One feature you didn't mention is taking advantage of cheap "time-of-day" grid tariffs. I get 4 hours overnight when the cost per kWh from the grid is about 20% of my daytime cost. In winter, when my solar does not generate much power, my PowerWall charges itself fully from the grid in the cheap period, so I can power the house from that during the day, at least for the first 10kWh or so, or until solar production starts up. This has saved me a significant amount of money over winter.
So spending $12k per year "saves" you $1k. Well, if you took that $12k to a casino you could "win" $10k or an extra $9k to you every year. You're welcome.
@@melainewhite6409 Hmmm... not sure I understand your math here. I paid a one time cost to install my solar and PowerWall which equates to your $12k. By using solar power as it's generated or from the battery which has captured my excess generated solar, I'm currently saving about $3k per year using my solar power rather than buying power from the grid. In winter, when there is not much solar production where I live, I can still fill up my Powerwall with 13.5kWh of energy overnight at a total cost of about $1, which I can then use during the day, saving me from buying that 13.5kWh from the grid at their expensive day rate which would cost me about $5, saving me $4 every day. You stick with your casino model, I'll carry on with my solar and PowerWall 😉
@@boxertrix2540 It's not math, it's physics. That you're drinking that a battery advertised at 13.5kWh actually stores 13.5kWh shows ignorance. Not only will it not provide 13.5kWh, every day it will provide less and less. That's the physics of batteries, all batteries all the time. The issue is not you wasting your money, it's how such ignorance is being used to force all of us to waste our money.
@@boxertrix2540 California has already outlawed cars that work. That would be force. Oh, no stoves that work or heaters that work. But sure, coercion then. Manipulate electricity pricing as in your example making it untenable to not load up with fossil lithium mined by children.
Recent experienced two back to back category 4 tropical cyclones in Vanuatu which knocked out the grid across the island for weeks. The house I was staying in, however, was one of the only ones to be off grid and we had our lights and appliances running while winds were gusting to 230 km/h. Convinced me how great it is to have solar+batteries.
Hi, I believe that you should have your own solar when you can, both home and business. My previous employer was going this route, had massive solar on warehouse and looking to buy a wind turbine for R&D coverage, having solar as well. The driver for them was cost. It was far cheaper to generate their own power. This is so important and will change the grid forever. Power companies are to expensive and they will kill off companies with high costs. Take care M
Comment: Wow, this Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series sounds like a game-changer for outdoor enthusiasts like me! The massive capacity, fast recharging, and versatile sockets are definitely impressive. And the fact that it's waterproof and has comprehensive protections is a huge plus. Thanks for sharing this recommendation, I'll definitely check it out for my next camping trip!
Superb explanation with no hype. Very curious what you options you looked at before making your buying decision. Also, do the numbers you provided include installation and integration? Thanks.
Storm watch is great. I believe in Storm Watch mode. Tesla prioritizes getting the PowerWall charged up. So it will also allow charging from the grid if the solar isn’t available. Normally with net meeting with solar and PowerWall, ability to charge from grid is disabled. Also, with the upcoming tesla app update, you can elect to send excess generated solar to your car instead of to the grid. The software will throttle the charge rates automatically.
Thank you I live in Darwin and normally have at least 4 black outs each wet season. (basically summer plus 6 weeks each side) So very interested in getting a powerwall of some sort. A lot of my friends have gone down the generator route but although the powerwall will be more expensive seems a better choice. I think this due to the seamless transition you describe and the silence as well. The hands off you described also a plus over a generator. Also a 2KVA generator as most of my friends with generators chose can not run Aircons which I like to run in the wet season.
Thank you. It would have been helpful to know the square footage of your house relative to the adequacy of coverage by the 17 KW. Powerwall Plus. For those of us with little knowledge of solar cells, it would have been helpful to know how many solar panels you needed and cost of entire project, if known. Other than that, thank you for the comprehensive coverage of a complicated project.
I came here to essentially say the same thing, not only that but PW+ with inverter are less in storage rate but more efficient in power feed than the PW2.
