Tesla’s new “Powerwall” home battery will cost $3,500 for 10kWh units
Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 12:15 pm
http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... kwh-units/
"The key thing for the Powerwall on the consumer side is it’s beautiful, it fits on the wall, you can put it on the outside wall of your house," Musk told journalists. "It's only about 6 inches thick and a few feet across and a few feet tall."
The battery will come with a 10-year guarantee and come with integrated management software: "It will be connected to the Internet so we can create smart micro-grids," Musk said. A version of the Powerwall specs published after the event noted that the 10-year warranty can optionally be extended another 10 years after the first warranty is up.
The Powerwall includes a DC to DC converter, and "a DC to AC inverter may already be there if you have solar," he added. "The ideal solution is really to combine this with solar, [the price of installation] is going to vary on a house by house basis. Some houses are more complex than others."
Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel said that the Powerwall is a 400 volt battery that "doesn’t use heavy gauge wire, so that makes the installation easier."
"You could be totally free of the grid if you want," Musk said...{more}