New Tesla Battery Could be the Answer to Off-Grid Power

[hawgrider]

One of the hardest things about going off the grid is finding a way to harness enough power to make the lifestyle realistic and affordable. While some people believe the answer is cutting consumption, renewable power billionaire Elon Musk thinks his Tesla Battery could hold the key to realistic Off-Grid Power.

http://offgridsurvival.com/wp-content/themes/church_10/images/2015/05/teslabattery.jpg

http://offgridsurvival.com/tesla-battery-offgrid-power/

[Sparkyprep]

I have been very interested in these.

[Slippy]

http://offgridsurvival.com/wp-content/themes/church_10/images/2015/05/teslabattery.jpg

http://offgridsurvival.com/tesla-battery-offgrid-power/

This may be worth keeping an eye on. Hopefully competition will occur and the next company will improve it and sell if cheaper. It that happens then conventional batteries may also go down in price.

[TJC44]

What will happen is Duracell or Eveready will buy the patent and lock up the design so no one can build it. After all, it's something that may actually be useful.

[Sparkyprep]

They might have trouble using that tactic on Elon Musk. This is a man who, I think, genuinely wants to change the world for the better.

[Arklatex]

Love this idea! Aren't the Lithium batteries much longer lived than deep cycle? As in more charge and discharge cycles. Replacing expensive batteries is the biggest drawback to going off grid IMO.

[Arklatex]

They might have trouble using that tactic on Elon Musk. This is a man who, I think, genuinely wants to change the world for the better.
Agree. He's made one heck of an effort with his electric cars. I'm starting to see them more and more. That tells me he's already resisted big oil, the major automakers and the battery companies.

[Pauls]

Elon Musk has built a rocket that delivers supplies to the ISS, and one that can take astronauts to the moon and Mars! He has used his billions to advance the electric car (travel 250 miles non-stop) while the other makers are going 25 to 50 miles, and has entered the home and commercial alternative energy market with these batteries and the chargers. He's not done yet either! Big plans from this guy.

[Arklatex]

I didnt know he was involved in the new effort to improve spacecraft. That's cool. This guy is doing a lot of good with his money. I had to look him up to see what kind of crazy name that was. He's originally from South Africa. Age 43 and worth 11 billion. Involved with paypal, SpaceX, Tesla, and a few others. Apparently he wants to colonize another planet to help "insure the survival of the human race" interesting guy.

[Inor]

They might have trouble using that tactic on Elon Musk. This is a man who, I think, genuinely wants to change the world for the better.

Ditto that. Plus, he is crazy smart, not just in business, but in engineering as well. A couple years ago he designed a high speed rail system that he GAVE to the state of California that would not use traditional track. It was some kind of electro-magnetic field that would allow the trains to travel at airplane speeds without any mechanical parts to wear out. His idea was to create a line from Silicon Valley to L.A. Of course, California rejected the idea (so far). But any technology he is involved with is worth watching and evaluating.

As an aside, when I go to Palo Alto, CA, I see a buttload of the Tesla Model S cars on the road. They seem pretty reliable. I doubt they would work too well in the extreme climates. But I am pretty impressed with what they have accomplished so far. I expect we are about 10 years away from the Teslas being a viable alternative in a climate like Minnesota. But, so far they seem to be doing a pretty good job of advancing electric cars - far better than Nissan with their douchebag Leaf car with a 40-50 mile range, or even worse Chevy with the volt.

Let's hope he brings the same new ideas to home power as well.

[RWalls]

$3500 is actually reasonable if it delivers as promised.