Nice vid. I have 2PW+, 1 PW2 and 16kw solar panel array. We’ve had very positive experience with Tesla support (not a lot of need) and are pleased with the system as a whole. Can recommend Tesla as we feel well supported and look forward to a good production year here in AZ.
With some utilities you can sell back direct from battery storage when the grid is in need and quite profitable from cases I've seen, but limited to just a few US states. More typically is solar net-metering which just looks at total monthly use vs. solar production. So for example if I made 1,500kWh this month with solar but only used 1,250kWh I would be credited (banked) 250kWh at the end of the month. Here in NJ I'm usually in excess and bank kWh about 4-5 months of the year which actually allows me to burn off my excess utility bank for an extra 4-5 month of the year. Most months my bill is only $3.25 and in the underperforming months I've paid at most about $40 in the winter. Averaging only $125 paid in electricity PER YEAR since late 2019 when we went solar vs. $2000+ prior.
I'm prepping for solar and Power Walls and one item I have already done is to get a Soft Start device installed on my Lennox AC compressor. Cut my RLA (Rated Load Amps) by about 50%. My system now is hardly audible when it kicks on. Chopped my RLA from 83 to 47
something worth thinking about, if you work from home ie SoHo, would an EV car with a bigger battery optioned at the purchase point then feeding into your home be a better investment than a second Tesla battery? Right now my car spends over 95% of its life sitting in my garage.
We are remodeling our home. I have Solar City, now Tesla solar panels with net metering from the local powergrid firm PSE&G LI. Am I better off buying the Powerwalls directly from Tesla or from a local installer? I'm leaning towards a local installer for better customer care. Am I right?
Yes, I thought that was odd too. That means of your 27kWh of storage, you are only using just over 4kWh of your daily excess solar production to run your house at night, while sitting on almost 23kWh of backup power in the event of an outage. Unless you have a hugely unreliable grid connection, I'd be knocking that back to the 20% recommended by Tesla so you run your house overnight on the 21.6 kWh of storage capacity which that frees up for you.
Just starting my investigations into solar power. I live in the gulf coast of Mississippi, which sadly is not solar user-friendly. Did you DIY your solar system or did you pay a professional? Which of the two would you recommend? I am highly motivated and in interested in DIY but I am getting some pushback as I feel Tesla does not want to extend into this market. Do you have any literature that you recommend that might help me on my journey.
How much do you pay for your grid connection? Maybe you should go off grid and use the money you save to buy another battery or more panels or a generator.
NMC batteries are more expensive and higher performance than LFP ...the hype that LFP suffers less degradation is a double edged sword ... Since they run much lower voltage they have less headroom to degrade ... Also contrary to the marketing hype full charges do degrade LFP batteries
@@Saxafrugethe good thing about LFP is that they don’t burn or at least do not burn as often compared to NMC. LFP is much less sensitive to mishaps during charging or power surges. There is a reason why aviation uses LFP technology while shunning NMC. When I chose a home battery I deliberately picked a LFP based system. So much safer to have LFP at your home.
The best battery for home use and grid storage is (or soon will be) a battery that doesn't use Li. And all they need is market share to be less expensive than Li batteries. They are made from cheap elements that are readily available from multiple sources. They can be cycled between 0 and 100% charge with no damage, last far longer than Li batteries, are safer from a fire point of view and would be far easier to recycle if you ever needed to recycle them. There are two types of ZnBr batteries (Flow/plating and gel), a molten metal battery based, so far on Sb and Ca, a range of redox batteries using V and Fe and the up and coming Na battery. Note that each cubic meter of sea water contains about 15km of Na. Na batteries, unlike Li batteries, can be fully discharged before shipping, reducing their fire risk to zero.
With some installations they will isolate the EV charger, but they said my installation will be whole house with everything included. But if our power goes out I will probably turn off EV charging at the car unless I really need it for a trip
Thx for sharing. Tesla’s power wall + could last up to 20 years plus, if not used constantly. The federal & state tax rebate really helps. Some states also give you a $1,500 rebate if you purchase certain EV charges that the state can monitor.
