Renewable energy consultant Chris Cooper has put together a calculator that we publish today, which shows that for many people, solar only remains the best value for households. But solar and storage still beats the grid, and with costs coming down, that is likely to continue. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/what-the-tesla-powerwall-battery-means-for-households-61055
A couple more interesting details have emerged about Tesla’s “game-changing” home battery, and it remains a moderately limp competitor that’s done wonders for market awareness.
Courtesy of Bloomberg, the world gets an idea of what the retail from-the-installer price of the battery might look like (rather than the wholesale price the ‘leccy car maker announced last week).
The Elon Musk-led system seller SolarCity, Bloomberg reports, will ship an installed 10 kWh Powerwall for US$7,140 (ouch outright purchase) or $US5,000 plus a nine-year lease.
To match a 16 kW generator that sells in the US for just US$3,699, the reporter works out, would require around US$45,000 worth of Powerwalls on the lease deal.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance doesn’t imagine the Powerwall making a dent in European markets like Germany, where the economics of solar power are well-understood. Its take is that “the economics of an average home with rooftop solar are not significantly enhanced by including the Tesla battery”.
The problem with the larger battery gets worse, with SolarCity’s Jonathan Bass telling Bloomberg the 10 kWh unit is limited to around 50 charging cycles per year (500 over its lifetime).
That makes the 10 kWh version entirely unsuitable for off-grid applications, leaving the 7.5 kWh Powerwall as the only contender in that market.
Elon Musk has responded to criticism of the specs of its Powerwall home battery, and says when it start shipping the system’s output power will be doubled, without changing the price.
Vegan seat covers weren’t the only hot button Elon wanted to clear up at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
“We actually took some of the negative feedback to heart,” he said, “and I am very happy to announce that we’ve dramatically increased the power capability of the Powerwall.”
The original Tesla Powerwall spec of 2 kW continuous and 3.3 kW peak power output isn’t enough to boil a kettle, so he told the AGM the new spec will be 5 kW continuous and 7 kW continuous.
That means Tesla has “basically more than doubled the power output … and the price is going to stay the same.”
It seems to The Register that what the company has done is tweaked the battery management in the Powerwall so it pump out more electrons, faster.
Another criticism Musk’s taken to heart is the cost to end users, since early on it looked like having a Powerwall delivered through the channel, nailed to the wall, and plugged in would close to double the final price.
He told the AGM “the expectation” is that delivery and installation should be in the $US300 to $500 range.
“We’re going to be prioritising delivery … to partners that minimise the costs to the end user,” he said.
That also means the home market Musk likes most is someone who already has solar panels and a power inverter installed, “so you don’t need to buy an additional ac/dc inverter”.
He also told the shareholders as much as 80 per cent of the company’s non-car battery business will be to utilities and large industrial customers – the Powerpack product, rather than the Powerwall.
With the release of the Powerwall this past April, Tesla Motors is aiming to bolster solar as a viable utility killer. The device is a lithium-ion rechargeable battery that connects with renewable energy sources as well as the power grid to store energy for future use. It comes in a 7-kWh daily cycle or a 10-kWh weekly cycle model. The goal of the Powerwall is not just to have an emergency power system, it is to be used to actually power the home. The battery has the capacity to serve as a power source during the hours of the day where electricity prices are the highest, or, for that matter, any time the user has a need to use extra electricity. Technology has been ever improving from faster and smaller computers to smarter automation. With rising computing and technology demands, an energy overhaul is needed to keep with growing demand and the Tesla Powerwall is this first product of its kind to address that.
When referencing the Tesla Powerwall, there are several lithium-ion cells in series. This type of battery works in three stages: the constant current, balance, and constant voltage phases.
The Tesla Powerwall can only be charged this way using a unique method. Software combined with a renewable energy source and an inverter allow for the ability to charge and then use energy during certain times of the day. When considering renewable energy, solar is the clear choice, and the renewable of the future. If considering solar, there are three significant peaks of energy during the day—two of which apply to energy consumption of humans. In the morning, and even more in the evening, electricity usage is at its highest. Lights, screens, and utilities are all used more often during between sleep and work hours, contributing to a higher demand for energy.
The third peak deals with the peak solar output. This is almost always mid-day, where t sun is at the highest possible location in the sky, which allows for the ability to harness more energy. This also happens to be the same time of the day that energy usage is at the lowest. The software of the Tesla Powerwall monitors these energy trends to help focus on keeping a fully charged battery. During peak solar output, the lithium-ion batteries can successfully complete their charging sequence as there will not be a demand to use this energy at the time of the charging.
