Elon Musk Debuts the Tesla Powerwall

[Stardog]

The wife wants to spend next year's tax return on a power wall. If that budget includes an electric motorcycle, maybe.

[Stardog]

Damn it why don't my links work anymore?! Rick! Fix it.

[Firewa11]

Except lithium ion batteries are prone to catching on fire and/or exploding. That's a big giant wall-of-bomb waiting to happen. I think I'll wait until the technology is more tried and tested before I put something like that in my house.

[fixxervi6]

Pointless in Texas

[DarcShadow]

Not much of a speaker, is he.

Wonder how much heat do the things generate as they charge. Would be good in the winter, but would kind of suck in the summer.

[DarcShadow]

Pointless in Texas

why would it be pointless in texas? The idea is to get away from fossil fuels, last I checked Texas was still burning quite a bit of fissile fuels to produce electricity.

[fixxervi6]

1. it's just a battery it doesn't make free power, those KWH's still come from the same polluting power plants, if you want to sign up for 100% renewable then buy enough packs to get you through a texas night because you feel like blowing a shit ton of money to hug a tree then knock yourself out.

2. unless your on a variable rate plan or have solar this will cost you a lot more in the long run, even on a variable rate plan the payback for the battery will cut into it's lifecycle by quite a bit.

And do the math, if you run your AC 10KWH is nothing.

[Stardog]

They say 2 for a normal house with solar panels on the roof. As for the bomb thing, Firewall (lol wall bomb, Firewall), as long as insurance covers it I'm game.

[fixxervi6]

So 20 years to get a return on your panels and 2 more for the battery

[LonestarCBR]

[DarcShadow]

The point of the battery was not to connect to the grid to charge but to connect to solar panels. No way will it ever be free, I agree. Aside for the initial cost you'll have the maintenance cost and what not but the video never made mention of free power, just the desire to move away from fossil full to get our power. I do question his area needed for solar panels. That was a pretty small square to supply power to the entire country.

[fixxervi6]

The point of the battery was not to connect to the grid to charge but to connect to solar panels. No way will it ever be free, I agree. Aside for the initial cost you'll have the maintenance cost and what not but the video never made mention of free power, just the desire to move away from fossil full to get our power. I do question his area needed for solar panels. That was a pretty small square to supply power to the entire country.

I've seen other references to solar panels and the area is very small with modern panels, U.S. energy demand has also leveled at some point, if not in decline.

The battery would work good in areas with variable power rates, for example if your buying green energy off the grid and your paying 8 cents per KWH during the day and using fossil fuels at night for 12 cents per KWH then ok a battery can make sense.

There is also the issue of capacity, 10KWH of capacity is not much when you run an air conditioner and I don't know about you guys but my AC runs even after the sun goes down. If your AC pulls only 3,000 watts that's a good AC, I bet most of us pull more than that, 3KWH with a 10KWH battery gives you 3 hours then your back on night time power production.

The math simply doesn't work unless you've got money to burn to be a hippy.

[fixxervi6]

Grid tie a couple of these:

http://www.freepowerwindturbines.com/ho ... rbine.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BeautifulDisaster]

I read an interesting article about Tesla and batteries the other day... will go find if anyone's interested. My .02 cents? None at the moment, irrelevant.

[Telomere]

I read an interesting article about Tesla and batteries the other day... will go find if anyone's interested. My .02 cents? None at the moment, irrelevant.

What about batteries?

[Firewa11]

I read an interesting article about Tesla and batteries the other day... will go find if anyone's interested. My .02 cents? None at the moment, irrelevant.

What about batteries?

Never enough and never enough power!!!

[Telomere]

Solar panels...charge those batteries.

[Firewa11]

Solar panels...charge those batteries.

New HOA doesn't allow solar panels

[LonestarCBR]

Sounds like you need to run for HoA prez.

[Firewa11]

Hah, I'm sure it's a 'good ole boys' club. Actually at this stage the HOA doesn't have much power, it's all still under control of the developers, they have to get 50% of the lots built before the HOA starts having any say or control. I kind of understand the solar panel thing, for aesthetics they look like crap when installed on roofs, and with various different brands and installation types, everyone would have a very differently looking house. Heck I have to find out if we're even allowed to have a fence gate on both sides of the house. Our build manager was thinking we maybe can only have one gate.

[BeautifulDisaster]

Here's the article. Not too much to go on but my interest is piqued. Hence I do not have 2 cents yet, merely a penny. I would like more info as it unfolds

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/te ... ssil-fuels" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Stardog]

I kind of understand the solar panel thing, for aesthetics they look like crap when installed on roofs, and with various different brands and installation types, everyone would have a very differently looking house.

I don't get it. So it would be bad to use renewable energy because houses would look different from one another. That is some suburbia bullshit right there and you know it.

[Firewa11]

I get the reasons why after living in a neighborhood where I did give a damn how my house looked and actually wanted to see some decent appreciation of my home when I sold, but over half the subdivision didn't give a crap and that drove property values way down.

Now, if they hurry up and come out with the flexible shingle-look solar panels that are somewhat affordable and won't shit the bed the first time a hailstorm stares them down, I'd be all on board. But yeah I've seen roofs covered in solar panels in Denton and me personally I think it looks like shit.

Especially when there are hundreds of thousands of useless desert land out west that we could be setting up significant solar collector arrays to set up solar panels on...

[fixxervi6]

I'd willing to let me roof look like shit if solar panels where economical.

[dufremle]

There are a few houses in my area that have solar panels. They don't look bad. I would like to get them, but they aren't worth it without a battery system.