Hi all, bidirectional EV charger from e phase would be the way to go. You have to power the EV, so why not use its battery when you have it. Very rare it is run low and can’t charge on cheep rate power at night as well as being a store for excess solar when you are home. Take care all, note this it’s important, M.
It might be possible to disconnect from the grid, but not unless you over provision with solar and batteries. Otherwise you might expect a few cloudy days to risk running out of power. Different electric companies have different policies. Here in Tempe I am grandfathered into a one-for-one net metering where my meter basically turns backwards when I send power back to the grid. However, SRP (our utility) changed the policy in 2015 or 2016 so that they only pay you back at wholesale prices which are about 2 - 3 cents per kWh. This doesn't affect me until 2031 when my "grandfather" status expires.
How will it degrade over time, if you energy flows in and out of the battery every day? Will it lose a lot of capacity after a few years of usage? That would be my biggest concern about such an expensive battery. Solar energy should be more or less free once you installed the system. The panels will last for decades and new ones get cheaper and cheaper, but having to replace those batteries every 10 to 15 years is a major expense. Do they make sense in areas with hardly any power outages at all?
All batteries wear and the more they are used the more they wear. 10-15 years is fiction. Try 3-5 years. And I understand the app says the batteries are good for 10-15 years but as with EV range, this is an easily debunked lie. Now another thing is when powering a house, there is the issue of surge current. A worn battery may still power a lightbulb, but when the AC is trying to kick on there is not enough there. Since you want AC you're going to be buying a new battery pack fairly regularly even if the old one has 50% life left. And of course you can't go below 20% (and even that permanently harms the battery) so 50% life left is actually 30%.
@@melainewhite6409 Well... my Powerwall is guaranteed by Tesla to still maintain at least 80% of its charge after 10 years, and they will replace it if it falls below that. I don't know where you are getting you "facts" about battery degradation from. With EV's I'd say you were correct about the first Nissan Leaf's which had no battery management systems, so battery capacity degradation was hard and bad. Pretty much everything since the Leaf has a battery management system which monitors the state of the battery, charging and discharging the individual cells in an optimum way to maximise battery life. In my experience of owning a modern EV and a PowerWall, I can say I have no worries about the long term (10+ years) viability of my batteries. Each PowerWall can discharge at upto 5kW sustained and 7kW peak, which should be more than enough to power one or two light bulbs. The PowerWall is also rated for use from 100% charge right down to 0%, and mine regularly makes that trip daily with no noticeable degradation. What are you basing your assumptions on, other than unreliable 3rd hand stories from the internet?
@@boxertrix2540 P.T. Barnum would love you. That guarantee would be 80% of its _expected_ charge. What, you thought sellers interpret things in the buyers and not their own best interest. So after 1,000 charge cycles--what they're saying is "10 years" for example--the battery is expected to have 50% of its new charge. So you get your fooled you payout if your battery is less than 40% of new (80% of 50%). Your "guarantee" would be if less than 40% capacity after 3 years for example, but you let us know in 10 years (after we've all perished for sure from climate change, lol). Oh, and your replacement if you are at 30% say, is a pack with at least a whopping 40% capacity. How do I know this? This is how EVs (and other battery devices) are treated. When a Telsa EV proclaims your battery is at 100%, it is actually proclaiming it is at 100% of the expected capacity based on use and not on new capacity. A big scam that they get away with, no doubt because people like you will say I'm wrong and blindly defend them.
When your Powerwalls are fully charged, and your solar panels are still producing power in excess of your consumption, does the excess automatically go back into the grid?? How does that work?
Solar panels are connected to the batteries 🔋 If you want it that way then power supply can be taking from the batteries but either ways its best when you connect your panels to the batteries this way you save more energy
Very insightful! What’s the kW Peak amount your solar system can produce? I wish Tesla Powerwall would be more readily available in Germany. I inquired with Tesla/an installer listed on their website but never heard back from them.
