Tesla Motors unveiled a line of energy storage systems, destined for households in LA last night.
Named Tesla Energy, the new product line offers battery solutions for homes and businesses. Elon Musk said that their goal is to “fundamentally change the way the world uses energy on an extreme scale.”
It wasn’t exactly a secret that Tesla wanted to expand its business beyond cars with the company promoting further the idea of a fossil-fuel-free lifestyle.
The smallest battery pack is called the Powerwall and is destined for houses, with the larger Powerpack targeting businesses. The Powerwall stores the energy from houses equipped with solar panels and can also be used for backup power. According to Tesla, people with solar panels on their roof can use it to power their home and recharge their electric vehicle. The battery pack itself can be mounted either inside a garage or on the outside wall of a house.
Tesla will offer the Powerwall in two different capacities, 7kWh and 10kWh and the price for them is $3,000 and $3,500 respectively, without the inverter and installation prices. Houses with “greater energy needs” can use multiple battery packs.
Tesla has teamed up with SolarCity Corp, making them their lead installation partner. The two companies have already tested the new battery packs by supplying 300 homes in California as a pilot, as well as several businesses with their larger energy storage systems.
The Powerpack is a 100kWh battery system that according to Tesla will allow businesses “to reduce peak demand charges, shift energy consumption profiles, and participate in available grid markets.” Prices have not been published yet.
The new energy storage systems will be initially manufactured at Tesla’s factory in California with the production planned to be moved to its Gigafactory in Nevada next year.
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