Photo voltaic storage was as soon as a dialog concerning the distant future, however Elon Musk’s Tesla Powerwall battery system modified it to a dialog concerning the now. There have been a number of variations of the Tesla Powerwall, together with its present providing, the “Powerwall+”.
The Powerwall is, surely, an excellent residence vitality storage resolution. It has some unbelievable options and comes at an affordable value. However is it one of the best photo voltaic residence battery to pair together with your photo voltaic panels? The reply may shock you.
Key takeaways concerning the Tesla Powerwall
- The Tesla Powerwall prices $11,000, together with set up, when bought from Tesla.
- Tesla Powerwalls usually are not obtainable for particular person sale by means of Tesla, nonetheless a standalone Powerwall will be bought from a Tesla-certified installer.
- The Tesla Powerwall has a storage capability of 13.5 kWh, a steady energy output of as much as 9.6 kW, and three working modes: Photo voltaic Self-Consumption, Backup Solely, and Time-Primarily based Management Mode.
- The Powerwall is a good battery, however there are others in the marketplace that may give you higher worth and customer support, just like the LG Chem Prime.
How a lot does the Tesla Powerwall price in 2022?
As of March 2022, the overall price of putting in one Tesla Powerwall+ battery system is $11,000.
Regardless of Tesla claiming that the Tesla Powerwall price would drop by half within the subsequent three years, we’ve seen the worth of the Powerwall enhance thrice, finally reaching its present value.
Not solely that, Tesla now not sells their Powerwalls individually, so the overall quantity you will need to pay will likely be for the worth of a Powerwall and the worth of a brand new photo voltaic panel system if you’d like your Powerwall instantly from Tesla. You’ll be able to nonetheless buy the Powerwall by itself from native corporations, however the draw back to that is that getting the Powerwall from somebody apart from Tesla means you aren’t assured to get that $11,000 value.
Tesla might also require you to improve your electrical panel prior to installing a Powerwall, which may add one other $2,500 to your set up (a price that Tesla doesn’t point out in any respect of their preliminary on-line value estimates).
Does the Tesla Powerwall qualify for any incentives or rebates?
Sure, the Tesla Powerwall does qualify for the battery storage incentives available in the U.S.
The biggest incentive is the federal solar tax credit, which will reduce the cost of a Powerwall installation by 26% – as long as it is paired with solar panels.
Aside from the federal tax credit, some states and utilities offer additional rebates and incentives. In some cases, these rebates, like California’s SGIP incentive and Green Mountain Power’s Bring Your Own Device Program in Vermont, can cowl virtually 90% of the overall price of putting in a Powerwall.
Key options of the Tesla Powerwall
The Tesla Powerwall has some nice specs, in addition to a number of the most spectacular sensible monitoring and administration within the photo voltaic battery recreation.
| Characteristic | Tesla Powerwall+ specification |
|---|---|
| Usable vitality capability | 13.5 kWh |
| Steady energy ranking | On grid: 7.6 kW full solar/5.8 kW no solar, Off-grid: 9.6 kW full solar/7 kW no solar |
| Peak energy ranking | Off-grid: 22 kW full solar/10 kW no solar |
| Spherical journey effectivity | 90% |
| Depth of discharge | 100% |
| Dimensions | 62.8 in x 29.7 in x 6.3 in |
| Weight | 343.9 lbs |
| Working modes | Photo voltaic Self-Consumption, Time-Primarily based Management, Backup Energy |
Lifespan and guarantee
The Powerwall’s lifespan is fairly commonplace for lithium ion batteries – it should function at 70% of its authentic capability after 10 years. The working mode you select will impression how lengthy your Powerwall battery will final.
The specifics of how your utilization impacts the battery life are outlined in Tesla’s warranty.
Capability
A battery’s capability tells you the way a lot electrical energy it may retailer. The upper the capability, the longer the battery can energy your private home. With the flexibility to carry 13.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electrical energy, the Powerwall can retailer sufficient vitality to cowl about half of the common American residence’s daily energy usage.
With one cost, a Powerwall can possible run the necessities in your house, like your fridge, WiFi, some retailers, and some lights for about 24 hours.
Steady energy ranking
The discharge of the Powerwall+ introduced one main change: the next energy ranking. The continual energy ranking of a battery tells you what and what number of home equipment it may run.
Powerwall batteries which can be related to the grid can now ship 7.6 kW of steady energy when the solar is shining, and 5.6 kW with no solar. This implies one Powerwall can run lights, electrical retailers, and 120-volt home equipment like your fridge. If you wish to run high-powered home equipment, equivalent to an air conditioner, you’ll want extra Powerwalls.
What’s distinctive concerning the Powerwall is that the battery is ready to launch extra energy when it’s working off-grid, ranging between 7 kW and 9.6 kW of output relying on climate circumstances. So, when the Powerwall just isn’t related to the grid, like throughout an influence outage, it has the flexibility to run a number of extra home equipment in your house.
Peak energy ranking
Other than the continual energy ranking, batteries even have a peak energy ranking, which is the utmost quantity of energy a battery can ship in a really brief time (normally about 10 seconds). Mainly, the height energy ranking measures the battery’s capacity to face up to temporary energy surges, like when home equipment are drawing extra electrical energy to energy on.
There is no such thing as a peak energy ranking for the Powerwall when it’s related to the grid, however when working off-grid the height energy ranges from 10 kW to a whopping 22 kW if the solar is shining.
