Google is trying a new way to meet the massive billet of electricity it needs to support its expanding AI and cloud computing capacity. The company signed a three-year agreement with Voltus to meet the power needs of data centers.

Within the scope of this collaboration, Google will provide access to distributed power capacity from thousands of households instead of building new power plants. Voltuscreates a national grid supplement by bringing together devices such as smart thermostats and small battery units.

Home devices become a distributed power network

Voltus aims to bring together up to one hundred megawatts of distributed power supply each year through the PJM grid. The software platform developed by the company connects to devices in homes in real time and constantly monitors the power flow.

When regional power demand reaches critical levels, the system automatically activates connected devices. While some devices return the energy from their batteries to the grid, others reduce the use of air conditioners or heaters for a short time.

Google states that this process only takes a few minutes and homeowners will not notice these adjustments. Michael Terrell, Global Head of Advanced Energy at Google, says that this solution will help create a more flexible and secure power system.

Uncertainties and scale problems in the system

The hundred megawatts of capacity provided by Voltus represents only a small fraction of Google’s total power needs. This strategy aims to reduce the amount of centralized power generation the company requires for its information center fleet.

However, experts point out that this system, which is based on voluntary household participation, contains some uncertainties. Homeowners disconnecting their devices from the network or changing the settings without warning may pose a risk to the continuity of the system.

Despite this distributed power model, Google continues its investments in classical power sources. The company’s planned nuclear reactor projects have the potential to produce power ten times the capacity offered by this distributed system.

What do you think about Google’s strategy to supply power from homes?