Tesla Unveils Powerwall Battery For Homes, Powerpacks For Businesses And Cities

[Hamartia Antidote]

Tesla Unveils Powerwall Battery For Homes, Powerpacks For Businesses And Cities

Tesla unveiled a line of rechargeable lithium-ion battery products on Thursday night that can use stored solar energy to power homes, businesses and communities.

Speaking at a Tesla facility near Los Angeles, CEO Elon Musk said the $3,500 home unit, called Powerwall, can be mounted to a garage wall or outside the home. A larger product, called Powerpack, can store more energy to power businesses.

The Powerwall has a 10kWh capacity, but nine can be stacked for a total of 90kWh. The Powerpack has a 100kWh capacity and is "infinitely scalable" to power larger facilities and even entire cities, Musk said.

Along with storing solar energy, the batteries can draw energy from the electrical grid during off-peak hours when rates are lower and store it for later use.

Ever the showman, Musk then revealed that the Tesla facility had been off the grid during the event and was using Powerpacks for energy.

"This entire night has been powered by batteries," he said. "Not only that, the batteries were charged by the solar panels on the roof of this building."

Musk began the event by speaking of the tremendous amount of CO2 emissions and how they're projected to rise in the coming years.

"I think we collectively should do something about this and not try to win the Darwin Award," he said, referring to a mock "award" for extreme stupidity leading to death or extinction.

The answer, he said, is the sun.

"You don't have to do anything, it just works," Musk said. "It shows up every day and produces ridiculous amounts of power."

The problem with solar power has been storing energy for use when the sun isn't shining, which requires a battery.

"The issue with existing batteries is that they suck," he said. "They're really horrible. They're expensive. They're unreliable. They're sorta stinky, ugly, bad in every way."

Tesla Energy products aim to change that. They work with existing solar systems and can be integrated with the existing energy grid or even be used to take consumers off the grid completely.

Musk said the larger Tesla Powerpacks could be used in remote locations and developing countries, where there are no transmission lines in place.

Musk spoke repeatedly about changing the world with solar power and batteries, but added that he doesn't expect Tesla to do it alone. As with the company's other patents, Tesla Energy patents will be open source, allowing others -- even competitors -- to use them.

Tesla is entering a market that is expected to grow, but competition will be fierce. Tech giant Samsung already sells a solar storage unit called the ESS that can power homes or commercial spaces, and a Swiss battery startup called Alevo raised $1 billion in private funding last year.

 

[C130]

nice I wonder how long the endurance is. i can see this being a preppers dream battery.

 

[Skull and Bones]

It's a boon for people thinking about going off the grid.

 

[frequency]

I used to work for with Tesla.

 

[Sugarcane]

That's good, but what's happening on solar panels end? Any improvement there?

 

[frequency]

That's good, but what's happening on solar panels end? Any improvement there?

Not yet. But last i heard there is some.

 

[Phoenix89]

Guys this can be next big thing, lots of potential there. Tesla is doing some pretty sweet stuff.

 

[FaujHistorian]

http://www.huffpost.com/us/entry/7186534


Tesla unveiled a line of rechargeable lithium-ion battery products on Thursday night that can use stored solar energy to power homes, businesses and communities.

Speaking at a Tesla facility near Los Angeles, CEO Elon Musk said the $3,500 home unit, called Powerwall, can be mounted to a garage wall or outside the home. A larger product, called Powerpack, can store more energy to power businesses.

The Powerwall has a 10kWh capacity, but nine can be stacked for a total of 90kWh. The Powerpack has a 100kWh capacity and is "infinitely scalable" to power larger facilities and even entire cities, Musk said.

Along with storing solar energy, the batteries can draw energy from the electrical grid during off-peak hours when rates are lower and store it for later use.

Ever the showman, Musk then revealed that the Tesla facility had been off the grid during the event and was using Powerpacks for energy.

"This entire night has been powered by batteries," he said. "Not only that, the batteries were charged by the solar panels on the roof of this building."

Musk began the event by speaking of the tremendous amount of CO2 emissions and how they're projected to rise in the coming years.

"I think we collectively should do something about this and not try to win the Darwin Award," he said, referring to a mock "award" for extreme stupidity leading to death or extinction.

The answer, he said, is the sun.

"You don't have to do anything, it just works," Musk said. "It shows up every day and produces ridiculous amounts of power."

The problem with solar power has been storing energy for use when the sun isn't shining, which requires a battery.

"The issue with existing batteries is that they suck," he said. "They're really horrible. They're expensive. They're unreliable. They're sorta stinky, ugly, bad in every way."

Tesla Energy products aim to change that. They work with existing solar systems and can be integrated with the existing energy grid or even be used to take consumers off the grid completely.

Musk said the larger Tesla Powerpacks could be used in remote locations and developing countries, where there are no transmission lines in place.

Musk spoke repeatedly about changing the world with solar power and batteries, but added that he doesn't expect Tesla to do it alone. As with the company's other patents, Tesla Energy patents will be open source, allowing others -- even competitors -- to use them.

Tesla is entering a market that is expected to grow, but competition will be fierce. Tech giant Samsung already sells a solar storage unit called the ESS that can power homes or commercial spaces, and a Swiss battery startup called Alevo raised $1 billion in private funding last year.

While I wanted to believe Elon on this.

here is the counter point that is well researched. it says we may end up paying 30 cents a unit for going off grid. 3 times the average cost to American consumers.


