Tesla’s new $3,500 10kWh Powerwall home battery lets you ditch the grid
Billionaire biz baron Elon Musk has revealed Tesla’s long-expected battery products and claimed they put an end to humanity’s production of carbon dioxide as a by-product of energy generation.
“No incremental CO2 is the future we need to have,” Musk said, during the battery packs’ launch, advocating that charging his new products with solar energy is the way to go.
Tesla’s long awaited home battery is now on the market and ready for pre-order. Late last evening, Tesla CEO Elon Musk kept his promise for his hotly anticipated announcement about the company’s next product line. Musk leaked the word last week that the announcement would indeed be about the home battery he promised earlier in the year, the details of which have been quite secretive until, well, now. Musk took the stage at 8pm PST to make the announcement, in which he wowed the crowd by directing people to the Tesla website, where the stationary battery is already available for pre-order and scheduled to ship within a few months.
The Powerwall is available in two configurations: 7kWh and 10kWh. The larger unit provides the backup power needed if the grid goes down. Tesla says that the 7kWh Powerwall is sufficient for daily use. It is selling the units to installers for $3,500 for 10kWh and $3,000 for 7kWh. There is no indication of what the installation costs will be, but they should not be substantially more than those of the charging stations for electric vehicles: in the region of a thousand dollars.
The Powerwall is intended for domestic use, is a 130 cm x 86 cm x 18 cm rechargeable lithium ion battery boasting liquid thermal control and capacity of 10 kilowatt hours for US$3,500. There’s also a 7 kWh version for $3000. Both can deliver 2.0 kW continuously with a 3.3 kW peak. Tesla offers a ten year warranty on the device and is willing to extend that by another decade.
The 10 kWH model is billed as backup for when the grid goes down, the 7 kWh model is suggested for daily loads. Up to nine Powerwalls can be assembled into a single rig.
Musk said the device can be installed inside or outside a home – its operating temperature range is -20°C to 43°C – and said the Powerwall is compatible with solar power systems. It even comes in several colours, in case you want Tesla’s logo and a wall-mounted battery to become a part of your decor.
