Quote:
Originally Posted by furgle
A 5kw powerwall isn't going to charge an 85kw battery for free.
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Most "urban commuters" don't need a full 400 km range every day - you would do a daily "top up" if you want your EV to to be a "zero-cost-to-run" proposition.
And battery technology is improving all the time - Tesla Powerwall 2 are currently rated at 13.5 kW.hr.
https://naturalsolar.com.au/tesla-po...-home-battery/
As you said, you get about 400 km range on an 85 kW.hr battery, so a 13.5 kW.hr daily "top-up" will give you around 60 km range, which would exceed most people's typical daily commute.
Even if you start the week with a close-to-empty "tank", you could well be fully topped up come the next weekend. E.g. think of a typical weekly cycle for someone doing 25,000 km/year - say 500 km in a typical week (e.g. 5 weekday commutes @ 50 km plus another 250 km on the weekend). Even if you come home on Sunday night with an almost flat battery, you charge overnight and and you've got something in excess of 60 km range for your 50 km daily drive on Monday morning; by the end of the week, your charge level exceeds the coming weekend's 250 km driving.
Your mileage may vary (pun intended!), but many people should indeed be able to run an electric car from the Sun using a single Tesla Powerwall most weeks.
(But yeah - if your boss will let you charge for free, why would you send money on solar infrastructure at home!)