Used electric-car batteries could end blackouts

[one...two...tree 2,762]

As long as electric cars are new and running properly, they're clearly helping the world deal with climate change and all the other messes humans are making. But as soon as those EVs start aging, they bring with them a new problem. It's hard enough to recycle the batteries that power tiny devices. What do you do with those ginormous batteries that store a car's power?

Car companies are betting that they can turn those used batteries into assets. Even if they're useless for cars, the batteries still have enough oomph that they can store power for residential systems, National Geographic News reports:

The batteries are degraded below acceptable performance levels for cars, but the companies say the batteries have enough life to serve the grid for at least ten years in this device, a

community energy storage

unit.

A string of old Chevy Volt batteries can power up to five homes for two hours, for instance. There are two uses for this, basically: a back-up supply of energy, in case, oh, I don't know, an unusually powerful storm knocks out your power supply stations? (BUT FOR REAL WHEN WOULD THAT EVER HAPPEN.) And, on a more day-to-day basis, these batteries can store excess power produced by renewable energy sources like wind and solar. It's all so perfect! If only electric cars were economically feasible right now!

Source

• Second Life for Old Electric-Car Batteries: Guardians of the Electric Grid, National Geographic News

Edited November 20, 2012 by Lincolns mullet

[justashooter 430]

[/indent]A string of old Chevy Volt batteries can power up to five homes for two hours, for instance. There are two uses for this, basically: a back-up supply of energy, in case, oh, I don't know, an unusually powerful storm knocks out your power supply stations? (BUT FOR REAL WHEN WOULD THAT EVER HAPPEN.) And, on a more day-to-day basis, these batteries can store excess power produced by renewable energy sources like wind and solar. It's all so perfect! If only electric cars were economically feasible right now!

an inverter on your car can power your house for 15-20 hours on a single tank of gas.

[JohnR! 5,495]

As long as electric cars are new and running properly, they're clearly helping the world deal with climate change and all the other messes humans are making. But as soon as those EVs start aging, they bring with them a new problem. It's hard enough to recycle the batteries that power tiny devices. What do you do with those ginormous batteries that store a car's power?

Car companies are betting that they can turn those used batteries into assets. Even if they're useless for cars, the batteries still have enough oomph that they can store power for residential systems, National Geographic News reports:

The batteries are degraded below acceptable performance levels for cars, but the companies say the batteries have enough life to serve the grid for at least ten years in this device, a

community energy storage

unit.

A string of old Chevy Volt batteries can power up to five homes for two hours, for instance. There are two uses for this, basically: a back-up supply of energy, in case, oh, I don't know, an unusually powerful storm knocks out your power supply stations? (BUT FOR REAL WHEN WOULD THAT EVER HAPPEN.) And, on a more day-to-day basis, these batteries can store excess power produced by renewable energy sources like wind and solar. It's all so perfect! If only electric cars were economically feasible right now!

Source

• Second Life for Old Electric-Car Batteries: Guardians of the Electric Grid, National Geographic News

That is an interesting article. I read somewhere that some people were using their hybrids to power their homes after Sandy hit and gasoline was hard to come by.

[Neonred 3,562]

an inverter on your car can power your house for 15-20 hours on a single tank of gas.

How much power do you think you can actually pull through that inverter plugged into the cigarette lighter on the car?

What to you plan on powering?

Edited November 20, 2012 by Neonred

[SMOKE 1,426]

an inverter on your car can power your house for 15-20 hours on a single tank of gas.

we like to burn coal to get our clean energy.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Why are there old Chevy Volt batteries already? The car has only been around for a year.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Stupid article! If the batteries are not serviceable enough to be used in an electric vehicle that is being used on a regular basis, they definitively not be serviceable at all as a back-up source of energy. I service solar systems all the time. They have two components that degrade significantly over time. One is the panels themselves, that degrade much faster than the manufacturer specs, and second is the storage batteries. Wet-cell and gel-cell deep cycle batteries have fewer and heavier plates. They last about half as long regular vehicle batteries, and typically need to be replaced in 30 to 36 months. The more exotic storage batteries have other problems, not the least of which is the possibility of explosion and catching fire as they get older, something to consider when trying to charge a degraded battery. Some of the metals used in those batteries are extremely toxic and reactive.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Why are there old Chevy Volt batteries already? The car has only been around for a year.

There were all those Chevy Volts catching fire from overheated batteries. They must have a bunch of those batteries laying around somewhere.

Edited November 20, 2012 by The Patriot

[spookyturtle 9,465]

There were all those Chevy Volts catching fire from overheated batteries. They must have a bunch of those batteries laying around somewhere.

So you can used burned up batteries to power your house during a blackout? Interesting.