If you consume as little as electricity as you can and have solar panels installed, you are just one step away from being independant from coal and gas fueled utilities. This step might come sooner than expected thanks to Tesla.
Indeed, last week Elon Musk presented the Tesla Powerwall, a series of batteries that home owners can buy to help them get off grid. Some analysts have touted this as a nail in the coffin for both utilities and nuclear power.
Let’s review the product to understand why. As TreeHugger reported :
Tesla publicly launched a new division last night, Tesla Energy, and unveiled the Tesla Powerwall storage system for homes and businesses. It’s a sci-fi looking 220-pound flat battery pack that hangs on a wall, as you can see on the image at the top of this article. It looks like something you’d see on a spaceship and fits well with the overall Tesla design aesthetic (Superchargers, Model S, home chargers, etc).
It does three main things: First, it can store solar energy if you have solar panels, second, it can store energy from the grid off-peak when power is cheapest (in places where utilities have time-of-use dynamic pricing) and release it when power is most expensive, saving you money and smoothing out the demand peak, which is good for the grid overall. Finally, it can act as a backup power source if there’s a power failure.
For home use, there are two models. A 7kWh one for $3,000, and a 10kWh version for $3,500. These prices don’t include installation, which will be done by certified installers (probably including Tesla partner SolarCity), but they also don’t include any incentives.
The price might be a bit steep for the time being, but imagine what such products will look like and cost in a few years ?
In the meatinme, start conserving energy and going full speed ahead on energy efficiency. The future is here and you might as well prepare yourself for it today.
