HVAC giant Carrier has a solution for AC’s excessive grid load: home batteries
The energy demand for data centers is surging right along with record-setting heat domes and conversations about a new “Category 6” for hurricanes, bringing serious concerns about grid stability on summer’s hottest days. That’s the kind of problem that keeps the heating and cooling specialists at Carrier awake at night, but they’ve come up with a scalable solution that can deployed yesterday: pair air conditioners with home batteries.
Carrier doesn’t just sell comfort anymore — by using home battery energy storage tech to address issues like grid resiliency and peak shaving directly, the company hopes to position itself at the center of a home battery-backed virtual power plant with nationwide scale.
Whether or not that eventually happens, the mere conversation signals a massive shift in the way utilities could think about air conditioners. They wouldn’t be just a load demand problem, in other words. With built-in batteries, they could be part of a load demand solution.
“The homes we have and the fact that they all have air conditioning (or a heat pump) defines how the grid is sized, built, and operated today,” Hakan Yilmaz, Carrier’s chief technology and sustainability officer and head of its energy-solutions arm, told Canary Media. ”The [US’] peak load is about 750 gigawatts — that’s what the grid can manage today. Around 300 gigawatts of that is reserved for HVAC.”
As a graph, Yilmaz’ claims look something like this.
US energy demand curves
“We forecast US electricity demand fulfilled by the electric power sector will grow at an annual rate of just over 2% in 2025 and 2026, according to our Short-Term Energy Outlook,” writes Energy Information Administration (EIA) contributor Alex Mey. “Until 2020, electricity demand was relatively flat,” they add, noting that forecasted electricity demand growth is expected to be higher in areas with plans for large data centers and manufacturing facilities, like Texas and Northern Virginia.
Ironically, the two markets named in the EIA are markets that get extreme summer heat and, in Virginia’s case, humidity – and their energy grid solutions are far from being state-of-the-art. Yilmaz thinks his vision for battery-backed Carrier air conditioners solves for that.
With an estimated 30 million Carrier HVAC units installed in North American homes – representing more than 100 GW of potential flexible demand – the opportunity is significant. At scale, these systems could offer utilities a powerful tool to manage electricity demand.
“If we replace an HVAC unit today with a battery-integrated HVAC, the load of that HVAC unit never shows up at the peak for the next 15 years,” Yilmaz said. ”Use that electricity somewhere else.”
Yilmaz’s team at Carrier is piloting a modular battery that sits under or next to its outdoor air conditioning units to drive the HVAC systems during peak energy hours, which not only helps support the grid but can help reduce home energy costs by charging during overnight and off-peak hours when the electrical load is low and electrons are cheaper. It’s a solid idea, but there’s no reason to wait for Carrier to make the batteries
You can do this with a home battery NOW
We often talk about home solar power and battery backup systems in the same breath — and for good reason: you need a battery in order to use the energy your solar panels develop during a blackout. That’s because your home disconnects from the grid in order to keep line crews safe while they’re trying to restore power, but (while important) it’s not the key takeaway here.
The key takeaway is that clever use of a home battery system, even without solar panels, can help manage your home or business’ electrical use, reduce your energy bills, and support the grid as-a-whole while doing so. And, while I tip my hat to Carrier and co. for the idea, there is absolutely nothing stopping someone from deploying a conceptually similar setup tomorrow.
Heck, the 9to5Toys guys can probably show you a Raspberry Pi unit that’s ready to manage the whole thing for $39.99 or something during Prime Day (no promises). That’s my take, anyway — let us know yours in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Carrier.
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Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc., during a media tour of the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
OpenAI has finalized a secondary share sale totaling $6.6 billion, allowing current and former employees to sell stock at a record $500 billion valuation, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
Bloomberg was first to report that the deal had closed.
CNBC reported in August that OpenAI was looking to conduct a secondary share sale at a valuation of $500 billion, with investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and T. Rowe Price.
While OpenAI had authorized up to $10.3 billion in shares for sale — an increase from the original $6 billion target — only about two-thirds of that amount ultimately changed hands.
The person briefed on internal discussions said that lower participation is being viewed internally as a vote of confidence in the company’s long-term prospects, and a sign that investor appetite remains strong, even at a $500 billion valuation — up sharply from $300 billion earlier this year.
The offer was presented to eligible current and former employees in early September, with participation open to those who had held shares for more than two years.
The share sale marks OpenAI’s second major tender offer in less than a year, following a $1.5 billion deal with SoftBank in November.
This latest transaction cements OpenAI’s status as the world’s most valuable privately held company, surpassing SpaceX’s valuation of $456 billion.