I just want the batteries for black out times. So just a few panels to gather power and store in battery until needed. Will this ever be available. Kind of like a solar generator
Can you please confirm whether during blackout, the battery will then supply the electricity to our home and in case it uses all stored energy it can then continue to supply electricity using solar panels, while still being in the blackout? Is that in relation to all Tesla batteries, or only Powerwall plus?
Thanks for your nice presentation. Do you have an idea what is the difference between Powerwall+ and Powerwall 2? Have one Powerwall 2 since 2021. No issues till now.
i have solar since 2012 from solar city(now tesla) with 7.11 kWh system. they're leasing my roof so i just pay them their monthly bill + the pse&g distribution charges of typically $4.95 but much more if i use more the grid if my solar does not produce on some days. will it be advantageous for me to purchase 2 powerwall plus or do u think it will complicate matters since tesla owns the solar system ?
I saw a video of a guy saying a third party installer was a big pain. Unfortunately Tesla has a waitlist for these types of installations. I’m gonna go solar when I purchase my next house and was thinking about a Tesla’s battery too. Id probably go with Tesla installing them if you don’t mind waiting
I'm surprised you use so much per day, do you include car charging? We don't have solar and have a 5 bedroom house in the UK and use 8-11kWh per day excluding car charging
I wonder how the Powerwall(s) compares to purchasing a BEV with 30-200 kWh with the feature that you can also use it to power your house during an outage? I have limited space to install a Powerwall; but, plenty of space for a second electric vehicle park next to the gas vehicle in the garage. Plus, I can take the BEV with me if I move or get another BEV a few years down the road. I don't think I would reach the breakeven point in under 10-12 years adding solar+Powerwall.
A BEV will be the best overall, but at least in the US there are only one or two viable options to connect your car to the house easily. More options will be coming though.
Using the huge battery in my Tesla Model 3 would be nice if it was available, but one drawback is that if there was a power outage while I was away from home it could not be used. Ideally a single permanent Powerwall to cover us while the car was gone, but then using the car's battery as a huge buffer when I came back home.
so far, as far as I am aware, only the Nissan Leaf is warranted by the manufacturer as being ready for vehicle-to-home (V2H) to vehicle-to-grid (V2G), although many new cars support vehicle-to-load (V2L). The car is only half of the solution however. You still need some king of wall box in your home, much like an EV charge point, but one which can also discharge power from the car when the house demands it. Those boxes are currently very thin on the ground and hard to find, but they would allow you to implement V2H and/or V2G. With V2L, you get an adapter to plug into your car's charging port into which you can plug a domestic power plug, so you could run your refrigerator or TV from the car's battery rather than from your house supply. These V2L adapters are usually limited to around a 2kW power draw, so probably not enough to run a whole house once you start cooking dinner. I think V2G will become a reality in the next 5 to 10 years, since it will allow the grid to smooth the power demand curve by storing power in BEV's when demand and cost is low, and buying it back at times of peak grid demand for a higher price. We already have experiments running in the UK with utilities charging domestic batteries at cheap rates then buying the electricity back at a higher price when grid demand is high.
Be aware, Tesla Energy is an absolute shitshow to deal with. I've been chasing a connectivity issue for over 18 months. Every service call leads to a 21-60 day wait before they will even attempt remote diagnosis. People are nice enough, but there is an obvious lack of staff. Operation of the system without connection to the Tesla server is not ideal and system operation cannot be verified; no Storm Watch e.g. Are the other options any better? I don't know.
I currently have a 12.5KW Tesla solar panel on the roof but don't have any powerwalls. However, however my usage is average around 500KWh/day or about 21KW, so im under powered, drawing from the grid 24/7. How will the Powerwall charge in this case where I have no surplus solar?
Well when you get the batteries you connect them to the panels and allow the panels charge the batteries while you then take light from the battery to the house this way even at blackout you still have excess energy store in your batteries to be used or you can connect panel to both home and batteries this way you still have more energy stored in your system
Has anyone done an efficiency/loss test on the PowerWall? For instance, if you pull 1KW for 1hr from the grid to charge the battery. Then turn around pulling 1KW from the battery and see how long it will supply the 1KW. I suspect the "loss" is about 25% but whatever the loss factor is it should be taken into account when calculating the cost of ownership.
