I don't trust the manufacturer, either. That's what the UL listing and certification is for. UL I trust as much as possible. And installing anything like that will require it to be to State electrical code, which is fairly picky on battery storage.
I'm biased. The house I currently live in had the oil burning furnace explode in 2011. It was located in the basement and the fire gutted the kitchen above it. I'm surprised the whole house didn't burn, but there was significant damage.
Where I live it is common for 120 gallon propane tanks to be strapped to the outside wall of the house. Granted, I'm in West Virginia and this place isn't know for intelligence. Safety regulations are for them liberal hippie communist types.
Sigh...no. From the website:
UL9540A 'Champion' rated nonflammable at the cell level with no thermal runaway under any condition
People have heating oil, propane, and kerosene tanks next to their houses all the time and rely solely on the fire-rated tanks. Batteries aren't special in this regard, unless you consider they aren't a liquid that can spread or a gas that can expand so they're safer.
How much usable energy per unit of battery weight?
That really isn't their concern, because they're not marketing to the automotive sector, where weight is an issue. Their focus is for stationary storage like data center, grid scale, etc. Weight is no longer a major concern when you aren't hauling it around.
According to this page, energy density in Wh/l is 1/2 to 1/6 that of Lithium. On the other hand, significantly better maximum sustained power and recharge times.
They do mention EV fast charging, but they aren't talking about the car batteries but rather battery storage at the charger so charging stations can level out their power draws and reduce their utility bills.
Motional worked with Hyundai to create fully autonomous (SAE Level 4) Ioniq 5 robotaxis that are currently operating in Las Vegas.
Yes, they are, which is the problem. Razer slapped some RGB LEDs on a mask and sold it.
Well, the Powerwall 1 was introduced back in April 2015 for a price of $3,000, which is $3,953 in 2024 dollars. The specs said a total of 6.4 kWh with a continuous and peak charge/discharge of 3.3 kW. The inverter was separate, because it was designed to be integrated into an existing solar setup.
The Powerwall 3 was introduced in September 2023 for $7,300 but includes an integrated solar inverter. The specs for it are double the total power at 13.5 kWh, with a continuous charge/discharge of 11.5 kW -- more than triple the original -- and a peak, 10 second draw of 30 kW, about 9 times the original.
So, we're talking more than 3x the device, plus a solar inverter, for less than double the price. Oh, and the original used nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries that were only rated for 5,000 cycles in the warranty. Battery chemistry is now Lithium-Ferrous (Iron)-Phosphate, which is more stable than the NMC and the warranty reflects that at 10-year, unlimited cycles. Oh, and the 3 is expandable with separate "DC packs". That's just batteries without the inverter.
As far as EV replacement batteries, there's a decent market for Nissan Leaf aftermarket batteries. The official, 24 kWh Nissan replacement is $5,500 + install. Third party depends on the current demand, but averaged half that when I last checked and there were even upgrade options (bigger batteries) if you wanted to pimp out your Leaf.
So... yes, batteries are getting substantially cheaper and while the end user may not be seeing the full 90% decrease, we're seeing quite a bit. That full cost decrease is for utility scale buyers.
Well, when we have headlines from last week like this, I'm ready to give coal a hard deadline and fuck 'em if they can't meet it:
West Virginia says no to Biden's solar panel push: State's billionaire coal magnate governor vetoes renewable energy bill - claiming it would've "put miners out of work"
There is currenlty enough solar and wind projects queued up to more than double the entire US grid capacity, they're just waiting on interconnections. The processes used in the US for grid upkeep and upgrading are antiquated, laborious, and not geared for growth.
I agree with you but don't underestimate DeBeers.
They have enough diamond reserves that they can steeply discount natural ones for long enough to put synthetic diamond makers out of business.
LK
This is nonsense. Cryptography and secret codes have been around for as long as communication. One-time pads were first used on the telegraph in 1882.
I didn't say possible. I said practical. Strong crypto is hard. Secure key exchange is hard.
Governments have been breaking codes for as long as we have had codes.
LK
Within the framework of the Constitution itself, Congress is king. They can override a veto by the Executive and remove them from office if they so choose. For the context we were speaking, tax and spend, Congress has effective unlimited authority if they so choose to use it.
Names of bills don't mean shit, they never have. Trying to tie anything to what politicians *name* a bill is pointless and childish. (Hello "Patriot Act").
Inflation hasn't gone down because people are still spending, raised prices or not. Talk is cheap, actions are what matter. People bitch up a storm that fast food prices (for example) are thru the roof (they are), but they're doing it while buying enough fast food the companies are making record profits.
And it isn't just essentials that are absolutely required, but everything. Prices will go back down when people start taking more action and stop spending.
It doesn't work that way. Everything works because people follow the basic rules -- the Constitution itself. Amending the Constitution itself isn't a simple vote of Congress, much less something signed by a President into law. There's an explicit process.
Your question is akin in seriousness to "what if EVERYONE just stopped paying taxes".
Even the most professional of officers would be tempted if he was was cheating on him or if someone delivered a credible threat to the safety of his children.
The best way to prevent this kind of abuse is to make it impossible.
LK
I don't see it. For example, cell phone records are only recorded and accessible via warrant, and by presenting that warrant to a provider directly. Same could be done with E2EE data if forced through the cell phone provider's networks.
That would mean an end to E2EE APIs on cell phones and other devices, which may be practically impossible at this point.
Edward Snowden showed that this is not as true as you seem to think it is.
LK
All power corrupts, but we need electricity.