The sale also comes amid intensifying competition for AI talent. Meta, in particular, has reportedly offered nine-figure compensation packages in a bid to recruit top researchers.
OpenAI is among a growing cohort of high-profile startups — including SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks — using secondary sales that allow employees to cash out while staying private. The move is widely seen as a strategy to retain talent and reward long-term employees without pursuing an IPO.
WATCH: OpenAI’s $850 billion buildout contends with grid limits
It’s October 1st, which means the $7,500 Federal EV tax credit is dead and gone. That doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for EVs, however – BMW, Ford, GM, and others are stepping up with big rebates, clever accounting tricks, and huge discounts to keep the deals rolling! All this and more on today’s stylin’, profilin’, limousine-riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin’ n’ dealin’ episode of Quick Charge!
WOOOOOOOOO!!!
We’ve also got a hard-hitting look at both the EV and oil subsidies impacting the auto market at large, and what it means to give these two different technologies a level playing field to compete for customers on.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Climate XChange, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to help states pass effective, equitable climate policies. The nonprofit just kicked off its 10th annual EV raffle, where participants have multiple opportunities to win their dream EV.
Visit CarbonRaffle.org/Electrek to learn more!
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If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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Solar and wind accounted for 90% of new US electrical generating capacity added in the first seven months of 2025, according to data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In July, solar alone provided 96% of new capacity, making it the 23rd consecutive month solar has held the lead among all energy sources.
Solar’s new generating capacity in July and YTD
In its latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through July 31, 2025), which was reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign, FERC says 46 “units” of solar totaling 1,181 megawatts (MW) were placed into service in July, accounting for over 96.4% of all new generating capacity added during the month.
The 434 units of utility-scale (>1 MW) solar added during the first seven months of 2025 total 16,050 MW and were 74.4% of the total new capacity placed into service by all sources.
Solar has now been the largest source of new generating capacity added each month for 23 consecutive months from September 2023 to July 2025. During that period, total utility-scale solar capacity grew from 91.82 gigawatts (GW) to 153.09 GW. No other energy source added anything close to that amount of new capacity. Wind, for example, expanded by 10.68 GW, while natural gas increased by just 3.74 GW.
Renewables were 90% of new capacity added YTD
Between January and July, new wind provided 3,288 MW of capacity additions – significantly more than the new capacity provided by natural gas (2,207 MW). Wind thus accounted for 15.2% of all new capacity added during the first seven months of 2025.
For the same period, the combination of solar and wind (plus 4 MW of hydropower and 3 MW of biomass) was 89.6% of new capacity, while natural gas provided just 10.2%; the balance came from coal (18 MW), oil (17 MW), and waste heat (17 MW).
Solar + wind are 23.23% of US utility-scale generating capacity
Utility-scale solar’s share of total installed capacity (11.42%) is now almost equal to that of wind (11.81%). Taken together, they constitute 23.23% of the US’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity.
Moreover, at least 25-30% of US solar capacity is in the form of small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that are not reflected in FERC’s data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar + wind to more than a quarter of the US total.
With the inclusion of hydropower (7.61%), biomass (1.07%), and geothermal (0.31%), renewables currently claim a 32.22% share of total US utility-scale generating capacity. If small-scale solar capacity is included, renewables are now more than one-third of total US generating capacity.
Solar still on track to become No. 2 source of US generating capacity
FERC reports that net “high probability” additions of solar between August 2025 and July 2028 total 92,631 MW – an amount more than four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (22,528 MW), the second fastest-growing resource.
FERC also foresees net growth for hydropower (579 MW) and geothermal (92 MW) but a decrease of 131 MW in biomass capacity.
Taken together, the net new “high probability” capacity additions by all renewable energy sources over the next three years – the bulk of the Trump Administration’s remaining time in office – would total 115,120 MW.
There are now 35 MW of new nuclear capacity in FERC’s three-year forecast, while coal and oil are projected to contract by 25,017 MW and 1,576 MW, respectively. Natural gas capacity would expand by just 8,276 MW.
Should FERC’s three-year forecast materialize, by mid-summer 2028, utility-scale solar would account for more than 17% of installed U.S. generating capacity – more than any other source besides natural gas (40%). Further, the capacity of the mix of all utility-scale renewable energy sources would exceed 38%. Inclusion of small-scale solar systems would push renewables ahead of natural gas.
“With one month of Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ now under our belts, renewables continue to dominate capacity additions,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “And solar seems poised to hold its lead in the months and years to come.”
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
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