![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Tesla’s Powerwall empowers homeowners
Courtesy of Tesla
A Tesla Powerwall mounted outside on a home. The Powerwall cuts the usage of electricity by nearly 25%.
Tesla officially announced its new product, the Powerwall, at Tesla’s design studio in Hawthorne, CA this Thursday. Tesla Energy, Tesla’s new product line specializing in energy as opposed to electric cars, was initiated the same day with the release of the Powerwall.
The Powerwall is a home-mounted battery, installed independent of the power grid and charged by solar panels. Most domestic solar panels power household appliances only while in use, selling unused electricity to the power company and effectively losing that energy for the consumer. The Powerwall aims to change that by storing excess electricity in a lithium ion battery, which uses technology from Tesla’s cars.
A Tesla Powerwall is portrayed mounted inside a household garage. The Powerwall facilitates energy storage and increases energy efficiency in a household.
The conservation of electricity also manipulates the fact that peak solar panel performance and peak domestic energy consumption are not synchronous, with the former at midday and the latter at evening. By opting to use the Powerwall rather than the grid, users can reduce the strain on power plants and save money by avoiding the augmented energy prices.
“Because now that people are able to store that [unused] energy and then reuse it afterwards, it will probably increase the number of users for solar panels,” Rishi Narain (11) said.
With the introduction of the Powerwall, Tesla is looking to move towards a cleaner and renewable energy source. Rather than solely producing electric cars, Tesla calls themselves “an energy innovation company” as they take steps to a zero emission power generation. This also implies eliminating the consumption of fossil fuels.
The available models are the 10kWh, optimized for power grid failure, and 7kWh, optimized for the use of daily applications. Being relatively small for its power storage, more than one Powerwall can be installed simultaneously to further savings on power generation.
Customers can reserve the Powerwall at Tesla’s website, starting at $3,000 for the 7kWh model and $3,500 for the 10kWh.
Vijay Bharadwaj (11) is one of the opinion editors for The Winged Post and Aquila. She served as the assistant opinion editor and the Wingspan copy editor...
Derek Yen is a senior and the Opinion Editor of Winged Post. Derek served as the STEM Editor of Aquila and Winged Post during his junior year and as a...