New solar-powered Tesla Home Battery can power cars & homes
Initially available in the US, the solar-powered rechargeable lithium-ion battery is designed to be fitted in residential homes and can be used to power cars as well as be used for general power consumption.
According to Telsa, one third of all the fossil fuels consumed in the United States is used in transportation and another third goes to electricity production. The US electric power sector alone produces over 2,000 million metric tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of burning 225 billion gallons of gas. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates it would require 1.6 billion acres of US forest to negate the environmental damage.
The company claims that if renewable energy sources were used for our power consumption, the top 50% of the dirtiest power generation resources could retire early and the have a cleaner, smaller, and more resilient energy grid.
The Tesla Powerwall consists of Tesla’s lithium-ion battery pack, liquid thermal control system and software that receives dispatch commands from a solar inverter.
The unit mounts on a wall and is integrated with the local grid to harness excess power and give customers the flexibility to draw energy from their own reserve.
The selling price to installers is $3,500 (£2,300) for 10kWh and $3000 (£2,000) for 7kWh (price excludes inverter and installation.) Deliveries begin in late summer in the US, with plans for Powerwall to be available in the UK before for the end of the year.
Katie Beck
Katie joined Fleet World in 2012 as an editorial intern, following the completion of an English and American Literature BA from the University of East Anglia. She accepted a full-time position as an editorial assistant at the end of the internship period, and was promoted to the role of features editor in 2014. She works across the magazine and website portfolio, and administrates the social media channels.
