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Electric vehicle sales are reaching record levels, and more people are discovering the convenience of electric mobility. Unlike traditional fuel stations, charging your car while it's parked offers a level of flexibility that many find appealing. Starting each day with a fully charged battery is a major draw for EV owners. In fact, our research shows that **64% of current EV drivers charge their vehicles at home**.
However, powering your car from home is a new concept for many, and it raises practical questions. Did you know that **65% of EV drivers consider energy efficiency the most important factor when choosing an EV charger**? This highlights that managing the power supply for home charging is a real concern for many.
To help control energy use and keep costs in check, homeowners are increasingly turning to **smart EV charging solutions**. Terms like *peak shaving* and *load shifting* often come up, but they can be confusing—especially when compared to features like *dynamic load balancing*. In this article, we’ll break down what these terms mean, how they work, and why they matter for everyday EV owners.
Both *peak shaving* and *load shifting* are well-established concepts in the energy industry, originally used by large industrial companies to reduce energy costs. While they’ve been around for decades, their application in the context of home EV charging is relatively new and much smaller in scale.
So, without getting too technical, let’s explore these terms from the perspective of smart home EV charging.
### What is Load Shifting?
In simple terms, *load shifting* means moving energy consumption to different times of the day. In the energy industry, “load†refers to electricity usage, and high demand can lead to higher grid stress and costs.
For example, if your utility company charges less during off-peak hours (like late at night or early morning), your smart charger can automatically schedule your car’s charging during those cheaper times. This helps reduce your energy bill without affecting your daily routine too much.
But as convenient as it sounds, load shifting isn’t always perfect. You still need your car charged when you need it, so the system has to balance cost savings with user needs.
That’s where *peak shaving* comes into play.
### What is Peak Shaving?
While *load shifting* focuses on timing, *peak shaving* aims to reduce the overall demand on the grid during peak hours. Instead of just shifting energy use, peak shaving actively lowers the amount of energy drawn from the grid at high-demand times.
This is often done using local energy storage, such as solar panels or home batteries. For instance, if your house uses solar energy during the day and stores excess power, your smart charger can use that stored energy to charge your car during peak hours instead of drawing from the grid.
With the rise of home solar systems and battery storage, peak shaving is becoming more accessible to regular households. In the future, technologies like *vehicle-to-home* (V2H) could even allow your car’s battery to act as a backup power source, helping to further reduce grid strain.
### The Difference Between Load Shifting and Peak Shaving
The key difference lies in their goals. *Load shifting* moves energy use to cheaper times, but doesn’t necessarily reduce the total amount of energy used. *Peak shaving*, on the other hand, reduces the overall demand during high-cost periods by using alternative energy sources.
Think of *load shifting* as scheduling your energy use, and *peak shaving* as reducing the pressure on the grid itself.
### What About Dynamic Load Balancing?
Another term often confused with peak shaving and load shifting is *dynamic load balancing*. This feature ensures that your home’s electrical system doesn’t get overloaded by distributing available power efficiently between devices. It adjusts in real time based on the current demand, helping prevent outages and optimize performance.
### Summary
Here’s a quick breakdown of the three main concepts:
- **Dynamic Load Balancing**: Distributes energy evenly across appliances to avoid overloads.
- **Load Shifting**: Moves energy use to cheaper, off-peak times.
- **Peak Shaving**: Reduces demand on the grid during peak hours by using stored or renewable energy.
Together, these smart features help make home EV charging more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable.
If you're interested in learning more about smart EV charging or how to manage energy use at home, check out our full guide on **EV smart charging**.