Are battery-powered home appliances in our future?

livemint.com:

Imagine that your major home appliances run on batteries. Using regular cords that plug into standard 120-volt outlets, the appliances charge themselves when power is cheapest and store enough energy so that during a blackout, you can still cook, do laundry and keep your refrigerator going, while also recharging your smartphone and ensuring your Wi-Fi router never loses connectivity.

That future isn’t here yet but it’s moving closer to reality, say some researchers, who believe that heavy appliances equipped with battery storage have the potential to become a key part of our everyday energy ecosystem. These researchers say groups of appliances with storage-enabled batteries eventually could provide backup power to homes and help modulate demand on the electrical grid, allowing it to withstand ever-harsher weather events and prevent rolling blackouts.

Such appliances, they say, also could help stave off grid upgrades by enabling homeowners to reduce their energy use during periods of peak demand, instead drawing power when it is least costly and most clean, and ultimately supporting the use of electricity in place of gas and oil to heat, cool, clean, cook and connect. “This future is definitely in view for many of us," says Mario Bergés, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.