When producing this energy during the peak time of the renewable source, the energy source sends direct current (DC) to the battery pack. In turn, the batteries release their energy in the form of DC.
Grid batteries are already coming out of the Gigafactory in Nevada.
Electric car maker Tesla Motors is already assembling batteries to be used by utilities and building owners at its huge battery factory, the Gigafactory, just outside of Reno, Nev. The company made the announcement during its third quarter earnings on Tuesday.
Earlier this year Tesla announced that it would start selling batteries that could be plugged into the power grid, connected to buildings, or paired with solar panels. Business owners and home owners can use Tesla’s batteries to lower electricity bills by powering buildings when grid electricity rates are high. Utilities can use the batteries to operate their grids more smoothly and to avoid building additional expensive and dirty power plants.
German carmaker Daimler AG is building large battery storage systems for industrial use from the used lithium-ion batteries of its all-electric and hybrid vehicles. The first of Daimler’s “2nd use battery storage units” will consist of 1,000 smart electric drive vehicle batteries and have a 13MWh of capacity. It is expected to be connected to the electrical grid in Lünen, Germany early next year.
Daimler’s industrial battery storage sytems will be cost competitive with Tesla’s
Daimler AG announced that it is cobbling together used lithium-ion batteries from electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to create massive power storage systems for commercial use.
The first of Daimler’s “2nd use battery storage units” will consist of 1,000 smart electric drive vehicle batteries and have a 13 million watt hour (MWh) capacity. It is expected to be connected to the electrical grid in Lünen, Germany early next year.
“Currently, we plan the 2nd-use systems as large industrial-scale systems only. This means megawatt scale and larger,” Stefanie Kulessa, a spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz Cars research and development, said via email to Computerworld.
A joint venture involves carmaker Daimler, battery-to-grid integrator The Mobility House AG, energy service provider GETEC and REMONDIS, a recycling company.
The reuse of the batteries will not only keep them out of landfills, but will help reduce costs in the EV marketplace by adding an additional revenue stream.
Depending on the vehicle, Daimler AG guarantees its electric vehicle batteries will have a life of up to 10 years with at least 80% efficiency. However, battery systems are still fully operational after that point, as the low levels of power loss are of minor importance when used in stationary storage.
Lithium-ion batteries will drop from $550 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2014 to $200 per kWh by 2020
An energy storage study claims that prices for certain battery technologies will plunge by as much as 60% over the next five years. The report was prepared by Australian consultancy AECOM and published by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The 130-page study, originally published last month, expects all battery technologies to drop in price. However, the largest reductions are forecast for Li-ion and flow-battery technologies, which are expected to plummet by 60% and 40%, respectively by 2020.
Lithium-ion (Li-on) batteries will drop from $550 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2014 to $200 per kWh by 2020; and flow battery prices will drop from $680 per kWh to $350 per kWh during the same time.
“The rapid uptake of solar [photovoltaic technology] provides a useful analogy to what could occur in the energy storage market, as technology prices have potential to reduce as technology development simultaneously improves,” the study said. “The behind-the-meter market segment of energy storage is widely expected to undergo a similar boom to the solar PV industry, with a tipping point expected within the next ten years as further cost reductions are achieved.”
Tesla isn’t the only one building batteries for your home. As Elon Musk and company trumpet the Powerwall, so many other outfits, including Samsung and Panasonic and LG Chem, are fashioning similar devices that can store energy for use when the power grid goes down or grid prices rise. So many are saying that, when paired with solar panels, their batteries can further reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which still provide so much of grid’s power.
All are nice thoughts. But questions abound. Do the economics of these batteries really make sense? Are they worth not only the cost but the hassle of installing them? Are they worth it even if you don’t have solar panels?
Orison, a small startup based in San Diego, wants to show that the people really do want these home batteries. That’s why it’s offering a rather friendly version of the technology via a new Kickstarter campaign. The device is unusually small and light, weighing only about 40 pounds. You can install it on your own, inside the house, simply by plugging into an ordinary electrical socket. And you can get your hands on one if you contribute a mere $1,600 to the Kickstarter campaign.
The device stores only about 2.2 kWh of power—which would, say, run your TV for 5 hours. But you can install additional devices for only $1,100 apiece.
