Tesla CEO Elon Musk is looking to disrupt renewable energy.
Musk unveiled the new version of its at-home battery, Powerwall 2.0, on Friday night. The battery comes with technical and design improvements from its predecessor, but it also speaks to Tesla's larger vision for energy. Musk wants to bring solar installation and battery installation, two processes that inherently rely on each other, together as one simple, integrated process.
Part of that vision involves Tesla merging with SolarCity, a controversial deal worth $2.6 billion, which shareholders will vote on November 17.
At-home batteries can store electricity generated by solar panels and draw electricity from the utility grid when rates are low to store for later use. They also provide homeowners with backup power in the event of an outage.
But Tesla isn't the only company offering an at-home battery solution.
Here's a closer look at Tesla's Powerwall 2.0 and its competition.
1. Tesla's Powerwall 2.0 is a 269-pound lithium ion battery that you can mount on your wall. Panasonic makes the cells for the battery, while Tesla builds the battery module and pack. The whole thing costs $5,500, including the inverter, and stores 13.5 kWh of energy.
For reference, the average person uses 30 kWh of power a day.
The Powerwall is modular, so you can link up to nine batteries side-by-side to store more energy. Tesla estimates it will cost $1,000 to install the Powerwall, with installations beginning January 2017.
2. The LG Chem RESU battery is probably Tesla's closest competitor in the space. LG Chem announced just last week it would bring its battery option to the US through a partnership with rooftop solar company Sunrun. That would make the RESU available to Sunrun customers and its products distribution arm — a similar strategy to making the Powerwall available to SolarCity customers.
You can read more about LG Chem's Sunrun partnership here.
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source http://www.thisisinsider.com/home-battery-rival-tesla-powerwall-2-2016-10
