Tesla unveils Powerwall, an Internet-connected battery for your house

After quite a while of teasing, Tesla has unveiled its home battery: Powerwall. Tesla's new Powerwall home battery system allows people to disconnect from the power grid for a few hours, which isn't perfect, but it will have significant power savings for countless people around the world.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the new Powerwall is a "whole integrated system that just works and is connected to the Internet". Powerwall is packed with lithium-ion cells and a liquid thermal-control system, with Powerwall being tested with specific customers for the past year. The home battery connects to the Internet so that it can track power usage and share the information with utilities.

How much will Tesla's Powerwall set you back? Right now, the 10kWh system is offered to installers for $3500, while the 7kWh will cost people $3000. These two systems do not include the cost of a DC-to-AC inverter, but if you've already got solar panels, you won't need that additional DC-to-AC inverter. Distributors can lease the Powerwall to consumers, with the Tesla-made device including a 10-year guaranteed life with warranty, and will begin shipping in late summer.

The 10kWh Powerwall is enough to run a house once the power goes out according to Tesla, while the 7kWh system is targeted toward solar cell users who want to make use of their solar panels at night, as the system would've charged during the day and you'll be running off of the Powerwall at night.

Where Tesla has done things differently, is in opening up the patents. The company has opened up the patents to the world, as it requires partners to make this happen and ultimately get as many people off of the grid, and harnessing the power of our star.