For Garrett Fitzgerald—an analyst with the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit research foundation that aims to expand the use of sustainable resources—the Orison battery is a promising device. It’s cheaper than the Tesla Powerwall (though it holds less power). And more importantly, Fitzgerald says, it’s designed for simple installation, so you can get it up and running without help from an electrician (unlike the typical home battery).
Let’s face it, when it comes to the future of energy, something has to give. Conventional resources are limited and the grid is overburdened and unreliable. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are a critical part of the solution, but they’re also intermittent: limited to times when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. And large amounts of intermittent energy simply can’t be accommodated our current energy grid.
Fortunately, there’s a fix. One that reduces your energy costs and contributes to a self-healing, ultra-efficient energy grid. This single, elegant solution is Orison.
Viikki Environment House was opened Finland’s first intelligent electricity storage, which is part of the property grid. Electric stock Ympärsitötalon produced solar electricity stored in the battery pack, says Sähköala.fi site.
Siemens supplied and installed by the electrical storage is directly connected to 400 volts. Property-electric stock is one of the main hub connected to the battery cabinet, which has a capacity of about 45 kilowatt-hours. The electric storage peak power of 90 kilowatts.
It’s got a ten-year warranty and an unknown battery life, but the Tesla PowerWall will pay for itself, eventually.
That’s the conclusion of the Australian Consumers’ Association, which crunched the numbers here.
The Choice article takes a few different use-cases: a household with existing solar panels, and various grid-connect scenarios. It comes up with a best-case payback of 10.4 years out to more than 24 years, depending on how savvy the customer is about using their solar power.
The best way to use the PowerWall, Choice reckons, is to use all its available power, every day (which is less, The Register notes, than a full discharge if you want your batteries to survive).
Using a grid-connected system to feed power back and get a feed-in tariff turns out to be the worst scenario: “Tapping into your own solar power as much as possible, rather than feeding it back into the grid with a measly feed-in tariff, will decrease your payback time”, Choice notes.
The excitement around the Tesla electric vehicle, and all the innovation it delivers, is rapidly being matched by the interest in the company’s battery solution, the Tesla Powerwall.
Now, in a recent appearance in Paris, Tesla founder Elon Musk upped the battery ante by delivering a bit of news: an updated version of the Powerwall is already being prepared for market.
“We’ll be coming out with a version two of the Powerwall probably around July or August of this year, which will see a further step change in capabilities,”
Nevertheless, the fact that the battery — which only began shipping to a small number of buyers in September — is getting so much attention is an indication that the battery may ultimately may be more successful than the far more expensive line cars.
Offered in two models, $3750 for 10kWh and $3,000 for 7kWh, the battery is designed to serve as a backup power source for residential structures.
Household super battery evens out your energy bill and sells solar electric power to network
Home Battery stores power when it is cheap, and dispose of it at the time of high energy prices.
Nissan will bring in the last quarter of the year, the market Xstorage battery, which saves on electricity bills of the house inhabitants. The battery equalization-term price fluctuations in the energy of day, but it may also be possible to store renewable energy generated by the house. If desired, the battery holder may use the stocks of energy themselves or sell it to the electricity grid.
Xstorage batteries are a technology company with Eaton’s and old batteries, used in Nissan’s electric vehicles. When the battery capacity has decreased too much for the use of the vehicle within a period of ten years, they still serve 10-12 years as electricity storage units.
Home Battery assembled 12 of Nissan’s electric vehicle battery module. The battery has a capacity of 4.2 kilowatt-hours, and its price is EUR 4 000.
Eaton and Nissan expect to sell more than 100 000 Xstorage units in five years.
The Kapaia project is a combination 13MW SolarCity solar farm and 53MWh Tesla Powerpack station on the island of Kauai. In partnership with the KIUC (Kauai Island Utility Cooperative) the project will store the sun’s energy during the day and release it at night. The station (along with Kauai’s other renewable resource solutions including wind and biomass) won’t completely keep the island from using fossil fuels but it will temper the need. In addition to using Tesla’s station to battle the island’s incredibly high electric bills, it’s also part of a long-term Hawaii-state plan to be completely powered by renewable energy sources by 2045.
Renewable energy supplies are great because they produce power without filling the air with pollution. Yet, once the sun goes down solar panels become pretty useless. But Tesla and Hawaii have a solution that’ll use the sun’s rays both day and night using Powerpacks built at the Gigafactory.
