TOYOTA

Japanese automotive giant launches fixed energy storage system for home use

Toyota Motor has not yet achieved great success in mass-producing electric vehicles, but it has been producing hybrids for a long time and therefore has serious experience with traction batteries. Like other major automakers, the Japanese corporation has decided to bring to the market a fixed energy storage system for domestic use – for now, it will only be offered in Japan.

The geographic specialization of the new solution for Toyota is even shown in the name of the system – O-Uchi Kyuden, as well as the adaptation to the standard of the local 100 volt power grid(image above). The battery's weatherproof housing allows it to be installed outdoors, it is designed to operate in the temperature range of minus 20 to plus 45 degrees Celsius. The battery itself has overall dimensions of 1142 × 341 × 432 mm and weighs 142 kg, has a capacity of 8.7 kWh and is capable of providing consumers with a total power of 5.5 kW. The system also includes a hybrid power management unit that weighs 33 kg, a 9 kg transformer for DC mains and an identical weight adapter for connecting a vehicle. The latter can be used both to charge its own traction battery, and to power the home network when the centralized power supply is off. In this case, however, the power of connected domestic consumers cannot exceed 1.1 kW.

A proprietary smartphone app has also been developed to control the system, but so far it is only available in Japanese. The novelty will go on sale in August, but only in Japan. The construction companies will distribute the system in the local market. It is recalled that Tesla has been distributing its home energy storage systems since 2015, later Mercedes-Benz and Renault joined this company. As a rule, these systems are equipped with used traction batteries, which allows you to prolong their life cycle.

Image source: Toyota