Toyota Takes On Tesla Powerwall With O-Uchi Kyuden Home Battery System

Telsa’s Powerwall is one of the most popular home energy storage units on the market, but Toyota is throwing their hat into the ring with their new O-Uchi Kyuden system.

Designed to leverage decades of experience with electrified vehicles, the O-Uchi Kyuden system consists of an 8.7 kWh battery that is located outdoors and powers your home during outages. It’s joined by a vehicle power supply adapter, a DC-to-DC converter, and a hybrid power conditioner that allows the system to work with solar panels.

While these types of home batteries are nothing new, Toyota has a few tricks up their sleeve as the O-Uchi Kyuden system can draw power from hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery electric, and fuel-cell vehicles.

Also Read: Mercedes And Vivint Solar Team Up To Take On Tesla’s Powerwall

As a short video explains, during the day, solar panels would power the house as well as recharge the O-Uchi Kyuden battery. Once the sun sets, the house would be powered by the battery as well as the vehicle.

The system is ‘smart’ and Toyota noted four different modes including one that stores energy during the day and then sells it back to energy companies at night when rates are higher. The second mode focuses on minimizing grid usage by charging the battery during the day via solar panels and then using it to power homes at night. Smart mode mixes both approaches, while storage mode keeps the battery fully charged in preparation for an outage.

Speaking of smarts, the system will allow owners to monitor storage capacity, operation mode, and other settings in real-time via a dedicated app. It will also display how much energy is being provided by various sources including solar panels, vehicles, and the electrical grid.

The O-Uchi Kyuden system is currently available for pre-order in Japan and is slated for release in August through “home builders and general construction companies.” There’s no word on how much the system will cost, but Toyota said it has been designed to have a long service life, high performance, and “good value for price.”