What the Tesla battery could mean for Hydroponic Growers

Elon Musk’s world-famous Tesla company is currently making the news with revelations about new battery systems that could change the equation of how households purchase energy -- and the new alternatives could have an impact on hydroponic gardening, as well.

New types of Tesla batteries, according to some experts, are poised to “make lithium-ion the new AA.” By building batteries smaller, decentralizing systems and making installations easier to maintain, the company is offering a more viable alternative for small electrical draws such as you find in the average house or small business office.

So how is this going to affect hydroponic growing?

Solar All Night Long

One of the most promising aspects of using these new batteries is that growers are likely to be able to set up and install solar systems that work 24 hours a day. In the past, some tried to time their light/dark cycles to meet the needs of a less evolved solar grid. With more effective solar energy storage, there's a lot more you can do with solar, for instance, running pumps and other equipment regardless of the time of day.

Energy Choices

With new battery systems that utilize solar energy and store it in an accessible way, gardeners won't be burning fossil fuel anymore. This is a pretty significant step in terms of changing a project’s carbon footprint and even changing its cost. Although in their Genesis, solar systems were fairly expensive, with scalable alternatives, the actual cost of aggregating the energy is going to get lower. Hopefully, over time, that decreases cost for customers.

But another important aspect of this is that early adopters will have bragging rights. When you walk people through a garden, if you're able to show them how it’s sustainable, you get a big boost in terms of the impressions that you make. Just like with other kinds of businesses and projects, adopting cutting-edge technology turns heads -- and with this particular innovation, you get the added value of being able to say that something that's inherently natural is also able to sustain itself without drawing power from a centralized energy grid.

Along with new energy options, there's a lot more that gardeners can do to evolve greenhouse or indoor growing systems. For more, check out what manufacturers and retailers are offering for today's smart hydroponics projects.