BMW has announced its rather clever idea to use the same battery packs found in their i3 electric city car to act as home energy repositories with the help of Beck Automation of Germany.
They’re not the first one to come out with such an energy product and certainly not the first from within the automotive sphere – Tesla had done so last year with their Powerwall and Daimler’s offering has been in development and should be offered to customers soon.
The purpose of such large batteries being placed in homes is to complement the electric car and the green lifestyle by having it accumulate and store energy from renewable sources such as solar throughout the day so that it will be ready to replenish an electric car’s reserves when the owner returns the day’s affairs in the evening.
Additionally, these large home-situated external batteries can be made to store energy when electricity rates are cheaper, even power the home (sometimes fully, often partially) when it has sufficient charge, or act as a back up power source in the event of a power outage.
BMW says they will be offering the system with a 22kWh or 33kWh battery, enough energy to keep a typical home powered for 24 hours, or so they say. What’s more interesting, however, is the automaker’s plan to repurpose used i3 batteries as part of their “2nd Life Batteries” program.
The frequent recharging and discharging of these lithium-ion cells, such as in the life of an EV, can be stressful to the battery and wear it down. But these batteries are still plenty healthy enough to be used in more passive electrical systems such as that of a home.
There’s no timeline yet for when this BMW and Beck battery home packs will be available for the mass market, or whether they plan to collaborate with solar panel providers to offer customers a total clean energy home and vehicle solution.
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