The. 'batteries' do not provide the alternating current to run your house. The power walls contain batteries and inverters to change DC to AC. That is what powers your house
We arrange for installation but you have to pay them but if you wish to use a third party its fine but for better installation it's best advice to use the Tesla team installation service representative.
@@tesla_customerI ordered 2 about 3 months ago after watching this video but the only response is they'll let me know when they become available in my area. Guess owning 2 Teslas with Solar City on the roof and living near the NV gigafactory has no help in the pecking order.
I understand that some states offer a tax credit for installing solar and batteries, but if you take the credit for the batteries, they cannot be charged from the grid, only from solar. I'm sure each state is different. On my Tesla app if I click "Grid Charging" I get a warning that "Grid charging may have tax implications or may be restricted by your utility."
better yet, if you have a cheap time of day tariff, you can charge the PowerWall in your cheap period and use that power in your house when grid electricity is more expensive, saving you money.
Am from South Africa...on average we have a minimum of 2 hrs. and up to 6 hrs. "loadshedding" (blackouts) every day. And solar installation costs here are way above the average middle income.... Tesla is even higher, so we have to gamble with Chinese imports. (If you can get it) So enjoy the convenience of only having "one blackout last year"😀
I live part of the year in Vanuatu and we recently got hit by twin tropical cyclones knocking power out for several weeks. Our solar off grid system has been incredibly useful during this time.
@@budawang77 Am sure, I can only dream to get finance here to have that type of system. However, there are plenty businesses installing it, this drives the cost and availability issues.
@@mariusverwey2125 You have to take into account how much you are paying per KWH in South Africa. In Vanuatu mains electricity is extremely expensive (about 80 cents US) so it's a no-brainer if you can afford the upfront cost. In Australia, however, electricity is reliable and much cheaper so the business case is less obvious.
Yeah, the answer is...never. Think about it, Wal-Mart is the most successful retailer in history and they are renowned for their penny-pinching. So why isn't the roof of every Wal-Mart covered with solar and the storage room full of batteries?
@@melainewhite6409 You have obviously given this a great deal of thought... It depends on your circumstances. If you live in an area with very cheap reliable grid electricity, then it's going to be a long payback time. When I installed my system about 3 years ago, my calculated payback period was about 15 years. Given the current energy crisis (in Europe, at least) and the soaring cost of electricity for me, my payback period has now shrunk down to nearer 5 years. It also gives me protection from power outages in my rural community and kept my EV fuelled up during our recent petrol and diesel shortages in the UK. Not everything is about return on investment when renovating a house. What's the return on investment on those fancy wooden floors and nice kitchen/bathroom you might have installed?
@@melainewhite6409 Pretty much in Europe many, If not all, new buildings are covered in solar panels, but I do get it that the US is a long way behind the rest of the world when it comes to exploiting green energy. One day you might, (perhaps) catch up.
@@knightsnight5929 But why--is there supposedly more solar use in Europe than in the US if solar is so great? How great is anything that you have to be forced to use? And does Europe have black outs when the sun sets like in California because the leftist brain trust hasn't been able to figure out solar does not work at night?
I should get a powerwall that's 13.8 KW or 19.6 or 28.8 kilowatts I can line up six of those each oh there's also a 9.8 powerwall battery I just Tesla's biggest for house is small. I know they make those great big ones for cities what is it 200 ft long by 12 ft tall 8 ft wide battery.
Thanks all the great info...I have Tesla Panels and am interested in Batteries. It sounds like I might need three Power Walls to keep up with usage when there is not much Sun to help out !
I was surprised to hear him say that 3 Powerwalls is "Standard" and 2 is "Light". My impression is that 2 is standard, 1 is light and 3 would be useful for some, overkill for others. I guess it really depends on your usage and how much sun you get in your location.
Power walls are great, but the Tesla app crashed September 2022, as of this week, almost the end of March 2023, have no monitor or control of my expensive Tesla solar system. No support from Tesla.
