BMW has announced battery packs from its i3 model can power your home, integrating seamlessly with solar panels to store energy for use at night, to offset peak tariffs and act as a backup supply.
Speaking at the Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition 29 in Montreal, BMW also suggested that used BMW i3 battery packs could be used to expand the system as they become available, extending their life beyond transportation.
"The remarkable advantage for BMW customers in using BMW i3 batteries as a plug and play storage application is the ability to tap into an alternative resource for residential and commercial backup power, thus using renewable energy much more efficiently, and enabling additional revenues from the energy market," said Cliff Fietzek, Manager Connected eMobility at BMW of North America.
'Plug and play' design
According to BMW, the ‘plug and play’ design of the 22 or 33kWh i3 battery packs and the fact the demands of home use are so much lower than powering a vehicle, means it can give “many additional years of service”.
To make sure it all works, BMW has developed a system including a voltage converter and electronics to manage and monitor the energy flow between renewable energy sources, the home electricity circuit and battery pack itself. The relatively small size of the battery pack also lends itself to be easily located in a basement or garage, according to BMW.
In 2015 Tesla founder Elon Musk announced the Tesla Energy Powerwall, a 7kWh battery pack designed as a home energy storage solution, costing around $3,500 in the USA.
Even available in different colours, Musk was bold in his ambitions - "It sounds crazy, but we want to change the entire energy infrastructure of the world to zero carbon."
Find BMW Prices today or select your perfect car using our New Car Finder.
Or why not take a look at BMW I3 Prices?
