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Will the Utility companies allow this to be developed?


Tanwen

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I know a lot of peole on AVEN know about Tesla and his inventions, this is one that is being developed and is about to be launched. It could make life so much easier - but will the utility companies (whose aim is to keep the 'status quo' and their profits) allow it???

http://inhabitat.com/tesla-to-unveil-a-battery-on-april-30th-that-will-take-your-house-off-the-grid/

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Well, can't really see how they can stop it, but what they can do is raise or abolish the night rate altogether to counteract it, so you won't be getting more bang for your buck.

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If it's cost-effective, the utility companies will use it in larger installations and more efficiently in order to offer lower day rates. At the very least, if lots of people use this the night rates will rise to those during the day because demand will rise at night. The reason night rates are lower is to stimulate demand when they have excess capacity that otherwise goes to waste.

I'm highly skeptical that it offers any long-term savings, taking into account the initial investment and life span of the battery.

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Though this might look like bad news for the power companies, this could actually reduce their burden on electricity generation, since they generally don't generate enough energy in the morning, but too much at night, especially with some power generators that couldn't be shut off i.e. nuclear. If paired with home-installed renewable energy sources, this could potentially save a lot of money and power, and maybe even get you off the grid if you're efficient enough, because afaik, the current issue with renewable energy is that there's no efficient way to store the energy.

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Some folks dreamed of wiring a fleet of electric cars into the grid here to flatten power consumption peaks (when they play comercials during soccer games on TV and all the fridges get opened in sync)

But honestly: batteries are usually neither free nor lossless; i.e. you have to charge at least 115% of what you'll take out into them, so I guess the announced battery will be like every energy safer before: "Yeah if you burn that money its surely good for the environment and the economy, but we can't guarantee that it'll last long enough for you to break even"...

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SorryNotSorry

I don't see why not... after all, the electric power companies haven't gotten solar panels banned.

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Well I don't think this Tesla is a he since it is a company :P But I see no reason why companies would not do it. Currently more and more chargers, and superchargers, for electrical cars are coming up both from car manufacturers and other private companies at homes and in urban settings. As long as it is demand for it and they'll earn money on it they'll develop it. It may take time of course, but considering the inventions done in electrical cars the past year alone I see no reason why it should be stopped by companies.

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If it starts costing the power companies money they'll just raise their night-time rates too.

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If anything, more night time use of power will give power companies more profit, since they lower the cost the same as a grocery store with excess produce would, to sell it before it goes bad (excess power doesn't even keep for one second!).

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As I see it, all this will do is cause utility companies to raise rates at night due to the increase in load.

You will have to pay to charge the battery, so I'm not sure if it will save people money.

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SorryNotSorry

As I see it, all this will do is cause utility companies to raise rates at night due to the increase in load.

You will have to pay to charge the battery, so I'm not sure if it will save people money.

One fundamental of economics is that if you raise your prices without having a monopoly on what you're selling, you run the risk of pricing yourself out of the market. If your competitors are offering an alternative at a lower price than what's economical for you to charge, then there comes a point at which it would be wise for you to either let your competitor buy you out, or you throw in the towel.

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I don't see where the link text fits into the actual story - in part it says "will-take-your-house-off-the-grid". I guess that's just link bait.

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I don't see where the link text fits into the actual story - in part it says "will-take-your-house-off-the-grid". I guess that's just link bait.

Oh yeah, was totally confused by that. Thought I read it wrong. However, if paired with renewable energy, it could totally get you off the grid.

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BerenErchamion

As I see it, all this will do is cause utility companies to raise rates at night due to the increase in load.

You will have to pay to charge the battery, so I'm not sure if it will save people money.

One fundamental of economics is that if you raise your prices without having a monopoly on what you're selling, you run the risk of pricing yourself out of the market. If your competitors are offering an alternative at a lower price than what's economical for you to charge, then there comes a point at which it would be wise for you to either let your competitor buy you out, or you throw in the towel.

So if the power company starts raising my rates, I'll just unhook my house from their lines and instead hook it to the other power company's lines that run in front of my yar...oh, wait.

