Toronto, Ontario -- Kia Canada is teaming up with a Canadian clean-tech company to make charging easier for EV drivers living in older homes.
The automaker announced a partnership with Variablegrid Adaptive Power, a firm specializing in EV energy management. The goal: eliminate the costly electrical upgrades often needed for Level-2 charging in homes with limited panel capacity.
Variablegrid’s system uses adaptive load management powered by artificial intelligence. The technology monitors real-time household energy use and adjusts charging levels based on available capacity. The result, according to the company, is a safe, reliable charging solution without the need for expensive electrical work.
“One of the biggest reasons people hesitate to buy an EV is uncertainty about home charging,” said Dan Lafferty, chief executive and co-founder of Variablegrid, in a statement. “We’ve bundled everything Kia EV buyers need; smart charging, intelligent power management and a seamless solution designed to simplify the transition to EV ownership.”
Kia Canada said the collaboration allows its customers to install an EV charger at home, even in older buildings where traditional infrastructure can’t support higher loads.
David Sherrard, Director of Strategic Planning at Kia Canada, said in a statement the partnership “directly supports this mission by removing common cost and infrastructure barriers associated with home charging, especially in older homes that cannot support traditional EV chargers.”
The partnership reflects growing OEM efforts to ease EV adoption by addressing practical charging challenges faced by Canadian households.
