Experts discover surprising new way AI is affecting millions of US homeowners: 'An issue that can add up to billions of dollars'

As more companies adopt artificial intelligence technology, the amount of energy it consumes is often overlooked, and the problem is starting to reach homes across the United States.

What's happening?

As Bloomberg explained in late December, AI data centers around the country are consuming huge amounts of power from the grid and thereby disrupting the normal flow of electricity in the homes of millions of Americans. An analysis determined that over three-quarters of the homes with distorted power readings across the country are within 50 miles of major data center activity.

Bloomberg explained that the term for distorted power supplies is "bad harmonics," which can "force home electronics to run hot, or even cause the motors in refrigerators and air conditioners to rattle." The outlet described bad harmonics as "an issue that can add up to billions of dollars in total damage."

Thomas Coleman, CEO of consultant Structure Energy Solutions and a longtime expert on grid reliability, told Bloomberg that harmonics, along with power-quality issues more broadly, "is another element in these perfect storm scenarios we are not monitoring and addressing quickly and efficiently enough."

Why is this important?

The AI boom means the issue of disrupted electricity quality is not exclusive to the United States, as power grids around the world are starting to buckle with new data centers sprouting up more frequently.

Bloomberg wrote: "The digital economy is sucking up so much power that demand is now straining available supplies of electricity in many parts of the world, leading to concerns over price increases and even widespread outages. And that's only projected to worsen as more data centers are built."

A recent report from Goldman Sachs predicted that around $1 trillion will be spent worldwide on data centers and other AI-related expenditures over the coming years. As power grids continue to be challenged by extreme weather conditions that have only worsened due to rising global temperatures, this increase in demand will further strain power systems globally.

"The data center is a very large load. Take your house and increase that by 10,000. That is the difference between your house and a data center," Hasala Dharmawardena, a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers who also works at the North American Electric Reliability Corp, told Bloomberg.

What's being done about this?

Aman Joshi, chief commercial officer of Bloom Energy Corp., told Bloomberg there needs to be "an urgency" to better understand the impact of the continued construction of data facilities that support AI.

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"No grid is designed to be able to handle that kind of load fluctuation not only for one data center but for multiple data centers at the same time," Joshi said.

Still, there's optimism that the grid could see some relief soon, as Bloomberg noted that "some solutions are already in the works."

Carrie Bentley, CEO of Gridwell Consulting, told Bloomberg that the ongoing examination of the effect of harmonics on the residential level makes it easier to understand the risks of continued electricity flow disruption due to the weakening grid.

"If you know it exists, it is easy to fix," Bentley said. "So if this is a problem, it is a nice problem."

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