Tesla Motors is making a select number of its lithium-ion batteries available to pilot customers for them to install in their homes.
Owners of these 7 kilowatt-hour (kWh) batteries, called Powerwalls, will be able to power their homes throughout the day, especially if they already have solar panels to connect the batteries to, according to Ars Technica.
The Powerwall, which was first announced back in April, can discharge 5 kilowatts of energy while being used continuously, which is much more than the 2.2 kilowatts it could originally discharge. The number went up after critics said that 2.2 kilowatts wouldn't be enough to power homes off the grid.
Tesla also designed the battery to connect to multiple units for up to 63 kWh of energy, Hybrid Cars News reported.
Tesla will also release a 10 kWh battery to serve as backup, Ars Technica noted. The 7 kWh unit will cost $3,000, which is much cheaper than other lithium-ion batteries of the same size, and the 10 kWh unit will cost $3,500 but won't be available until 2016.
A Tesla spokesperson didn't reveal how many household Powerwalls it plans on shipping this year but cited a comment made by CEO Elon Musk earlier this year in which he said that the company has accepted 100,000 reservations for the battery.
"Over the next few weeks we will continue to ramp up volume production," the spokesperson said.
The first markets to receive the Powerwall include North America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Australia, according to Hybrid Cars News.
Tesla plans on producing many more Powerwalls after launching its Gigafactory, part of which is expected to begin operations in 2016.
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