battery itself is 3500 , then solar panal to match the charging, plus AC Dc conversion will cost double the amount of that . may be within 5 yrs price drop will make it effective for low income countries like nepal

_____ · May 2, 2015 5:11 AM

That if the government will not impose outrageous tax on imports

ramas · May 2, 2015 8:31 AM

Most renewable energy equipment and parts get duty and VAT free.

Phatte · May 2, 2015 9:40 AM

I was thinking about it and talking to my home about it. The price will definitely gonna be reduced in near future and it's very promising technology. Nepal has enough sunlight. I am thinking to give it a try in next couple of years in Nepal. It's just 3500 and if it can solve at least half of the current electricity problem then that would be awesome.

sajhamitra · May 2, 2015 10:13 AM

VAT and tax free is only on things they cannot make money. I have a strong feeling these greedy custom will tax it. After all, it is Nepal, anything is possible. I was thinking about the battery as soon as I saw it. It is a very good alternative, much better, stronger and longer lasting battery than any of the solar system we currently have in Nepal. Let the price come down and see what people have to say for a year, we will see.

Vhootee · May 2, 2015 3:11 PM

How is their Battery different than the one already being used for Solar?

Biruwa · May 2, 2015 4:04 PM

@Biruwa, this comment from reddit might answer your question. This pretty much is exactly what I want to say: For people with solar panels, it lets them store the excess energy and use it themselves rather than selling it back to the grid for pennies. For everyone with variable usage costs, it lets you take power from the grid when it is cheapest (nightime) and then store it to use at any time you want basically meaning you always pay the minimum rate for your power. For everyone long term, if these gets widely adopted, power companies can completely change the way they create power, and there will never be variable rates. And "theoretically/optimistically" power would get cheaper because power plants would be running constantly rather than stopping and starting. Telsas power banks are better than what you can get today simply because they are for the most part a lot cheaper than current methods, and have programming built in so anybody can use them efficiently.

pepsi · May 2, 2015 8:46 PM

And here is another comment from an Indian's perspective in the same site: http://www.reddit.com/r/explai... Most replies are from a US homeowner perspective. As someone who grew up in India, this is what I thought: In countries like India, very few cities ever get 24x7 electricity. You can be a millionaire, but still you can not have 24x7 electricity unless you install some sort of an expensive backup system. Almost every middle class and richer family owns a battery or fossil fuel based backup unit for their house and from the smallest business to the largest industry, uninterrupted power supply is always a huge issue. The existing battery based solutions have many of the issues that Elon Musk pointed out in his announcement. They use old-school batteries (no thermal management, nasty leaky chemicals and toxic fumes). They also need special storage areas and most don't "just work". At $3500 for a 10kWh storage, it is a little more expensive than some existing good quality devices, but it really isn't that much more expensive! Reliability and easy of use are very important and if Tesla can make a reliable and high-quality product which is also scalable enough that even businesses can own, then it will be a huge deal in many parts of the world. Also if you tie it to other sources like solar, then many remote locations that were never connected can also have some power! (Think of hospitals, internet access stations etc.). If Tesla can deliver all that they have promised, it can make a huge economic (and environmental) impact across the world.

pepsi · May 2, 2015 8:48 PM

Thanks pepsi for your replies. However, so far I have just seen Marketing for the tesla battery. Like - "existing batteries are nasty leaky chemicals and toxic fumes. They also need special storage areas and most don't "just work"." So from technical point of view what is it about the tesla battery that is innovative, ground breaking? For example do they use solid instead of the "leaky chemicals"? or is it just in a better box - so no leaks? "Existing batteries need special storage" - so battery from the tesla company can be used anywhere because again they are in airtight box - like a car battery? Just having the name tesla doesn't make it innovative. That is what I am trying to understand. What is it about the battery from tesla company that would make it more suitable in homes?

Biruwa · May 3, 2015 12:55 PM

I think in Nepal we can more than enough hydro electricity which far greener than solar and battery combo and also cheaper. In few years i guess in 5 years there will be enough hydro electricity in nepal, so nepal should not concern about this battery thing.

paradox · May 3, 2015 4:37 PM