I Love This Article, Don't Buy A Tesla Powerwall, Buy A Truck

I think the premise of this article was an inspired work. Likely it was noticed by someone at Ford Motor Co and they made certain this went into an article and will no doubt see widespread coverage in the media. Really brilliant on the part of Ford. Much respect.

Want Backup Power? Buy a Truck not a bunch of Tesla power walls

Someone can do the math it seems.

a reply to: machineintelligence

It would be an option If I could plug a bunch bridged solar panels directly into the truck. If you cannot do that, then it is not a long term power solution in the event of a long duration power outage of weeks or more.

I would want this to be a SHTF battery bank on wheels that can be charged by say 10 bridged solar panels.

a reply to: infolurker

I like your idea there. I would have a hidden truck in the bunker to supply power or scram as needed fully charged on solar.

a reply to: machineintelligence

I have a generac and propane but that will only last so long. We have had icestorms in the past which has knocked out power for 2 weeks since it is all aerial out here in the rural areas.

I would want a 10 solar panel set-up directly connected by cable to the truck and use that to power some of my house in the event of a long term electric disruption.

Not to mention brown outs. If they keep going stupid with fossil fuels with no decent replacement, we are going to have rolling blackouts and this would be a good solution.

Judging from the pace I need to replace phones due to battery or electronic failures
I think that the only sustainable backup is a wood-powered steam turbine or steam engine.
The next best option is a small Chinese diesel generator for 300 bucks and 500-1000 gallons of used motor oil. There's a catch tho. It needs to be cleaned at least a bit. So instead of buying and messing with centrifuge...why not just burn it which gets me back to a steam engine.

If your house looks like the one in Tesla add then we live in a different worlds and this post was not for you

a reply to: PapagiorgioCZ

If I had the right geography, I would have a hydro-electric set-up. You still need a UPS or battery storage though unless big enough.

This would work well.

a reply to: infolurker

This deserves it's own discussion thread in my opinion.

a friend is thinking about buying an e-truck and turning it into a part-time hybrid truck by building a generator skid that fits in the back of the truck and powers it on long trips. On long trips, just set in the generator skid to keep the battery charged.
For local use lift out the skid and charge with solar.

a reply to: infolurker

It's a lot of water. If you live by a perfect creek like this and you are allowed by officials maybe. Most people dont need a 15 kW power plant.
I dont think you need fancy batteries and power walls. It's not a solar. You may get away with used car batteries. When you run this bad boy [slaps the boiler] it puts out more kilowatts than you can use while still having enough to charge the batteries to run the fridge and lights when it's off. It's not a Stirling engine but you can turn the heat down to match your needs.

It would suck to burn wood during the summer tho. It feels wrong. Like wasting winter resources. Although I've seen people producing steam with parabolic mirror. Time consuming flimsy builds are not much better than big investments.

a reply to: ANNED


meanwhile the rest of us just have gasoline engines that drive the vehicle directly
mile for mile it might not be quite as efficient, but factor in the cost of maintenence and there's no way you're saving money running an electronic truck on a generator.

a reply to: lordcomac

No doubt about that. I think direct solar panel input would be best.

a reply to: machineintelligence

Nissan has had that possibility with the Nissan Leaf for several years, but you would need to buy an extra device.

The average solar panel produces about 250 watt in optimum conditions at approximately 30 volts DC. Usually the panels are wired in series to approximately 300 volt strings. The system will require a charge controller to correct the solar arrays output voltage to the proper voltage for the storage battery bank. That is usually 12, 24, or possibly 48 volts.

Then you will need an inverter to convert the DC battery power into the proper AC voltage for use in your home. Outback solar builds a decent system .

I hope this helps.