Abstract
The widespread adoption of electric vehicles is a centerpiece of California’s strategy to reach net-zero carbon emissions, but it is not fully known how and where electric vehicles are being used, and how and where they are being charged. This report provides the first at-scale estimate of electric vehicle home charging. Previous estimates were based on conflicting surveys or extrapolated from a small, unrepresentative sample of households with dedicated electric vehicle meters. The research team combined billions of hourly electricity meter measurements with address-level electric vehicle registration records from California households, including roughly 40,000 EV owners. The average electric vehicle increases the overall household load by 2.9 kilowatt-hours per day, well under half the amount assumed by state regulators. Results imply that electric vehicles travel less than expected on electric power, raising questions about transportation electrification for climate policy.