The Kapaia project is a combination 13MW SolarCity solar farm and 53MWh Tesla Powerpack station on the island of Kauai. In partnership with the KIUC (Kauai Island Utility Cooperative) the project will store the sun’s energy during the day and release it at night. The station (along with Kauai’s other renewable resource solutions including wind and biomass) won’t completely keep the island from using fossil fuels but it will temper the need.
In addition to using Tesla’s station to battle the island’s incredibly high electric bills, it’s also part of a long-term Hawaii-state plan to be completely powered by renewable energy sources by 2045.
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14 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Renewable energy consultant Chris Cooper has put together a calculator that we publish today, which shows that for many people, solar only remains the best value for households. But solar and storage still beats the grid, and with costs coming down, that is likely to continue.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/what-the-tesla-powerwall-battery-means-for-households-61055
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla’s New Battery Doesn’t Work That Well With Solar
Even Elon Musk’s SolarCity, the biggest supplier in the U.S., isn’t ready to install Tesla’s home battery for daily users
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-06/tesla-s-new-battery-doesn-t-work-that-well-with-solar
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla’s battery put in the shade by current and cheaper kit
Reality pays the pretty Powerwall a visit
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/05/07/bloomberg_tesla_powerwall_more_wall_than_power/
A couple more interesting details have emerged about Tesla’s “game-changing” home battery, and it remains a moderately limp competitor that’s done wonders for market awareness.
Courtesy of Bloomberg, the world gets an idea of what the retail from-the-installer price of the battery might look like (rather than the wholesale price the ‘leccy car maker announced last week).
The Elon Musk-led system seller SolarCity, Bloomberg reports, will ship an installed 10 kWh Powerwall for US$7,140 (ouch outright purchase) or $US5,000 plus a nine-year lease.
To match a 16 kW generator that sells in the US for just US$3,699, the reporter works out, would require around US$45,000 worth of Powerwalls on the lease deal.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance doesn’t imagine the Powerwall making a dent in European markets like Germany, where the economics of solar power are well-understood. Its take is that “the economics of an average home with rooftop solar are not significantly enhanced by including the Tesla battery”.
The problem with the larger battery gets worse, with SolarCity’s Jonathan Bass telling Bloomberg the 10 kWh unit is limited to around 50 charging cycles per year (500 over its lifetime).
That makes the 10 kWh version entirely unsuitable for off-grid applications, leaving the 7.5 kWh Powerwall as the only contender in that market.
Tesla’s New Battery Doesn’t Work That Well With Solar
Even Elon Musk’s SolarCity, the biggest supplier in the U.S., isn’t ready to install Tesla’s home battery for daily users
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-06/tesla-s-new-battery-doesn-t-work-that-well-with-solar
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elon Musk pours more Kool-Aid into Powerwall
Output doubled, but capacity and likely poor user experience remains the same
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/16/elon_pours_more_kool_aid_into_powerwall/
Elon Musk has responded to criticism of the specs of its Powerwall home battery, and says when it start shipping the system’s output power will be doubled, without changing the price.
Vegan seat covers weren’t the only hot button Elon wanted to clear up at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
“We actually took some of the negative feedback to heart,” he said, “and I am very happy to announce that we’ve dramatically increased the power capability of the Powerwall.”
The original Tesla Powerwall spec of 2 kW continuous and 3.3 kW peak power output isn’t enough to boil a kettle, so he told the AGM the new spec will be 5 kW continuous and 7 kW continuous.
That means Tesla has “basically more than doubled the power output … and the price is going to stay the same.”
It seems to The Register that what the company has done is tweaked the battery management in the Powerwall so it pump out more electrons, faster.
Another criticism Musk’s taken to heart is the cost to end users, since early on it looked like having a Powerwall delivered through the channel, nailed to the wall, and plugged in would close to double the final price.
He told the AGM “the expectation” is that delivery and installation should be in the $US300 to $500 range.
“We’re going to be prioritising delivery … to partners that minimise the costs to the end user,” he said.
That also means the home market Musk likes most is someone who already has solar panels and a power inverter installed, “so you don’t need to buy an additional ac/dc inverter”.
