Off Grid Batteries

I wrote an epic to my state Representative about getting these installed . the panels are attached with chains . the building is well grounded .

For anyone following aquion batteries it was a bad day they just filed bankruptcy. Unless they reorganize and come back this summer I guess I will be looking for a different battery solution.

Sorry to learn about this development. Maybe with luck, and if their technology and products were as good as claimed, we will see the technology rise from the ashes.

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From everything I can find online the technology is sound and the product they have made so far has proven to live up to their claims.
I honestly think this is just a case of a company that couldnā€™t developed the product fast enough to pay off its debt. From everything I have read they expected to be at about half the cost they are at right now and with the powerwall 2 comming out at its lower price point I think they just didnā€™t develop the sales fast enough to get the volume aquion needed to make a price point to be profitable. That said the powerwall is really at itā€™s core is about 20 year old technology. I know tesla is making a new larger cell but the chemistry is the same 18650 cell chemistry with years of development and marketing behind it.
I know they keep saying lithium ion will continue to fall in price but I suspect we are getting close to the bottom price where that technology is a mature product with little room for cost savings.
I hope someone comes along and gives the aquion technology another try. I honestly think that not only is it safer but given time the process volume will reach economy of scale and it will be cheaper to make then lithium ion. The way I understand both processes the lithium in lithium ion batteries is expensive to refine but all the raw materials in the aquion batteries are cheap. I might be wrong but that is my understanding.
Aquion has a odd thing they can market if they are creative. Their batteries actually have carbon as one of the main components so every battery locks up some carbon. Seems like there is an angle there that is maybe a gimmick buy worth exploiting for marketing maybe there is carbon credit type money there. The energy market is soo carbon focused right now seems like a good angle to say they lock carbon in every battery.
Other technologies have survived bankruptcy of a company before hopefully this will be one of those. The one big thing I see going for them is the company lasted long enough to make an actual product. Most of the battery technology that has failed in the alternative energy sector hasnā€™t made it that far.

I just read another article this morning that said.
Several potential buyers have shown interest in Aquion and are conducting due diligence under nondisclosure agreements.

That is w good sign.

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Hopefully it isnā€™t an oil company, or big 3 auto concern that ā€œinvestsā€ in their technology. I tend to agree with your analysis that the manufacturing processes for lithium is probably getting fairly mature, technological innovation in those chemistries may have largely peaked. There has to be better chemistries to lead us forward than lead-acid.

i think the tech lives up to itā€™s billing, it is just 15x bigger then the lion solution and you have to keep it from freezing, and add water so 15x BoM costs. Almost all of the flow batteries and low density storage systems have the same issue. Maybe you can pick one up on liquidation clearance and reverse engineer it. :slight_smile:

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I sent a process server to serve the electrical company with my application ā€¦ I immediately got a call that the application had been approved and that he had just found the four applications I had mailed prior to hiring the process server . The process server never sent me a bill . I had netmetering for a year prior to this . . then my township changed their electric service provider from the most friendly to netmetering to the one being sued for refusing to allow netmetering .
I changed to an electric service provider that said they were 100% renewable , I then found out no one at the company knew what netmetering was . So I changed again and had to send in new application

Henry where are you that you have a choice in electric service provider. As far as I know I have never had a choice but to choose where live. Each area served by a different provider.

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Community Choice Aggregation, abbreviated CCA, is a system adopted into law in the United States states of Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Illinois, which allows cities, counties, and some special districts, to aggregate the buying power of individual customers within a defined jurisdiction in order to secure alternative energy supply contracts on a community-wide basis, but allowing consumers not wishing to participate to opt out. Also known as Community Choice Energy (CCE), municipal aggregation, governmental aggregation, electricity aggregation, and community aggregation, CCAs now serve nearly 5% of Americans in over 1300 municipalities as of 2014

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Just figured some of you would be Interested to know about the development with aquion batteries. I hope BlueSky can bring these batteries to market successfully. I am still very impressed with the environmentally friendly nature of this battery technology.

Anyway not alot there but I thought it was worth sharing.

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got smart-meter installed by com ed . Next week power failed . Com ed would not fix it and locked out my power from transformer . hired electrician to fix meter box two dollars parts two hundred dollars labor . Meter box could have been filled with wasp bodies to cause short ? Com ed canā€™t read smart meter , I have not gotten a bill . I think I lost net-metering .
New round of community aggregation . I opted out so I would not have to re apply for net-metering . I got letter say I had changed service provider with community aggregation same day got letter I had to reapply for net metering . I called Com ed .hopefully all is straightened out . Day after getting letters ( got letter say I had changed service provider with community aggregation same day got letter I had to reapply for net metering ) . I got letter confirmation of rescind , confirmation I had opted out ā€¦ Two days on diesel generator waiting to get power turned back on .

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joys of owning a smart meter

After looking into this account, it looks like the signal around this meter is weak, but it is still sending reads. We are currently adding more AMI backbone devices to improve the signal of the mesh network in the area, but that will take some time.

If you take a look at the reads from the first picture, you will notice the reads donā€™t look right. Both Channel 1 and 2 have extremely high positive and negative reads for the 30 minute intervals (mostly around 50-60 kWh, but some peaking at over 100 kWh). If you look at the first picture below, you can see the reads being negative. Also, looking at the table in the same picture, you can see the voltage was showing about -2000V and the temperature of this meter looks like its hotter than the sun at about 9000oC.

Also, digging deeper into this account, we can see couple alarms on September 6th. If you look at the second picture below, you will see the alarms associated with this meter. First alarm from Sept 6th is a last gasp alarm, which usually means the meter lost power. The second alarm shows that the meter detected some sort of tampering.

Dan/David,

I know this is probably on your radar due to the tampering alarm, but can you please take a look at this if you havenā€™t already. Should we send a tech to investigate and remove the meter to check if there are jumpers behind the meter? Also, do we call the customer to make an appointment in this case and give them a heads up? This customer is a net metered and has shown frustration regarding not getting compensated for the power generated from the solar panels. Louis can probably explain the situation better than I can.

I had a long conference call with electrical company . They are going to replace smart meter . Also they now recognize Outback inverter attached to wood powered generator .

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Any one see this? general consensus is hydrogen is not feasible, but this guy has made it work, interesting!http://hydrogenhouseproject.org/index.html

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I wouldnā€™t go betting too much on electric cars and lithium batteries.
http://aheadoftheherd.com/Newsletter/2018/How-China-is-locking-up-critical-resources-in-the-US.htm

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I think we all agree with you. That is why we are on this sight. TomC

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Have you considered adding a small wind generator, here in New Zealand it
is always prefered to have a two input system and a local firm converts smartdrive washing machine motors into a verry eficient generator.

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I have heard of these rare earth magnets used in motors from applications like this being used to generate electricity.
I really like that idea.

I have seen generators that are home brewed versions of this, but I am not a convert to the idea they make an efficient way to generator power.

Wind generation isnā€™t all that efficient, unless taken to industrial levels. But put an axial flux generator on a water wheel, or Banki turbineā€¦

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I did a hydrometer test on all cells and had same reading on all cells . then I did 100 amp load test on all batteries and all batteries passed load test . battery bank shows 54.5 volts . I want to now solder together all connections of battery bank .
I have not heard of this being done but I think it would give best performance . Any comment ?

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