Tesla Motors Announces a New Home Battery

Post by lsaferite » Tue, Feb 17, 2015, 2:01 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #23

So, where does lithium come from? It comes from the Earth, of course, but it doesn't require strip mining or blowing the tops off mountains like other resources do...most often, lithium is found in briny underground ponds. The liquid is pumped out and left to dry in the sun. TANSTAAFL https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lithium+pond+photos&iax=1&ia=image... Mining is mining. There isn't a "green" form. Tearing holes in the ear…

Post by lsaferite » Tue, Feb 17, 2015, 2:03 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #59

It's very hard to beat lead-acid on: - $/Wh - number of cycles - ability to be recycled at eol - loss of capacity over the lifetime of the battery (or beyond!) - safety It is easy to beat on - power density - weight - maintenance - mechanical stability (especially for fluid based cells) - installation cost (lead/acid requires a sealed enclosure venting to the outside to get rid of free oxygen and hydrogen) The same b…

Post by lsaferite » Tue, Feb 17, 2015, 2:07 PM UTC

higherpurpose wrote: post #53

jerf wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also curious about their lifetime. My laptop batteries are pretty weak after three or four years. It's much easier to justify $thousands as a one-time purchase than $thousands/year. For many of its applications, this is going to have to beat a generator. Which, come to think of it, probably means that if they're pitching this as a way off the grid it is precisely because it won't be even remotely competitive with…

You charge your laptop everyday. So it depends on how often you recharge them, which means it will depend on how big of a battery you'll buy. If you buy a 100 KWh battery (probably around $10,000-$15,000), I think that should last most Americans at least several nights to a week? So it might approach 10 years before it starts degrading, and then probably a few more years of charging it every day. I assume's Tesla's b…

Post by Cthulhu_ » Tue, Feb 17, 2015, 2:08 PM UTC

headShrinker wrote: post #60

brudgers wrote: post #23

So, where does lithium come from? It comes from the Earth, of course, but it doesn't require strip mining or blowing the tops off mountains like other resources do...most often, lithium is found in briny underground ponds. The liquid is pumped out and left to dry in the sun. TANSTAAFL https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lithium+pond+photos&iax=1&ia=image... Mining is mining. There isn't a "green" form. Tearing holes in the ear…

Also many municipalities don't allow battery 'grid-tie' with the option of 'off the grid' living. For example, Connecticut has laws which don't allow houses to have batteries that would allow a house to be self sustaining and have a connection to the grid. This is because if you have batteries which cause a back flow during a power outage to the power station, an electrical worker could get shocked down the road. The…

Post by vetler » Tue, Feb 17, 2015, 2:08 PM UTC

headShrinker wrote: post #60

brudgers wrote: post #23

So, where does lithium come from? It comes from the Earth, of course, but it doesn't require strip mining or blowing the tops off mountains like other resources do...most often, lithium is found in briny underground ponds. The liquid is pumped out and left to dry in the sun. TANSTAAFL https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lithium+pond+photos&iax=1&ia=image... Mining is mining. There isn't a "green" form. Tearing holes in the ear…

Also many municipalities don't allow battery 'grid-tie' with the option of 'off the grid' living. For example, Connecticut has laws which don't allow houses to have batteries that would allow a house to be self sustaining and have a connection to the grid. This is because if you have batteries which cause a back flow during a power outage to the power station, an electrical worker could get shocked down the road. The…