Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Rooftop solar power installations are becoming more popular for Japanese households, particularly due to the many natural disasters which can lead to power outages on the grid. The need for a more decentralized and resilient power system is apparent.
As part of the answer to this need, Toyota Motor Corporation recently entered the power market by releasing a new product called O-Uchi Kyuden System. This is a household storage battery similar to the Tesla Powerwall.
Toyota offers several plans depending on user needs. The batteries can remain fully charged by rooftop solar panels, or they can power the household on a daily basis, or else some of the electricity can be sold to utility firms.
The O-Uchi Kyuden System directly completes against the more established Tesla Powerwall, which was first introduced in 2015 and has been installed in about 250,000 households globally.
The functionality of the O-Uchi Kyuden System is quite similar to that of the Powerwall. For example, both offer mobile phone apps for users to monitor how much electricity is generated, consumed, and other key data.
However, one unique function of the O-Uchi Kyuden System is that, using a special plug, an electric vehicle can also provide an extra charge to the household battery, suggesting that Toyota is particularly focused on providing energy resilience at the time of disasters.
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