ground-source heat pumps instead of air-source heat pumps because the constant ground temperature reduces the energy needed to heat and cool homes. Coordinating the home\u2019s electric device operation could mean adjusting when the home\u2019s electric vehicle charges so that it doesn\u2019t happen at the same time when the heat pump is in use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf electric vehicles could communicate with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning units that we install in the house, and if they can coordinate when they have to charge or when they have to heat or precool the homes, this strategy could contribute to a 40% decrease in grid reinforcement costs,\u201d said Priyadarshan, a PhD student in Purdue\u2019s School of Mechanical Engineering and the first author of this paper. \u201cLet\u2019s say there\u2019s a cold snap coming. The heat pump could preheat the house, and the home\u2019s electric vehicles could be charged at a different time to reduce strain on the grid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study focused on each county of the Lower 48 U.S. states. The researchers modeled the grid impacts of fully electrifying homes and vehicles using public surveys of home electricity usage and electric vehicle travel where available for each county, specifications from equipment manufacturers, building code guidelines, and weather data. The team also calibrated the home data against a fully electrified test house in West Lafayette called the DC Nanogrid House<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After analyzing the impact of full electrification to the distribution grid, the researchers adjusted the parameters of their model to include the home weatherization and equipment efficiency strategies they were proposing to cut grid upgrade costs. For their strategy to coordinate electric device operation, they used an optimization algorithm to take into consideration heating, electricity demand and electric vehicle usage and devise an optimal solution for when to charge the vehicles and how hard to run the heat pumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other studies have investigated the future of increased home and vehicle electrification in the U.S. but not on the scale of residential areas by county nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn the one hand it\u2019s kind of scary \u2014 if we electrify everything, we might have a crazy expensive future. But on the other hand, if we electrify in a smart way, then we don\u2019t have nearly as many of those problems,\u201d Kircher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This study was funded by Purdue\u2019s Center for High Performance Buildings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative \u2014 at https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Distribution grids may be a barrier to residential electrification<\/em> \n Media contact:<\/strong> Kayla Albert, 765-494-2432, wiles5@purdue.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n About Purdue University<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Paper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cell Reports Sustainability
DOI: 10.1016\/j.crsus.2025.100518<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n \n