The long-awaited Powerwall battery developed by Tesla has been placed on the market in Australia to be sold through three authorised resellers so far. Installations are expected to begin in January and February 2016 in 7kWh battery systems depending on where you live. The battery is designed to complement rooftop solar panels and inverters and allows for use of solar energy generated and stored during the day to be used at night, minimising demand on the conventional grid.
This residential use battery is not the only one in its class, however, it has certainly been credited with ‘putting a rocket under the sector’ by increasing demand and expectation of such a battery. The benefit of this system over others is its relative ease of installation, sleek design, and small size. A 10 kWh weekly cycle version is also available.
One of the key benefits of improved battery storage options for household use will be the reliability of battery banks attached to solar arrays and will inevitably lead to increased uptake of rooftop solar systems. A report by the climate council suggests that battery storage capacity is likely to see a 50-fold increase in less than a decade with expected costs of batteries likely to decrease as well. This will also feed into the electric car market improving cost competitiveness with conventional cars.
Sources
Stock, A. & Sahajwalla, V. 20 October, 2015. Powerful potential: battery storage for renewable energy and electric cars.
Tesla. 2015. Powerwall Tesla Home Battery.
Vorrath, S. 10 December, 2015. Tesla Powerwall sales kick off in Australia as local installers named. Available at: One Step Off the Grid