Posted on 12/13/2012 9:03:04 PM PST by null and void
Yeah..the battery and the engine from a Volt would make a good back up system, but there won’t be enough of them to amount to much.
Yeah..the battery and the engine from a Volt would make a good back up system, but there won’t be enough of them to amount to much.
Yeah..the battery and the engine from a Volt would make a good back up system, but there won’t be enough of them to amount to much.
Yeah..the battery and the engine from a Volt would make a good back up system, but there won’t be enough of them to amount to much.
hmmm... if 5 batteries can power 5 homes for 2 hours...
can 1 battery power 1 home for 1-2 hours? or does it require them in series for some reason? (not an electrician)
As to how well these used EV battery packs work, make certain they're in an out building that won't threaten your home if they catch fire. (Volt battery packs don't have a good reputation in this regard.)
It will never match up to my gasoline powered Generac generator.
You can say that again! :)
I’ve always believed that that there has to be a way each house could have its own power generator. The power companies would no doubt have that outlawed though. I believe Nikola Tesla figured out how, but he learned that the robber barons of his day (or today’s) aren’t interested in electricity that they can’t meter.
Sounds like they would make a good surge suppressor for a house.
Ping
Another way of saying this will never be viable. If it were going to work it would work today.
Or.......I could just use a gas-powered generator.
And be better off........
Wouldn't it be better to just, say, not have blackouts? Perhaps the grid can be upgraded, new power plants built, or something like that? Fixing the problem with band-aids is not very smart.
But of course there are some serious blackouts, like after a hurricane. In those situations those batteries will be useless because they will last only a few hours and cannot be recharged until the power is back. Perhaps they would be OK coupled to solar panels, but I think a hurricane-damaged area is the last place on Earth, except underground, where installation of fragile solar panels is recommended. Hurricane relief requires compact but very powerful, and easily replenishable energy sources - like oil, LNG, gasoline. It is neither the right time nor the right place for fiddling with delicate electronics and hoping for clear skies.
I guess some geeks could use these batteries on their properties. They would build the necessary inverters, and they would connect them to their solar panels. That would be done not because it makes sense, but because it's a fun project for engineers. Everyone else who has solar panels uses the grid as their "battery" - and that battery has excellent reliability, it can never be overcharged.
Gotta love it!
Translation: I'd be surprised if 50% are not useless after 10 years.
What about the other 99,999,992 homes?
I had a chance to buy some surplus sub batteries years ago.
Its not difficult to make your own heavy duty lead acid types.
Old fish tanks work well all you need then is the plates and acid.
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