Off-Grid System from a Tesla 85 kWh Battery

Now, before we get started, we need to cover the basics of safety, prudence, and good sense and say of this Tesla Motors Off-Grid system project, “Do not attempt this at home.”

Of course, we can forget all that safety crap and jump right in, at least vicariously, through the eyes of a Tesla Motors Club enthusiast with a penchant for off-grid renewable energy living. The plan was “simple,” if you could call it that, basically requiring a backup energy storage device for an off-grid solar power installation, for which the 85 kWh 400 V lithium-ion battery pack would function nicely, albeit with some *cough* warranty-administrator-mortifying modifications. After all, the battery pack’s new life as renewable energy backup storage will not be powering any electric motor generators or accepting a charge from a Tesla Supercharger.

The Tesla Motors lithium-ion battery pack was sourced from a salvaged Tesla Model S 85 kWh, although the author does not mention for how much. An unscathed, except by the ravages of time, about a month since last use, Tesla Motors 85 kWh battery pack then lay ready for adulteration, which proceeds with all due safety precautions, including removal of the main fuse, high-voltage charge / discharge controller, and the top cover.

The author uses the phrase “built like a tank” to describe how well the battery pack seems to be assembled. Indeed, it was designed to shrug off most road hazards, except for a couple of isolated highway incidents and what can only be described as an alcohol-fueled attempt at suicide.

The teardown of the Tesla Motors pack was a long process but, at least up until this point, is now entering testing phases as a solar power backup solution for an off-grid system installation. Apparently, he is in New Jersey right now, and I kind of wish I was back there to swing by his place to look at it.

Photo credit: Martin Gillet