Your Home Could Help Solve AI’s Growing Power Demand

The artificial intelligence boom has a big problem. Technology companies say they need to quickly build lots of new power-hungry data centers to develop A.I., but the energy industry typically needs years to construct power plants, solar farms and battery installations.

Three companies involved in installing and managing rooftop solar panels, home batteries, smart thermostats and other devices say they can solve the problem by tapping into devices — largely those that control, produce or store energy — in millions of American houses and apartments.

The companies are Tesla, the electric vehicle and battery maker; Sunrun, the country’s largest rooftop solar and battery installer; and Renew Home, a Google spin off that manages home thermostats and other devices. On Wednesday, they plan to announce that they are working together to free up enough electrical capacity to meet the needs of 17 large data centers during periods of high demand.

For example, after getting individuals to opt in, the companies could use software to direct thousands of the consumers’ home batteries to charge when there is an abundance of solar energy and then release that power after the sun has set. Making more energy available in the evening, when demand rises, would reduce or eliminate the need to add large power plants alongside new data centers.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/business/energy-environment/ai-data-centers-tesla.html