As electric vehicles become increasingly common on the roads, many companies are introducing bidirectional charging capabilities into their EV models, making it possible to use your car to power your home in case of an emergency.
North Carolina couple Liz and Glenn Peterson plugged their electric Hyundai into their home during Hurricane Helene, and Florida equine veterinarian Dr. Erica Lacher used her electric Kia SUV to power an entire clinic during the worst of both Helene and Debby, saving $15,000 of perishable medication.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund's Vital Signs newsletter, more and more of the latest EVs can both accept and funnel out electric power, offering civilians an unexpected lifesaver in a pinch.
After all, keeping your lights on and your refrigerator running for a few extra days when a natural disaster has destabilized all phone lines and major power grids can be the difference between survival and casualty.
The EDF's Neda Deylami described EVs as "essentially big batteries on wheels," adding: "A lot of people know about the benefits EVs offer society as a whole, including a lot less climate and air pollution than gas-powered cars. But fewer people know that they can really save you when the grid goes down."
The Atlantic hurricane season will reach its peak in the upcoming months, and, per the Weather Channel, hurricane seasons have only intensified over the past decade, with double the rate of storms reaching Category 3 or above since 1980. More storms than ever are making landfall — that is, crossing over from the sea onto land, where they wreak the most devastation to our homes, lives, and infrastructure — and human activity is heavily to blame. Human-induced carbon pollution traps heat within our atmosphere and supercharges extreme weather events, making them more likely to cause cataclysmic damage.
Fortunately, the bidirectional charging capabilities of more recent EVs are killing two birds with one stone: keeping civilians safer in the event of an emergency while incentivizing the adoption of combustion-free vehicles to reduce carbon pollution in the long term. To learn more about other potentially life-saving innovations, tune in to the Vital Signs newsletter and stay informed about the latest positive climate developments.
"I think that there's a real future [in the use of EVs as backup power] for individuals dealing with disasters, which will become increasingly common because of climate change," reported EV expert Liz Najman.
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"We're so used to gas vehicles that we think they're more reliable and gas is more accessible," one Helene survivor told the EDF. "That was not the experience during Helene. It just wasn't. I'm grateful we had the EV."
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