LTLFTcomposite
Well-known member
15 SEER central air is supposedly 800w/ton, and that's running, not starting. So this won't work for even a modest home in a warmer climate if the goal is to zero out the grid usage.
LTLFTcomposite said:15 SEER central air is supposedly 800w/ton, and that's running, not starting. So this won't work for even a modest home in a warmer climate if the goal is to zero out the grid usage.
TOU shifting is certainly desirable. So the question is why does Elon Musk or anyone else think that Li-ion batteries are the right solution for this application (for utility-scale applications)? Perhaps it is, but then why does this unit not include a 480VAC inverter to make it a true three-phase AC battery? Businesses are benefiting today from new PV technology which does power-factor correction (and I believe some of those solutions even work at night), but PV pays for itself even without this feature.TimLee said:The video on the Bloomberg article on the Solar City pricing provides perspective that it isn't really for individuals and homes.
The potential real demand for it is businesses and utilities shifting some of their use off peak.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-01/solarcity-taking-orders-for-tesla-batteries-starting-at-5-000" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Slow1 said:I wonder if the max output scales with additional units - i.e. 2Kw for one 4Kw for two?
Better, but still maximum of 75 amps 240V service.SmartElectric said:...
Can be combined up to 9 modules, 2x9=18kW of output power and 7x9=63kWh of storage
As a backup - one would need the ability to run the fridge, some lights, range, the heater / AC ... most "whole house" generators start around 10 kW.Slow1 said:In any case if you assume remaining grid-tied then you can pull those peak loads off the grid and simply time shift whatever capacity you have. Still a potentially useful product I'm sure - fully off-grid is another story as you need several days supply etc, just not something most of us can justify from a cost perspective eh?
I remember it being announced. Is the Enphase AC battery out for sale in the marketplace and considered back behind leading bleeding edge? I am game to try..RegGuheert said:Frankly, I think Enphase is more on track with their AC Battery. It's small enough and cheap enough for people to experiment with it while still being scalable to large applications.
No. I believe it is scheduled for the 2nd half of 2015 in the U.S. I've seen anticipated pricing (a guess) around $800.JimSouCal said:I remember it being announced. Is the Enphase AC battery out for sale in the marketplace and considered back behind leading bleeding edge? I am game to try..
9kW of PV in NJ? Do you make a fortune from SRECs or has that boat sailed?DanDietrich said:I have a 9kw grid tied solar array and a Leaf.
The Tesla battery does not include an inverter, so you need to add another few percent loss for that (each way unless you are charging directly from DC PV).DanDietrich said:I use enphase microinverters on my system, and the tech sheet for the Tesla battery shows a 94% efficiency, so converting my ac to dc and back again costs me another 6% of my power if I use the battery.
I'm all for this stuff, and I don't mind that Tesla gets all of the attention while Nissan sells more electric cars, but this unit isn't really practical or cost effective in many situations. No one in this thread yet had mentioned the power loss due to conversion, and I think that is fairly important to keep in mind as a recurring expense.
It always has cost more to be off grid when one uses a ton of electricity. That's why step one, two, and three is efficiency, efficiency, efficiency before step four: solar.TimLee said:Pretty costly to be off grid
evnow said:The rated power of 2 kW is almost useless for any home.
I'd been researching backup generators - minimum that would work in our house is about 7/8 kW.
TimLee said:Better, but still maximum of 75 amps 240V service.SmartElectric said:...
Can be combined up to 9 modules, 2x9=18kW of output power and 7x9=63kWh of storage
evnow said:As a backup - one would need the ability to run the fridge, some lights, range, the heater / AC ... most "whole house" generators start around 10 kW.Slow1 said:In any case if you assume remaining grid-tied then you can pull those peak loads off the grid and simply time shift whatever capacity you have. Still a potentially useful product I'm sure - fully off-grid is another story as you need several days supply etc, just not something most of us can justify from a cost perspective eh?
LTLFTcomposite said:So we'd need 4 of these units to go off grid (or to zero out the push-pull). Considering our bill is running about $120/month I'm not seeing how this makes any sense whatsoever in our situation. I don't even see how net metering with a grid tied system would pay off.
BrockWI said:For home installations I can't imagine it competing with lead acid for cost per watt. We have 18 kwh of lead acid that was $1800, its not that large of floor space, but weighs a couple of tons, but it does require some periodic maintenance, I miss our AGM's
Slow1 said:I wonder what the utility companies think of the idea of folks time-shifting loads via the charge/discharge cycle... Seems that it would be good for their grid stability as a whole and thus a good thing, but I wonder if the delta in rates between peak and off-peak will reduce over time (and thus reduce incentive to invest in the battery).
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