The reality is for battery backup is that it’s expensive. For our house it would cost $20,000 for batteries and 8 foot of storage space which is limited for us. In 10 years the batteries would most likely need to be replaced. I bet teslas for of battery back is more expensive too. At that cost it’s just not practical
Actually Tesla batteries are about the best bang for the buck battery out there. They also tend to be the most reliable. The cost is still definitely real though. The way he has the batteries set up though isn’t necessary. They can be stacked like a sandwich instead of side by side. That would help with space.
I absolutely love Tesla but unless you have money coming out of your ears I could just install these or for the same price get over 3 years of electrical service every single day! Just like really, the price needs to come down!
Tesla's powerwall I'm only going to buy the powerwall I'm not going to buy the food system with a little tiny tiny freaking solar panels and I think the solar wall solar power wall has to be bigger or laying down on the side on the shelf atop one another and then put 20 of them on top and make them parallel.
From what I can tell Tesla still use cobalt and thats not a good material for many reasons. Decent battery companies are going Lithium Ferro Phosphate and you can get a deeper cycle out of them. So Tesla are not the best battery.... and they are falling behind better companies. Im not a big fan of their cars either ..poor build quality and underwhelming styling!
One feature you didn't mention is taking advantage of cheap "time-of-day" grid tariffs. I get 4 hours overnight when the cost per kWh from the grid is about 20% of my daytime cost. In winter, when my solar does not generate much power, my PowerWall charges itself fully from the grid in the cheap period, so I can power the house from that during the day, at least for the first 10kWh or so, or until solar production starts up. This has saved me a significant amount of money over winter.
So spending $12k per year "saves" you $1k. Well, if you took that $12k to a casino you could "win" $10k or an extra $9k to you every year. You're welcome.
@@melainewhite6409 Hmmm... not sure I understand your math here. I paid a one time cost to install my solar and PowerWall which equates to your $12k. By using solar power as it's generated or from the battery which has captured my excess generated solar, I'm currently saving about $3k per year using my solar power rather than buying power from the grid. In winter, when there is not much solar production where I live, I can still fill up my Powerwall with 13.5kWh of energy overnight at a total cost of about $1, which I can then use during the day, saving me from buying that 13.5kWh from the grid at their expensive day rate which would cost me about $5, saving me $4 every day. You stick with your casino model, I'll carry on with my solar and PowerWall 😉
@@boxertrix2540 It's not math, it's physics. That you're drinking that a battery advertised at 13.5kWh actually stores 13.5kWh shows ignorance. Not only will it not provide 13.5kWh, every day it will provide less and less. That's the physics of batteries, all batteries all the time.
The issue is not you wasting your money, it's how such ignorance is being used to force all of us to waste our money.
@@melainewhite6409 Sorry, who is forcing you to buy a PowerWall?
@@boxertrix2540 California has already outlawed cars that work. That would be force. Oh, no stoves that work or heaters that work.
But sure, coercion then. Manipulate electricity pricing as in your example making it untenable to not load up with fossil lithium mined by children.
Recent experienced two back to back category 4 tropical cyclones in Vanuatu which knocked out the grid across the island for weeks. The house I was staying in, however, was one of the only ones to be off grid and we had our lights and appliances running while winds were gusting to 230 km/h. Convinced me how great it is to have solar+batteries.
Hi, I believe that you should have your own solar when you can, both home and business. My previous employer was going this route, had massive solar on warehouse and looking to buy a wind turbine for R&D coverage, having solar as well.
The driver for them was cost. It was far cheaper to generate their own power.
This is so important and will change the grid forever.
Power companies are to expensive and they will kill off companies with high costs.
Take care M
Comment: Wow, this Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series sounds like a game-changer for outdoor enthusiasts like me! The massive capacity, fast recharging, and versatile sockets are definitely impressive. And the fact that it's waterproof and has comprehensive protections is a huge plus. Thanks for sharing this recommendation, I'll definitely check it out for my next camping trip!
Superb explanation with no hype. Very curious what you options you looked at before making your buying decision. Also, do the numbers you provided include installation and integration? Thanks.