Why Tesla's Powerwall Is Just Another Toy For Rich Green People - Forbes

 

[Skull and Bones]

While I wanted to believe Elon on this.

here is the counter point that is well researched. it says we may end up paying 30 cents a unit for going off grid. 3 times the average cost to American consumers.


Why Tesla's Powerwall Is Just Another Toy For Rich Green People - Forbes

Eventually the battery cost will be down, I remember when the solar cell efficiency was at 5-6%, and per unit energy was arounf Rs 18 in India. Now experimental results shows that solar cell efficiency can be more than 50%. Now commercial solar cells comes with >20% efficiency. Same paradigm shift will come in battery frontier too. Think about super capacitors.

Supercapacitors Amp Up as an Alternative to Batteries

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Tesla Powerwall Offered To Vermont Utility Customers... $0 Down | CleanTechnica

Vermont’s main utility is going to be providing Tesla Powerwall home battery systems to customers who want them. If the utility’s customer agrees to allow the utility to use electricity stored in a Powerwall at home, the customer will also get paid for its use. There are three ways a customer can pay for the Powerwall:

“GMP outlined to the Vermont Public Service Board its plan to offer three options to customers who want the Powerwall. Customers who share access of the battery will pay about $37.50 a month with no upfront cost, which equals $1.25 a day. Customers can also choose to purchase the Powerwall for about $6500, share access with GMP, and get a monthly bill credit of $31.76, which represents the value of leveraging the battery to help lower peak energy costs. And Vermonters can buy the Powerwall outright from GMP with no shared access for about $6500.”

Of course, the Powerwall battery system is meant to be paired with a solar power system to store excess electricity for periods when there is no sunlight, such as cloudy days and at night. The utility will be able to use some of the stored electricity to meet demand on the grid, rather than using conventional sources, like firing up a peaker plant, such as the Berlin plant. “The Berlin Gas Turbine facility is the largest peaking plant in Vermont, and consists of a Pratt & Whitney Twin Pack gas turbine generator and two Pratt & Whitney Simple Cycle FT4 engines. The unit has an approximate capacity of 50 MW at full output. Low-sulfur kerosene fuels the engines from two on-site fuel tanks.” Peaker plants can be expensive to operate and are typically not very environmentally friendly, because they use fossil fuels.

“This is community energy at the most local level, helping to increase resiliency for customers while we lower costs through innovations like battery storage. This ties into our eHome and eBiz program, as we work with Vermonters to accelerate the adoption of energy transformations in homes and businesses that are cost effective, use dramatically less energy and can operate more independently of the grid,” explained GMP president Mary Powell.

Using many home battery systems filled with electricity generated by solar panels is much better for the environment, and can be cheaper.

The utility will purchase 500 Powerwalls from Tesla in 2016 for the home energy storage program.

Of course, Vermont residents are still free to purchase and install other home energy storage batteries. The Powerwall seems to be the default option because of its low cost and high brand factor. In other words, the Tesla brand has become synonymous with boldness and quality in its niche.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Gee, I wonder if my fire insurance rate might go up if I installed a Powerwall?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Gee, I wonder if my fire insurance rate might go up if I installed a Powerwall?

Hmm..good question. I'm sure they will slip that into new home policies.

 

[Vassnti]

Gee, I wonder if my fire insurance rate might go up if I installed a Powerwall?

Would it go up if you had a wood burner or a disel generator, the power wall would be safer than some of the alternatives.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Would it go up if you had a wood burner or a disel generator, the power wall would be safer than some of the alternatives.

I'm quite sure it would. Although I don't remember it in all the questions. I do remember them asking if I had a trampoline out back.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

8 years have now passed....

Tesla Powerwall Installations Surpassed 500,000 Globally

Tesla revealed today that its global, cumulative number of Powerwall home energy storage system installations surpassed 500,000.

insideevs.com

Tesla Powerwall Installations Surpassed 500,000 Globally​

The company produces hundreds of new units every day.

Tesla revealed today that its global, cumulative number of Powerwall home energy storage system installations surpassed 500,000.

That's a huge number - the highest in the industry, as far as we know - and quickly increases, with hundreds of new units basically every day.

The previous milestone of 250,000 units was reported on November 17, 2021, which means that the company installed another 250,000 in just 1.5 years. The 18-month average output must be significantly above 150,000 units annually. Some reports even indicate that the current output might be two times higher than that.

The current version of the Tesla Powerwall is rated at around 13.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of usable battery capacity (14 kWh total) and has a continuous power output of up to 5 kilowatts (kW) - up to 7 kW for a 10-second peak.

There is also the Tesla Powerwall+ unit, which is an integrated solar battery system with two separate inverters, one for the battery and one for solar. It has around 13.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of nominal energy and has a continuous power output of up to 7 kilowatts (kW) on its own (off-grid) or up to 9.6 kW (off-grid, full sun when combined with a solar system).


The combined capacity of 500,000 Powerwalls would be some 6.8 GWh (actually noticeably less, as initially there were versions with a different battery capacity of like 7 kWh or 10 kWh).


The cost of Tesla Powerwalls depends on the type, the market, and the number of units. Customers also have to consider the installation costs.

For an example installation in the US, we saw that one unit might cost $8,700 (the price per unit decreases with a higher number of units - three units might cost less than $24,000). Tesla notes also that there are incentives available and there is now a $500 rebate available:

Tesla Powerwall Review: Everything You Need to Know​

Wow this guy has a setup where the Utility company will be paying him over $400 a month just for his Powerwalls to be available for emergency use.