Tesla Powerwall needs to prove itself, Dalhousie prof says

A Dalhousie professor says only time will prove whether the Tesla Powerwall is as effective and innovative as marketed. 

Prof. Larry Hughes teaches in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Dalhousie.  He says the hype may not have anything to do with the quality of the product.

"I think, in part, because it's Tesla," he said in an interview with Information Morning.  "There are other companies that produced lithium home batteries in the recent past.  And I think it is in large part because it is Tesla."

Tesla, led by Elon Musk, is a company that has made its name with luxury, high-performance electric cars.  On its website, the company describes the Powerwall as "a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low, and powers your home in the evening... Automated, compact and simple to install, Powerwall offers independence from the utility grid and the security of an emergency backup."

Hughes says he's not entirely convinced.

"From what I understand, the product isn't that vastly improved. But again, there may be other things that I don't know about."

Tesla will roll out two models of the Powerwall: a 10 kilowatt-hour (kWh) weekly cycle and 7 kWh daily cycle models.  If more power is needed, Tesla says up to 9 or 10 Powerwalls can be daisy-chained.

Powering Nova Scotian homes

Hughes has experience with power storage.  He and his wife own and live in a small, off-grid cottage.  By using LEDs and a high-efficiency refrigerator, they keep their power needs down to as low as 12 volts.  

The benefits of Tesla's invention may also be limited by region.  Nova Scotians, Hughes says, may not find the advantages so advantageous.

"The average Nova Scotian daily consumption is just about under 30 kWh per day… People talk about the battery but they don't talk about the fact that you need an inverter which is going to be another few thousand dollars - probably one or two thousand, at least - and you also need an energy source.  Could be solar, could be wind, and it could be the grid itself."

What Hughes calls "load shifting" is one of the promises of the Powerwall.  But again, NS Power pricing plan may not make room for many net benefits.

"Since we have a flat rate in the province, that's really not going to affect the consumer that much," Hughes explains. "You're still going to be paying roughly 15 cents a kilowatt hour whether you buy it during the daytime or the night time.  If we had time of use billing, that would be a totally different matter.

While Nova Scotia has many energy sources, the Powerwall won't be useful for someone to use everyday technology and big refrigerators unless the wind is really blowing, or the tides are extremely active.

Hughes says there is a lot of potential for this product to be useful, but nothing is certain.