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The key is really getting the costs down on batteries + the necessary inverter and charger.

• deleted 3y ago
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• RetroTechie 3y ago
  Any power routed through batteries is expensive - compared with power pulled directly from grid / solar panels etc. Sodium ion batteries won't change that equation any time soon. But they can make whatever grid storage is installed (whether in homes, electric car, or grid scale), a lot cheaper. Some limited amount of such storage + some smarts to control when heavy users are run & when batteries are (dis)charged, can go a long way. Just 'flattening the curve' is enough.
• rootusrootus 3y ago
  This is very true. A good quality inverter/charger with enough capacity to run a home is $$$$. Also need some kind of transfer switch to connect/disconnect the grid, and that's $$$$. It's hard to make a good case for it on ROI alone, you need to be solving some other problem, like frequent power interruptions if you live out in the sticks or something. But in that case batteries probably won't be enough so you need a generator anyway.
  • jjeaff 3y ago
    True that both battery systems and, more surprisingly, automatic transfer switches are pretty expensive. But I think a lot of that still has to do with lack of demand and competition. There are literally only 2 or 3 providers that I could find that make automatic transfer switches. and it was a minimum of $800. I ended up going with a $40 AliExpress option that is supposedly able to handle 125 amps which is enough for my needs but isn't UL listed, so I think would only work for diy. I also built my own battery and inverter system for about $2500 in parts that is about the size and power of a Tesla Power wall which they sell for more than $10k last I checked. but again, inverter is not UL listed.