Tesla Energy Announces Powerwall Home Batteries for $3,000 USD

[dgstorm]

Here's some undeniably cool off topic high-tech news for your Friday afternoon pleasure. Tesla Motors officially announced they are creating a spin-off division called Tesla Energy which will sell home batteries for a very affordable price.

For weeks we were teased that Tesla was planning to unveil their home battery product, but the final official announcement kicked off and surprised everyone for being even more affordable than originally thought. The home solution is called the Powerwall and there will be two options available. The cheapest option is a 7k/Wh model for $3,000.00 USD, and the second option is a 10k/Wh model for $3,500.00.

The Powerwall is only a few feet high, a few feet across & 6 inches thick, and it weighs 100kgs (220lbs). The device can be mounted on the outside of your house, or in your garage (or really anywhere you decide in your home). The above price for the device does NOT include the installation, so you will need to hire a professional electrician for that.

There are a couple of things worth noting about the Powerwall. One is that you can add more than one battery to your house if you want to maximize how much energy it can save you based upon your personal electricity usage. The other is that it can be used even if you don't have a solar energy sub-system, yet it can still save you around 25% or more on your electric bills.

The way it handles this feat is by charging itself during non-peak hours (like at 3am for instance), while you then use the battery power during peak hours. The reason this saves you money is that most electric companies charge different rates based upon the time of day you are using electricity. For example, if your power company charges you .10 cents per kWh during peal times, but only .03 cents per kWh during non-peak times, then you end up being charged as if you were using electricity during those non-peak times, netting you a savings.

There's one other handy thing the Powerwall does for users who have multiple electronics and computer devices on all the time. It can act as a built-in home battery backup during power outages. Handy!

The Powerwall begins shipping for installation this summer! For more info, here's a link to Tesla's website: http://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall

 

[TeknoBlast]

This would be something I would totally consider.

 

[bronsky]

To function as a backup battery I guess you would have to add the cost of an inverter that can handle 8 amps. Not a problem if you already have a solar system.

 

[leeshor]

Exactly what I was wondering about. They aren't very clear about that on the site.

 

[GreyFox7]

Battery only... you supply the Charging mechanism... wind turbine, solar, house current, generator, depending on the application. i.e. if charged from house current you would be using it during peak times & as emergency power. You also supply the Inverter to turn DC into AC.

10yr warranty Id Assume is the standard pro rated battery warranty. If it goes 7 years you get ~30% or less.

According to statistics the average electric consumption per day in the US is about 30kwh (10908kwh annually or 909 per month). Think about cutting off that electric water heater in emergencies. You need a good plan for managing your power in a pinch.

In the past 2 years we have had 2 major power outages, one for about 12 hours and the other for 2 days some in the area went 5 days.

Id assume the majority of us use below average amount of power because those big mansions of the rich and famous pull up the average.

 

[Kif]

This is really cool. The powergrid in our neighborhood is famously unreliable. I have a gas water heater and stove. This would fill in the gaps to keep the refrigerator cold and the lights on.