Using Electric Cars to power your house.


There was a time when we depended solely on large power plants to power our houses. But today, you have many other options to power your house. And your electric car is one of them. Yes, if you haven’t considered it before, it is possible to use your car’s battery for your home electricity needs. The Tesla company does not recommend this because the car’s battery is not built for storing and releasing energy for domestic use. However, the fact remains that it does come in handy during a power cut.

How long can a Tesla power your house?


Your car can be used to power your house. But a standard Tesla battery can only power your house for an average of two days. A standard Tesla Model S would have a 75kWh battery, and according to their website, this can power a house for two days. It can provide enough electricity for your devices around your home, like a fridge, microwave and televisions, to work perfectly for an average of 12 hours. But these amounts are dependent on many factors like the electricity consumption of your home, your Tesla’s battery capacity, how much electricity it has in store and the kind of electrical devices you use in your home.


You can power your house for longer using your Tesla. But only after some serious modifications to your car. Firstly, your car’s battery alone is insufficient. You will need many more, especially if you want to power your house for at least a week. Other cars like the Nissan Leaf and VW electric vehicles can be used to power a house too. These cars have a feature called Vehicle to Grid or bidirectional batteries that allow power to be sent back to the grid or your home.

How much would it cost to power your house with a Tesla?


It depends on a few factors. For instance, on how much power you need to generate for your home. If it’s only a small amount, then your car’s battery alone is sufficient. If not, you may have to make use of many more batteries, which is expensive.


The cost would also depend on the cost of each battery. Tesla batteries are expensive. Thirdly, it depends on how much you are paying for your electricity supply. If your electricity rate is normal, then powering your house with a Tesla can cost you more. But if the rates are high, then to power your house with your Tesla is cheaper.

What is the Tesla powerwall?


As I mentioned earlier, powering your home with your Tesla car is not recommended. But what the Tesla company does recommend is to use their Tesla home battery system called the Tesla Powerwall. It is a set of batteries designed to store energy and used for homes instead of manipulating the Tesla Car for something it’s not designed for.


The Tesla powerwall home battery contains enough capacity for 7-10 kWh of storage. The battery pack is powered during the daytime using a solar panel, which is stored for use during the night or in the case of a power outage. Larger mansions or businesses can make use of the Tesla powerpack that has a power capacity of 100kWh or more. Using a Tesla battery pack to power your home is clean, environmentally friendly and relatively cheap.


Disadvantages of using a Tesla to power your house


One of the disadvantages of using a Tesla car to power your house is that you have to charge your car first. Using a Tesla car to power your house will cause the Tesla battery to run out of electricity faster, and you will be without power for your home and your car.


Car batteries are also not 100% efficient. So using them to power your house will mean that you are getting less electricity than what you are paying for. They are also not very reliable, and there is a big possibility that your batteries will fail you and you will be left in darkness.


Lastly, Tesla car batteries are not designed for such use. Tesla batteries may be more efficient than other EVs and so can boast more range than other cars, but their compositions are made of cheaper materials and are not very long-lasting. Please read this article for more information about this. So if you start using your Tesla as a power source, you may deplete your battery’s life much faster and will have to replace them sooner than you think. Your best option, therefore, is to use the Tesla powerwall and not your car to power your house.

Summary


A Tesla car with a standard battery of 70kWh can power your home’s modest needs for an average of two days. But this depends on many factors like the size of your house, electricity consumption and the size of the car battery. But powering your house with a Tesla battery is not recommended. And instead, you can use the Tesla Powerwall, which is specifically designed for storing and using energy in homes.

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