He also told the shareholders as much as 80 per cent of the company’s non-car battery business will be to utilities and large industrial customers – the Powerpack product, rather than the Powerwall.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla’s Powerwall Solar Battery Revolutionizes the Utilities Sector
http://www.eeweb.com/blog/eeweb/teslas-powerwall-solar-battery-revolutionizes-the-utilities-sector
With the release of the Powerwall this past April, Tesla Motors is aiming to bolster solar as a viable utility killer. The device is a lithium-ion rechargeable battery that connects with renewable energy sources as well as the power grid to store energy for future use. It comes in a 7-kWh daily cycle or a 10-kWh weekly cycle model. The goal of the Powerwall is not just to have an emergency power system, it is to be used to actually power the home. The battery has the capacity to serve as a power source during the hours of the day where electricity prices are the highest, or, for that matter, any time the user has a need to use extra electricity. Technology has been ever improving from faster and smaller computers to smarter automation. With rising computing and technology demands, an energy overhaul is needed to keep with growing demand and the Tesla Powerwall is this first product of its kind to address that.
When referencing the Tesla Powerwall, there are several lithium-ion cells in series. This type of battery works in three stages: the constant current, balance, and constant voltage phases.
The Tesla Powerwall can only be charged this way using a unique method. Software combined with a renewable energy source and an inverter allow for the ability to charge and then use energy during certain times of the day. When considering renewable energy, solar is the clear choice, and the renewable of the future. If considering solar, there are three significant peaks of energy during the day—two of which apply to energy consumption of humans. In the morning, and even more in the evening, electricity usage is at its highest. Lights, screens, and utilities are all used more often during between sleep and work hours, contributing to a higher demand for energy.
The third peak deals with the peak solar output. This is almost always mid-day, where t sun is at the highest possible location in the sky, which allows for the ability to harness more energy. This also happens to be the same time of the day that energy usage is at the lowest. The software of the Tesla Powerwall monitors these energy trends to help focus on keeping a fully charged battery. During peak solar output, the lithium-ion batteries can successfully complete their charging sequence as there will not be a demand to use this energy at the time of the charging.
When producing this energy during the peak time of the renewable source, the energy source sends direct current (DC) to the battery pack. In turn, the batteries release their energy in the form of DC.
The inverter converts the DC power to AC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla is Already Making Grid Batteries at the Gigafactory
http://fortune.com/2015/11/03/tesla-grid-batteries-gigafactory/
Grid batteries are already coming out of the Gigafactory in Nevada.
Electric car maker Tesla Motors is already assembling batteries to be used by utilities and building owners at its huge battery factory, the Gigafactory, just outside of Reno, Nev. The company made the announcement during its third quarter earnings on Tuesday.
Earlier this year Tesla announced that it would start selling batteries that could be plugged into the power grid, connected to buildings, or paired with solar panels. Business owners and home owners can use Tesla’s batteries to lower electricity bills by powering buildings when grid electricity rates are high. Utilities can use the batteries to operate their grids more smoothly and to avoid building additional expensive and dirty power plants.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Daimler Builds Massive Industrial Energy Storage Systems From Used EV Batteries
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/15/11/17/2112216/daimler-builds-massive-industrial-energy-storage-systems-from-used-ev-batteries
German carmaker Daimler AG is building large battery storage systems for industrial use from the used lithium-ion batteries of its all-electric and hybrid vehicles. The first of Daimler’s “2nd use battery storage units” will consist of 1,000 smart electric drive vehicle batteries and have a 13MWh of capacity. It is expected to be connected to the electrical grid in Lünen, Germany early next year.
Daimler to recycle electric car batteries for massive energy storage systems
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3005757/sustainable-it/daimler-to-recycle-electric-car-batteries-for-massive-energy-storage-systems.html
Daimler’s industrial battery storage sytems will be cost competitive with Tesla’s
Daimler AG announced that it is cobbling together used lithium-ion batteries from electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to create massive power storage systems for commercial use.
The first of Daimler’s “2nd use battery storage units” will consist of 1,000 smart electric drive vehicle batteries and have a 13 million watt hour (MWh) capacity. It is expected to be connected to the electrical grid in Lünen, Germany early next year.
“Currently, we plan the 2nd-use systems as large industrial-scale systems only. This means megawatt scale and larger,” Stefanie Kulessa, a spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz Cars research and development, said via email to Computerworld.
A joint venture involves carmaker Daimler, battery-to-grid integrator The Mobility House AG, energy service provider GETEC and REMONDIS, a recycling company.
The reuse of the batteries will not only keep them out of landfills, but will help reduce costs in the EV marketplace by adding an additional revenue stream.
