So Mr and Mrs. South Bayview, how does a wall battery that stores power from any source — the grid or solar — sound to you? This concept has been given new interest by Tesla Energy, an off-shoot of the car company. It is designed to “smooth out” the ups and down of power flow and particularly to give you power when the wires go down. That’s what Hydro One calls going off grid. The Tesla concept raises again the enormously sensible idea of homes that are semi-independent of Big Hydro. Imagine the peace of mind and sheer convenience during something like the ice storm of 2013? So much more sensible than ugly windmills marching across Southwestern Ontario.