Storm watch is great. I believe in Storm Watch mode. Tesla prioritizes getting the PowerWall charged up. So it will also allow charging from the grid if the solar isn’t available.
Normally with net meeting with solar and PowerWall, ability to charge from grid is disabled.
Also, with the upcoming tesla app update, you can elect to send excess generated solar to your car instead of to the grid. The software will throttle the charge rates automatically.
Thank you I live in Darwin and normally have at least 4 black outs each wet season. (basically summer plus 6 weeks each side) So very interested in getting a powerwall of some sort. A lot of my friends have gone down the generator route but although the powerwall will be more expensive seems a better choice. I think this due to the seamless transition you describe and the silence as well. The hands off you described also a plus over a generator. Also a 2KVA generator as most of my friends with generators chose can not run Aircons which I like to run in the wet season.
Thank you. It would have been helpful to know the square footage of your house relative to the adequacy of coverage by the 17 KW. Powerwall Plus. For those of us with little knowledge of solar cells, it would have been helpful to know how many solar panels you needed and cost of entire project, if known. Other than that, thank you for the comprehensive coverage of a complicated project.
Quick note: these aren’t Powerwall+ , these are Powerwall 2.
The Powerwall+ is just a Powerwall 2 with an integrated inverter on top.
I was going to say the same thing
I came here to essentially say the same thing, not only that but PW+ with inverter are less in storage rate but more efficient in power feed than the PW2.
Nice vid. I have 2PW+, 1 PW2 and 16kw solar panel array. We’ve had very positive experience with Tesla support (not a lot of need) and are pleased with the system as a whole. Can recommend Tesla as we feel well supported and look forward to a good production year here in AZ.
Do you sell your power back to the ele companies and how much do you make a month?
With some utilities you can sell back direct from battery storage when the grid is in need and quite profitable from cases I've seen, but limited to just a few US states.
More typically is solar net-metering which just looks at total monthly use vs. solar production.
So for example if I made 1,500kWh this month with solar but only used 1,250kWh I would be credited (banked) 250kWh at the end of the month. Here in NJ I'm usually in excess and bank kWh about 4-5 months of the year which actually allows me to burn off my excess utility bank for an extra 4-5 month of the year.
Most months my bill is only $3.25 and in the underperforming months I've paid at most about $40 in the winter. Averaging only $125 paid in electricity PER YEAR since late 2019 when we went solar vs. $2000+ prior.
I'm prepping for solar and Power Walls and one item I have already done is to get a Soft Start device installed on my Lennox AC compressor. Cut my RLA (Rated Load Amps) by about 50%. My system now is hardly audible when it kicks on. Chopped my RLA from 83 to 47
something worth thinking about, if you work from home ie SoHo, would an EV car with a bigger battery optioned at the purchase point then feeding into your home be a better investment than a second Tesla battery? Right now my car spends over 95% of its life sitting in my garage.
Really good, straight forward explanation!
Why did you choose the Powerwall + rather than the Powerwall 2?
Which one is the most recent?
@@gwillacey The Powerwall + is newer, but I don't think it's necessarily better. It just includes the inverter, as I understand it
Love it, please send link to where to buy it..
We are remodeling our home. I have Solar City, now Tesla solar panels with net metering from the local powergrid firm PSE&G LI. Am I better off buying the Powerwalls directly from Tesla or from a local installer? I'm leaning towards a local installer for better customer care. Am I right?
Your slider for net metering is off if in California. Net metering 2 + Time of use plan=slider to the left at 20% to maximize profits at peak times.
Yes, I thought that was odd too. That means of your 27kWh of storage, you are only using just over 4kWh of your daily excess solar production to run your house at night, while sitting on almost 23kWh of backup power in the event of an outage. Unless you have a hugely unreliable grid connection, I'd be knocking that back to the 20% recommended by Tesla so you run your house overnight on the 21.6 kWh of storage capacity which that frees up for you.
yep it should be the other way around, 20% backup 80% available for usage during non-solar sufficient times.