Depending on the vehicle, Daimler AG guarantees its electric vehicle batteries will have a life of up to 10 years with at least 80% efficiency. However, battery systems are still fully operational after that point, as the low levels of power loss are of minor importance when used in stationary storage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
As energy push accelerates, battery costs set to plunge 60%
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2977655/sustainable-it/as-energy-push-accelerates-battery-costs-set-to-plunge-60.html
Lithium-ion batteries will drop from $550 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2014 to $200 per kWh by 2020
An energy storage study claims that prices for certain battery technologies will plunge by as much as 60% over the next five years. The report was prepared by Australian consultancy AECOM and published by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The 130-page study, originally published last month, expects all battery technologies to drop in price. However, the largest reductions are forecast for Li-ion and flow-battery technologies, which are expected to plummet by 60% and 40%, respectively by 2020.
Lithium-ion (Li-on) batteries will drop from $550 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2014 to $200 per kWh by 2020; and flow battery prices will drop from $680 per kWh to $350 per kWh during the same time.
“The rapid uptake of solar [photovoltaic technology] provides a useful analogy to what could occur in the energy storage market, as technology prices have potential to reduce as technology development simultaneously improves,” the study said. “The behind-the-meter market segment of energy storage is widely expected to undergo a similar boom to the solar PV industry, with a tipping point expected within the next ten years as further cost reductions are achieved.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Home Battery You Can Install Yourself Is Coming
http://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-home-battery-you-can-install-yourself/
Tesla isn’t the only one building batteries for your home. As Elon Musk and company trumpet the Powerwall, so many other outfits, including Samsung and Panasonic and LG Chem, are fashioning similar devices that can store energy for use when the power grid goes down or grid prices rise. So many are saying that, when paired with solar panels, their batteries can further reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which still provide so much of grid’s power.
All are nice thoughts. But questions abound. Do the economics of these batteries really make sense? Are they worth not only the cost but the hassle of installing them? Are they worth it even if you don’t have solar panels?
Orison, a small startup based in San Diego, wants to show that the people really do want these home batteries. That’s why it’s offering a rather friendly version of the technology via a new Kickstarter campaign. The device is unusually small and light, weighing only about 40 pounds. You can install it on your own, inside the house, simply by plugging into an ordinary electrical socket. And you can get your hands on one if you contribute a mere $1,600 to the Kickstarter campaign.
The device stores only about 2.2 kWh of power—which would, say, run your TV for 5 hours. But you can install additional devices for only $1,100 apiece.
For Garrett Fitzgerald—an analyst with the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit research foundation that aims to expand the use of sustainable resources—the Orison battery is a promising device. It’s cheaper than the Tesla Powerwall (though it holds less power). And more importantly, Fitzgerald says, it’s designed for simple installation, so you can get it up and running without help from an electrician (unlike the typical home battery).
Orison – Rethink the Power of Energy
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ericclifton/orison-rethink-the-power-of-energy
Let’s face it, when it comes to the future of energy, something has to give. Conventional resources are limited and the grid is overburdened and unreliable. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are a critical part of the solution, but they’re also intermittent: limited to times when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. And large amounts of intermittent energy simply can’t be accommodated our current energy grid.
Fortunately, there’s a fix. One that reduces your energy costs and contributes to a self-healing, ultra-efficient energy grid. This single, elegant solution is Orison.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Viikki Environment House was opened Finland’s first intelligent electricity storage, which is part of the property grid. Electric stock Ympärsitötalon produced solar electricity stored in the battery pack, says Sähköala.fi site.
Siemens supplied and installed by the electrical storage is directly connected to 400 volts. Property-electric stock is one of the main hub connected to the battery cabinet, which has a capacity of about 45 kilowatt-hours. The electric storage peak power of 90 kilowatts.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3930:helsingin-viikissa-ensimmainen-alykas-sahkovarasto&catid=13&Itemid=101
More: http://www.sahkoala.fi/ammattilaiset/artikkelit/sahkotekniikka/fi_FI/Viikin_sahkovarasto/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla PowerWall is a good deal if you don’t mind a 25-year payback
So says consumer mag Choice. Elon Musk says version 2 will do better
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/03/ichoicei_powerwall_is_a_good_deal_if_you_dont_mind_a_25year_payback/
It’s got a ten-year warranty and an unknown battery life, but the Tesla PowerWall will pay for itself, eventually.
That’s the conclusion of the Australian Consumers’ Association, which crunched the numbers here.