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One fundamental of economics is that if you raise your prices without having a monopoly on what you're selling, you run the risk of pricing yourself out of the market. If your competitors are offering an alternative at a lower price than what's economical for you to charge, then there comes a point at which it would be wise for you to either let your competitor buy you out, or you throw in the towel.

So if the power company starts raising my rates, I'll just unhook my house from their lines and instead hook it to the other power company's lines that run in front of my yar...oh, wait.

At least in my state, you can choose your provider:

ErjS170.png

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One fundamental of economics is that if you raise your prices without having a monopoly on what you're selling, you run the risk of pricing yourself out of the market. If your competitors are offering an alternative at a lower price than what's economical for you to charge, then there comes a point at which it would be wise for you to either let your competitor buy you out, or you throw in the towel.

So if the power company starts raising my rates, I'll just unhook my house from their lines and instead hook it to the other power company's lines that run in front of my yar...oh, wait.

At least in my state, you can choose your provider:

I'm pretty sure I have only one option where I live.

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SorryNotSorry

AFAIK nobody's putting a gun to anyone's head and forcing you to buy the utility company's electricity, if you can afford one of these kits...

http://renogy.com

Of course, if you don't know how to use simple hand tools and you never took Electric Shop class in high school, too bad for you.

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i'd love to build a house that was totally off the grid. And underground.

but i fear clowns running the circus are going to make the tent fall in pretty soon

all the circus elephants and donkeys and trained monkeys will get loose

mass chaos will ensue

the clowns will get away

children will be psychologically scarred for life

while the ringmaster keeps lecturing us on how it may look bad now, but let me be clear...

And my state doesn't have enough sense not to do property taxes

Is it worth it?

And now for the sports news! The blundering elephants are charging the stubborn Jack---es who are holding the line. Film at eleven.

And for the weather: Rain, followed by more rain. Followed by a day of grayness with a tease of sun. Then more rain.

And now for your feel-good human-interest story: Life goes on. Suck it up and deal with it.

----

>>>What if there is a law that requires every house to be hooked into the power grid? I know where I live there is a law requiring every home to subscribe to the private trash collection company (which does not provide recycling options): You pay to have trash picked up. You pay to rent the container too. Suppose the electric grid is the same way?

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>>>What if there is a law that requires every house to be hooked into the power grid? I know where I live there is a law requiring every home to subscribe to the private trash collection company (which does not provide recycling options): You pay to have trash picked up. You pay to rent the container too. Suppose the electric grid is the same way?

I doubt that. Unlike a trash collection, which is done to ensure an area remains relatively sanitary and not piling up garbage like an 1800s London, requiring all houses be hooked to the grid has no health/sanitary benefits and sounds more along the lines of big brother antics. Even if the government decided you needed power for say, ventilation and refrigeration, as long as a person can hook to alternative energy like solar, there's no need to be hooked to the city grid. And if they've learned how to store that energy effectively into batteries similar to backup generators? Especially no need, and goodbye electricity bill (granted, you'd probably need to be connected to a whole lot of solar panels to do so).

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I would love to have a house with solar panels, but if I had a house with solar panels, I would still use the grid as a backup. In my opinion, the best way to power a grid is with nuclear power. I would also love to have a private well for no water bills or water restrictions or chlorinated water.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I would also love to have a private well for no water bills or water restrictions or chlorinated water.

Owning a water well can be nice - and even better if it's already in and working when you buy the property! Having a new well put in is always something of a sweat exercise, because you can never be sure how much it's going to cost until it's finished.

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Skycaptain

I invite anyone to read "The Hydrogen Economy" by Michael Ball and Martin Wietschel, published by Cambridge. If proven these new batteries could work the same way as a Hydrogen store, by allowing electricity to be banked during periods of low usage, such as night, or high generation, such as when wind or solar plants can operate at maximum efficiency.

Tesla, as a company seem to work by ignoring conventions, and they have a happy habit of being proven right so far, so I would not discount any new technology they create

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