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Tesla Motors Livestream

teslamotors.com

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Re: Tesla Motors Livestream

#61

Musk's delivery style is so refreshing compared to the Steve Jobs clones on every stage. He's knowledgeable, charming, funny. Great stuff.

I've watched maybe 7 videos about him. Musk is too eager to throw employees under the bus.

It is this reason alone why I'd never buy a tesla.

Re: Tesla Motors Livestream

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the EPA [1], an average home consumed 12,069kWh in 2012. So assuming a constant load, a 10kWh battery would power about 7.5 hours of usage. [1]: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/pubs/calcmeth.htm

So if I'm reading this right - if I bought a Powerwall from Tesla and hooked it up to some solar panels, my power bill would DRASTICALLY decrease?

Your utility company is going to want to charge you a fee (or take a cut of what you sell to the grid) for not buying any electricity from them, so that they can maintain the power lines and substations to your home.

Re: Tesla Motors Livestream

#63
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meanwhile, in lead acid battery land, a Trojan T-105 is ~$150 for a 6 volt, 225 amp hour battery, which you might comfortably cycle 0.9kWh each day for 5+ years. Use 12 of them to match the 10kWh Powerwall and it only costs $1800, replace them at the end of 5 years and you have about the same cost as the 10 year Powerwall. Powerwall is several times smaller and lighter and presumably doesn't give off hydrogen gas whe…

You need 20, not 12, don't you? 6V*20 = 120V edit: the Powerwall runs at 350-450V, 5 amps nominal. Guess it depends on the inverter you use.

The voltage is irrelevant. You can run an inverting 120VAC power supply from one battery, or a hundred, as long as it supports the right voltage range. Yes, putting 20 6V batteries in series would give you 120VDC, but that's not particularly useful.

What matters is the energy capacity, which is measured in kWh.

Re: Tesla Motors Livestream

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the EPA [1], an average home consumed 12,069kWh in 2012. So assuming a constant load, a 10kWh battery would power about 7.5 hours of usage. [1]: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/pubs/calcmeth.htm

So if I'm reading this right - if I bought a Powerwall from Tesla and hooked it up to some solar panels, my power bill would DRASTICALLY decrease?

A solar array would expedite charging, but I believe they intend to monitor energy supply rates and charge based off that as well. eg. When rates dip, it charges at a higher rate.

Re: Tesla Motors Livestream

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the EPA [1], an average home consumed 12,069kWh in 2012. So assuming a constant load, a 10kWh battery would power about 7.5 hours of usage. [1]: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/pubs/calcmeth.htm

So if I'm reading this right - if I bought a Powerwall from Tesla and hooked it up to some solar panels, my power bill would DRASTICALLY decrease?

Sure, but the same would be true if you bought solar panels and lead-acid batteries, which are cheaper (but less compact). Or if you bought just the solar panels, and sold the excess power back to the grid (assuming your utility provider allows that).

Re: Tesla Motors Livestream

#67
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meanwhile, in lead acid battery land, a Trojan T-105 is ~$150 for a 6 volt, 225 amp hour battery, which you might comfortably cycle 0.9kWh each day for 5+ years. Use 12 of them to match the 10kWh Powerwall and it only costs $1800, replace them at the end of 5 years and you have about the same cost as the 10 year Powerwall. Powerwall is several times smaller and lighter and presumably doesn't give off hydrogen gas whe…

You need 20, not 12, don't you? 6V*20 = 120V edit: the Powerwall runs at 350-450V, 5 amps nominal. Guess it depends on the inverter you use.

The 12 number comes from energy storage capacity. Voltage conversion and DC to AC is handled by your inverter/charger which is a separate item.

Re: Tesla Motors Livestream

#68
post #34

Serious question: Can anybody who's familiar with the energy storage field explain the nature and magnitude of the innovation here. Is this just a large lithium ion battery with some electronics added for charge/discharge control or is it a bigger deal than that? Perhaps the innovation is in packaging and productizing it for the various market segments?

The innovation is all in the price.

And the marketing.

Re: Tesla Motors Livestream

#69
So. COOL! The coolest part...that Tesla realizes that the goal it wants to accomplish can not be done alone. They need companies and people around the world. All patents are open and free for anybody to use and all technology is open source. That is amazing. That's how change happens!
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