Everything You Need to Know About Tesla's New Household Batteries

[dalekphalm]

I didn't say a single word about why the US's energy production is produced the way it is, I simply pointed out exactly how it is produced. I was at no point in time discussing the viability of nuclear reactors. That said, with ~67% of the US's power coming from carbon based fuels the statement by Tesla about it being carbon free, is incorrect even if you ignore the battery production. 

 

Its easy to imagine, I have no trouble understanding the product. Household battery backups are not new, they have been around for decades. They have never caught on to widespread use because they don't make much sense for the huge majority of the population. I am simply pointing out that even when there is a new name on the side of the battery bank, it is still a very poor solution for an energy backup. As I pointed out, it's triple the price of a comparable gasoline generator, and double the price of a comparable NG generator. 

 

The other thing that no one ever talks about is battery depreciation and degradation. Assuming that these Li-ion cells are of similar design to the ones in the cars, they have a lifespan of approximately seven years. So in seven years you will need another set, or live without it. With a NG generator, this is absolutely not the case.

 

With all of this said, I will reiterate that if you do have a variable electric rate you can charge the batteries at night and sell during the day for a profit, so in this instance it may make sense. 

I do agree that "Carbon Free" is bending the truth, unless exclusively being used with Carbon free production methods.

 

I think it's better to say that it's "Carbon Neutral". Is it perfect? No of course not - but no solution is.

 

What it does do, is give us more choice, and allow better integrated systems.