These numbers are considerably greater than the trade common for peak energy ranking, which is normally round 7 kW of output. Nevertheless, you’ll solely be capable of unlock the total potential you probably have not less than a 12 kW photo voltaic system, in any other case you received’t have sufficient energy to succeed in that output.
Working modes
The Powerwall additionally has three commonplace working modes:
- Photo voltaic Self-Consumption
- Time-Primarily based Management
- Backup Energy
These modes permit you to select how and if you launch and retailer vitality in your battery. In Photo voltaic Self-Consumption Mode, you’ll be able to energy your private home with renewable vitality even when the solar isn’t shining by storing extra solar energy to be used later.
With Backup Energy mode, you’ll be able to choose to have your Powerwall merely function an emergency battery backup in case of a blackout.
Time-Primarily based Management mode turns out to be useful when your utility makes use of Time-of-Use (TOU) rates, which is when the utility charges different electric rates depending on the time of day. When your Powerwall operates in Time-Based Control mode, it will automatically charge the battery when electricity is cheapest, and will discharge when electricity prices are most expensive, allowing you to save money on your utility bill.
AC-coupled
The Tesla Powerwall is an AC-coupled battery, meaning the battery comes with its own integrated storage inverter (which is just an inverter that’s built into a battery). The main advantage of AC-coupled batteries is that they’re easy to connect to existing solar panel systems. Plus, if something goes wrong with your solar inverter, your battery will keep working, and vice versa.
However, AC-coupled battery systems are a little less efficient than DC-batteries, and having additional hardware means there are more parts that can fail.
You can read more about the differences between AC and DC-coupled batteries in our comparison guide.
How long does it take to get a Tesla Powerwall?
Tesla Powerwalls have a substantial wait time as a result of the demand for photo voltaic batteries is so excessive as extra owners need entry to dependable backup energy. Tesla’s manufacturing merely can’t sustain. In actual fact, it was not too long ago revealed that Tesla has 80,000 Powerwall orders which have but to be fulfilled.
You should purchase a Powerwall from Tesla instantly with the acquisition of a photo voltaic roof or photo voltaic panels or from a Tesla companion installer. Nevertheless, prospects who order their Powerwall techniques instantly from Tesla have shorter wait occasions – normally a number of months. Those that are getting a Powerwall by means of Tesla set up companions have waited virtually a yr to get their battery put in. It appears as if Tesla has prioritized filling their direct orders first, and are leaving their set up companions out to dry.
So, when you’re searching for a battery so as to add to your already present photo voltaic system and also you don’t need to wait a yr or extra to get a photo voltaic battery put in, you’ll must discover a Powerwall various.
Do you want photo voltaic panels with the intention to use a Powerwall?
Tesla Powerwalls can function with out photo voltaic panels and simply accumulate energy from the grid for use as backup energy throughout a grid outage. Nevertheless, Tesla now not sells Powerwalls individually, so with the intention to get a Powerwall instantly from Tesla you need to additionally order a Tesla solar panel or solar roof system.
If you want to buy a Powerwall without also paying for and installing a full solar power system, you won’t be able to get the battery directly from Tesla. Instead, you’d have to purchase a Powerwall for individual sale through a certified Tesla Powerwall installer.
But as we said earlier, using a Tesla partner tends to mean longer wait times, and it can be hard to find an installer who will install a battery on its own without solar, as it’s not as profitable for the installer. So it can be done, it could just be difficult to locate one – and you’d have to be prepared for a longer wait time.
Otherwise, to get a Powerwall straight from Tesla in a timely fashion, you need to order a solar system through the Tesla website.
Is the Tesla Powerwall value it?
In our opinion, the Powerwall is a good battery. It has superior options and spectacular technical specs for a good value.
However is the Powerwall value it? To be sincere, probably not. The battery that we put on the high of our listing is the LG Chem Prime because of its high power capacity, operating modes, and low price.
Unfortunately, Tesla’s decision to only sell Powerwalls with new solar panel installations makes it much harder for homeowners to get their hands on one, which is a huge letdown for a few reasons.
First, homeowners who already have solar panels and want to install a battery can no longer get a Powerwall right from Tesla, and instead have to search for a certified installer willing to sell a Powerwall to them. Plus, they then might have to deal with a substantial wait time.
Second, when it comes to solar installations, Tesla is notorious for having poor after-sales service. So now, if homeowners want a Tesla Powerwall, they run the risk of dealing with the subpar customer service that Tesla has been known for. And that’s not just when you’re getting the system installed, it’s a problem you’ll have to deal with over the lifetime of the solar panels – a whole 25 years!
Besides, with Tesla filling their own orders before honoring projects their installation partners have already signed contracts for, there’s no telling when you’ll get a Powerwall from someone other than Tesla. Tesla has already altered signed contracts in the past for their solar roof, and there’s no guarantee it won’t happen with their Powerwalls.
With all that being said, if you don’t already have solar, are willing to risk getting poor customer service over the 25 years that you have Tesla panels on your roof, or are okay with potentially months or year-long wait times to get a battery installed, then a Tesla Powerwall is right for you.
If that’s not going to cut it, you can always contact local solar installers and find out what solar batteries they recommend, or if they have Powerwalls in stock to install. The easiest way to find installers that can help you pair a solar installation with storage at the best price in your area is by using our solar calculator below.