The Choice article takes a few different use-cases: a household with existing solar panels, and various grid-connect scenarios. It comes up with a best-case payback of 10.4 years out to more than 24 years, depending on how savvy the customer is about using their solar power.
The best way to use the PowerWall, Choice reckons, is to use all its available power, every day (which is less, The Register notes, than a full discharge if you want your batteries to survive).
Using a grid-connected system to feed power back and get a feed-in tariff turns out to be the worst scenario: “Tapping into your own solar power as much as possible, rather than feeding it back into the grid with a measly feed-in tariff, will decrease your payback time”, Choice notes.
Powerwall payback
We crunch the numbers on the new Tesla Powerwall to see how it stacks up in terms of offsetting your electricity costs
https://www.choice.com.au/home-improvement/energy-saving/solar/articles/tesla-powerwall-payback-time
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elon Musk: Tesla will launch version 2 of its home battery this summer
http://mashable.com/2016/02/03/tesla-powerwall-update/#Jw63VeaYKsqa
The excitement around the Tesla electric vehicle, and all the innovation it delivers, is rapidly being matched by the interest in the company’s battery solution, the Tesla Powerwall.
Now, in a recent appearance in Paris, Tesla founder Elon Musk upped the battery ante by delivering a bit of news: an updated version of the Powerwall is already being prepared for market.
“We’ll be coming out with a version two of the Powerwall probably around July or August of this year, which will see a further step change in capabilities,”
Nevertheless, the fact that the battery — which only began shipping to a small number of buyers in September — is getting so much attention is an indication that the battery may ultimately may be more successful than the far more expensive line cars.
Offered in two models, $3750 for 10kWh and $3,000 for 7kWh, the battery is designed to serve as a backup power source for residential structures.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Household super battery evens out your energy bill and sells solar electric power to network
Home Battery stores power when it is cheap, and dispose of it at the time of high energy prices.
Nissan will bring in the last quarter of the year, the market Xstorage battery, which saves on electricity bills of the house inhabitants. The battery equalization-term price fluctuations in the energy of day, but it may also be possible to store renewable energy generated by the house. If desired, the battery holder may use the stocks of energy themselves or sell it to the electricity grid.
Xstorage batteries are a technology company with Eaton’s and old batteries, used in Nissan’s electric vehicles. When the battery capacity has decreased too much for the use of the vehicle within a period of ten years, they still serve 10-12 years as electricity storage units.
Home Battery assembled 12 of Nissan’s electric vehicle battery module. The battery has a capacity of 4.2 kilowatt-hours, and its price is EUR 4 000.
Eaton and Nissan expect to sell more than 100 000 Xstorage units in five years.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/kotitalouden-superakku-tasaa-energiakuluja-ja-myy-aurinkovoimaa-sahkoverkkoon-6549606
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla’s New Solar Energy Station On Kauai Will Power Hawaii At Night
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/17/03/08/2237204/teslas-new-solar-energy-station-on-kauai-will-power-hawaii-at-night?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
The Kapaia project is a combination 13MW SolarCity solar farm and 53MWh Tesla Powerpack station on the island of Kauai. In partnership with the KIUC (Kauai Island Utility Cooperative) the project will store the sun’s energy during the day and release it at night. The station (along with Kauai’s other renewable resource solutions including wind and biomass) won’t completely keep the island from using fossil fuels but it will temper the need. In addition to using Tesla’s station to battle the island’s incredibly high electric bills, it’s also part of a long-term Hawaii-state plan to be completely powered by renewable energy sources by 2045.
Tesla’s new solar energy station will power Hawaii at night
Energy generated during the day will power Kauai when the sun goes down.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/08/teslas-new-solar-energy-station-will-power-hawaii-at-night/
Renewable energy supplies are great because they produce power without filling the air with pollution. Yet, once the sun goes down solar panels become pretty useless. But Tesla and Hawaii have a solution that’ll use the sun’s rays both day and night using Powerpacks built at the Gigafactory.
The Kapaia project is a combination 13MW SolarCity solar farm and 53MWh Tesla Powerpack station on the island of Kauai. In partnership with the KIUC (Kauai Island Utility Cooperative) the project will store the sun’s energy during the day and release it at night. The station (along with Kauai’s other renewable resource solutions including wind and biomass) won’t completely keep the island from using fossil fuels but it will temper the need.
In addition to using Tesla’s station to battle the island’s incredibly high electric bills, it’s also part of a long-term Hawaii-state plan to be completely powered by renewable energy sources by 2045.