Elon Musk announces Powerwall V1.1
Earlier today, in the 2015 Tesla Motors shareholder meeting Elon Musk announced that the Powerwall will be upgraded from 2kW to 5kW steady power output (and up to 7kW peak) and keep the same price. He said that they were responding to criticism that the original 2kW was not enough to cope with the peak power demand of a typical home.
5kW would easily cover the peak demand of most Aussie homes without air conditioning. And it should cover the peak demand of a well insulated home with a small, efficient air conditioner.
[ Note for non electrically savvy folks: Please be aware that I am talking about kW not kWh. The kwh (energy storage) of the Powerwalls stays the same, it is the power that has changed. I explain the difference between kW and kWh here ]
He also clarified that he expects the Powerwall to be added to existing solar systems for a final installed price of $4000 USD to US solar owners. So he expects installation to cost about $500 if you use your existing solar inverter to convert the Powerwall from DC to AC, which is an option I describe in detail here.
The announcement is 25 mins into this video:
http://www.teslamotors.com/2015shareholdermeeting
AGL announced last week that they were selling the AUO PowerLegato because the original 2kW Tesla couldn’t provide enough power to keep a typical Aussie home going. I hope AGL haven’t signed the contract with AUO because Tesla just raised the bar again.
About Finn Peacock
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Hi Finn,
Great work you do and great website.
I am looking forward to all the new development in li-ion etc batteries.
I purchased 12 off 12 V, 250 Ah gel batteries for $5,700 delivered to rural Queensland. With two off standalone 5kVA, 4kW inverters, I am able to pump out of my battery band 8 kW. At the moment I am only using one of these inverters, and during the day I have run a MrsBitsy aircon, old type.
My battery voltage is set to a max 13.5 V and has never dropped below 12.2 V on rainy days which we have just had about 14 consecutive off. I am not sure but is this about 10 % DOD ? So, with my cost and the longevity of my bats, how does that compare with the powerwall and other new type batteries. I have a 6 kW Enphase M250 system and I didn’t wait for Enphase to come up with the ACbattery or any other gadget. I think there will be a time yet before the quality, competition and price will warrant a change from the good old lead acid bats but it will happen for sure. Next year I will expand my system to 10 kW and hopefully kiss the grid goodbye.
john Nielsen, Silkwood
I am here again, PS by the way the main switch has been off for a long time. Not using the grid at all.
john nielsen