What is the best home battery for you?
A liveblog on batteries for home use. Enrich the blog by commenting below!
If you value freedom, engineering and sustainability, you probably want to have a ‘home battery’ that stores and provides you with energy independent from the grid. But these are not as easily bought as your average turkey sandwich from. Which battery do you need for your family? How do you install it? How much does it cost? This liveblog is intended to provide you with (some) of the answers. Do you already have a battery, or more information than what is provided below? Share your experiences by commenting below!
Most homes need a battery with a capacity between 7-14 kWh. This is needed to ‘absorb’ the peaks in the morning and evening, while your solar panels can recharge the battery during the day - assuming you have solar panels. Costs per kWh are still quite high, averaging between €500 and €1.000 per kWh. Although costs are dropping rapidly and more batteries are entering the market on a daily basis, it would still be a significant investment.
Update Feb 21 - we are working on a tool for you to do an economic quickscan for a battery, showing you the payback time. Come back later for more!
+ 1. Tesla Powerwall - $ 16,000 / 13.5 kWh
The most famous example of a modular system, the Tesla Powerwall is the go-to 'Apple' solution to all your energy needs. Easily installed (up to a degree) and top of the line in terms of the cells, this home battery will definitely serve all your needs. On top of that, you can actualy make money with the Powerwall if you join Tesla's 'Virtual Power Plant' program. This virtually connects thousands of power walls together and makes them operate like a 'regular' power plant, of which you are a small part off. The Tesla Powerwall costs $8,500 before installation and between $12,000 and $16,500 for a full system installation (before incentives and taxes). Availabilty in Europe is limited. Check out the videos below for more, or go directly to Tesla's website here.
+ 2. Ecoflow - $3,600 / 3.6 kWh
I wish I had an ecoflow delta pro. This small beast 'pretty much powers anything' with a power output of 7.200 Watts, enough to indeed power almost anything in your home. It sports a 3.6kWh capacity that can be expanded all the way to 25kWh. The kicker? You can integrate it directly with your home circuits via the Smart Home Panel. Ideal for home backup and easily connected to solar panels, as is shown by JerryRigEverything in the below video. Click here to learn more about the delta pro.