Designed For Everyday Use And Power Outages, Toyota Presents The O-Uchi Kyuden System

Tesla’s Powerwall battery energy storage system for homes has exceeded over 200,000 installations last year ever since it was introduced back in 2015.

Today, Toyota is taunting the EV giant with its very own smart system, an innovation the company calls, O-Uchi Kyuden System.

Likewise for residential usage, Toyota’s system incorporates technology from the automaker’s electrified vehicles, featuring an 8.7 kWh capacity and a 5.5 kWh output.

In a nutshell, the O-Uchi Kyuden System is designed as an emergency electricity source during power outages and for everyday use.

Besides that, it also supports off-peak electricity, home photovoltaic systems, and for charging EVs, hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles. 

The system can draw power from the municipal grid, home-installed solar panels, or unlike Tesla’s Powerwall, from EVs capable of bidirectional charging (V2H) in case of grid failure.

Furthermore, courtesy of an accompanying app, users can check its charge level, adjust its output, or switch between different power sources.

Pricing-wise, yet to be announced. However, Toyota has to beat Tesla’s pricing of USD 7,460 (JPY 990,000) (RM 32,776) when it arrives, in order to compete and offer a more affordable product.

That said, Toyota's O-Uchi Kyuden System will initially be available only in Japan, with sales to home builders and construction companies slated to begin in August.