Use the car as a powerwall

[TheBatcave]

This might be an odd, or even stupid question, but I was thinking about it the other day.

We have a 10.7kwh sunpower solar system and it works great. I do not have a powerwall though for two reasons. One, it's expensive so the ROI would take forever. The second is we have net metering so it defeats another purpose. I guess a side reason is we barely ever lose power. I think once in the two years since owning the house.

But it got me thinking. I have a MR model 3. The battery is say 4x or more the size of a powerwall. When plugged in, if the power dropped, why can't the car be used as a powerwall? Technical limitation? Power limitation? If not, couldn't there be a setting that says the car can only be used until it dropped to say 20%?

Just a thought...

 

[diamond.g]

This might be an odd, or even stupid question, but I was thinking about it the other day.

We have a 10.7kwh sunpower solar system and it works great. I do not have a powerwall though for two reasons. One, it's expensive so the ROI would take forever. The second is we have net metering so it defeats another purpose. I guess a side reason is we barely ever lose power. I think once in the two years since owning the house.

But it got me thinking. I have a MR model 3. The battery is say 4x or more the size of a powerwall. When plugged in, if the power dropped, why can't the car be used as a powerwall? Technical limitation? Power limitation? If not, couldn't there be a setting that says the car can only be used until it dropped to say 20%?

Just a thought...

Tesla has said in the past that the chemistry for the cars is different for the power wall. Something along the lines of different charging cycle profiles.

 

[ewoodrick]

Currently the Tesla does not support back feeding a house, there have been talks though.

The Leaf does support it, just being introduced to the US.

 

[Gwgan]

Elon later said they would reconsider it but I doubt they have spent an engineering minute on it. Smart grid utility players are very interested and that might force the issue especially once legislation promotes the capability in new home construction.

 

[dhrivnak]

I would LOVE this feature as I have 160kWh of battery in my garage and I am sure it would be an awesome selling feature.

 

[wwu123]

Even just temp backup power, not backfeeding into the house, would be awesome. Used to use my 1st gen Prius with 800W inverter on the 12V as a generator when we'd have power outages 3-4 times a year. Typically 1 to 4 hour storm outages, but the Prius kept the expensive aquarium alive - some stuff starts dying within hours without water flow.

Best thing vs a typical generator was it was silent, except for a few minutes at a time to top off the battery. A Tesla would be completely silent and last a long time.

 

[TheBatcave]

I was thinking more so for emergency only. Basically power goes out. If the car is plugged in it can backfeed right away. But never any other use except emergency

 

[Goodtohave]

I had an inverter hooked up to my Leaf, just left ignition on.

Tesla specifically says doing this voids the warranty

 

[Dana1]

Even just temp backup power, not backfeeding into the house, would be awesome. Used to use my 1st gen Prius with 800W inverter on the 12V as a generator when we'd have power outages 3-4 times a year. Typically 1 to 4 hour storm outages, but the Prius kept the expensive aquarium alive - some stuff starts dying within hours without water flow.

Best thing vs a typical generator was it was silent, except for a few minutes at a time to top off the battery. A Tesla would be completely silent and last a long time.

Also not killing residents with carbon monoxide. Misuse of generators kill a couple of folks every time a hurricane knocks out power here

 

[tga]

Vehicle to grid would cause more cycles, increase pack wear, and likely cause more warranty claims. Don't expect V2G support anytime soon, until Tesla sorts that out.

 

[thanar]

On the same topic, are there any hacks (like the ones wk057 was done with model S modules) to be able to use a model 3 battery as a powerwall? I would particularly be interested in a hack that would actually tap directly to the car battery, without removing the battery from the car and taking the battery apart.

 

[Nocturnal]

Elon later said they would reconsider it but I doubt they have spent an engineering minute on it. Smart grid utility players are very interested and that might force the issue especially once legislation promotes the capability in new home construction.

Buyers will demand it once they realize they can get a huge rate decrease by letting the utility tap into their car battery.

On the same topic, are there any hacks (like the ones wk057 was done with model S modules) to be able to use a model 3 battery as a powerwall? I would particularly be interested in a hack that would actually tap directly to the car battery, without removing the battery from the car and taking the battery apart.

I recall some guy using a Model S pack for his cabin.

Even just temp backup power, not backfeeding into the house, would be awesome. Used to use my 1st gen Prius with 800W inverter on the 12V as a generator when we'd have power outages 3-4 times a year. Typically 1 to 4 hour storm outages, but the Prius kept the expensive aquarium alive - some stuff starts dying within hours without water flow.

Best thing vs a typical generator was it was silent, except for a few minutes at a time to top off the battery. A Tesla would be completely silent and last a long time.

Ha. I have a large reef tank also and had the same thought during my last power outage. I hate having to deal with a generator.