Living off the grid — independent of the municipal water supply, sewer, natural gas or electrical power grid — has long been a dream of survivalists and environmentalists. The autonomy of a self-sustaining house is attractive to them because it not only saves energy, but it also lessens dependence on the government. In the case of disaster, it could be-life saving.
Architecture has had somewhat of an obsession with the idea, from Earth Houses to net-zero buildings. But these off-the-grid projects are typically just one or two homes far out in the boonies, a vacation cabin or small dwelling for a family. Some small communities have popped up, but they are rare. These eco-pioneers would like for us all to be self-sufficient, and at their most radical, their ideology is a flat rejection of consumerism and a capitalist society.
Elon Musk wants to take this concept to the big time. The owner of leading electric car company Tesla Motors has announced plans to manufacture consumer lithium-ion batteries for home use as a backup and energy storage device, which could make living off the grid much easier in combination with self-sustained energy sources. This could upend the home energy market, taking the power away from utility monopolies that have dominated the production and distribution of energy for decades.
Image via www.offgridworld.com
“We’re going to unveil the Tesla consumer home battery for use in people’s houses or businesses, fairly soon. We have the design done and it should start going into production probably in about six months or so. We probably have a date to have a, sort of, product unveiling, it’s probably in the next month or two. It’s really great. I’m really excited about it,” said Musk. At Tesla’s $5 billion facility outside Reno, Nev., they will make the stationary battery packs as well as the equipment to connect them to rooftop solar panels. Musk plans to package the panels and batteries and sell them to homeowners and businesses across California.