I can get these without solar panels, correct? I already have a renewable plan through Green Mountain so I’m considering just powerwalls. Thanks.
Just starting my investigations into solar power. I live in the gulf coast of Mississippi, which sadly is not solar user-friendly. Did you DIY your solar system or did you pay a professional? Which of the two would you recommend? I am highly motivated and in interested in DIY but I am getting some pushback as I feel Tesla does not want to extend into this market. Do you have any literature that you recommend that might help me on my journey.
How much do you pay for your grid connection? Maybe you should go off grid and use the money you save to buy another battery or more panels or a generator.
So what's the cost of the solar panels icl installation
Incredibly in depth and helpful review!
They just updated new powerwall. I already have solar. But I didn't hear the installation cost. Was your total price including installation?
I'm new to solar and want to buy it from south africa 🇿🇦 it's a Struggle to get the Tesla powerwall plus any help ? Thank you
Are Powerwalls now using LFP battery cells? That would make them much more valuable than the ones using NMC.
NMC batteries are more expensive and higher performance than LFP ...the hype that LFP suffers less degradation is a double edged sword ... Since they run much lower voltage they have less headroom to degrade ... Also contrary to the marketing hype full charges do degrade LFP batteries
@@Saxafruge True, but the LFP battery chemistry allows for many many more cycles than the NMC.
@@douglasboren102 Yep thats what the manufacturers claim, and i haven't seen any evidence to the contrary, yet :)
@@Saxafrugethe good thing about LFP is that they don’t burn or at least do not burn as often compared to NMC. LFP is much less sensitive to mishaps during charging or power surges. There is a reason why aviation uses LFP technology while shunning NMC. When I chose a home battery I deliberately picked a LFP based system.
So much safer to have LFP at your home.
The best battery for home use and grid storage is (or soon will be) a battery that doesn't use Li. And all they need is market share to be less expensive than Li batteries. They are made from cheap elements that are readily available from multiple sources. They can be cycled between 0 and 100% charge with no damage, last far longer than Li batteries, are safer from a fire point of view and would be far easier to recycle if you ever needed to recycle them. There are two types of ZnBr batteries (Flow/plating and gel), a molten metal battery based, so far on Sb and Ca, a range of redox batteries using V and Fe and the up and coming Na battery. Note that each cubic meter of sea water contains about 15km of Na. Na batteries, unlike Li batteries, can be fully discharged before shipping, reducing their fire risk to zero.
Do you need to get another power wall for an EV or can you allocate power differently from your house to the EV?
You can use the same Powerwall for your home and EV, but will need an EV charger.
With some installations they will isolate the EV charger, but they said my installation will be whole house with everything included. But if our power goes out I will probably turn off EV charging at the car unless I really need it for a trip
Thx for sharing. Tesla’s power wall + could last up to 20 years plus, if not used constantly. The federal & state tax rebate really helps. Some states also give you a $1,500 rebate if you purchase certain EV charges that the state can monitor.
Hi all, bidirectional EV charger from e phase would be the way to go.
You have to power the EV, so why not use its battery when you have it.
Very rare it is run low and can’t charge on cheep rate power at night as well as being a store for excess solar when you are home.
Take care all, note this it’s important, M.
Do you have to be connected to the grid? Does your electric company pay you for the excess energy that gets sent to them?
It might be possible to disconnect from the grid, but not unless you over provision with solar and batteries. Otherwise you might expect a few cloudy days to risk running out of power.
Different electric companies have different policies. Here in Tempe I am grandfathered into a one-for-one net metering where my meter basically turns backwards when I send power back to the grid. However, SRP (our utility) changed the policy in 2015 or 2016 so that they only pay you back at wholesale prices which are about 2 - 3 cents per kWh. This doesn't affect me until 2031 when my "grandfather" status expires.
@@daryllafferty yikes. 1 to 1 down to 2 cents per kWh. That’s ridiculous.
Same here in Western Australia, it is criminal...
How will it degrade over time, if you energy flows in and out of the battery every day? Will it lose a lot of capacity after a few years of usage? That would be my biggest concern about such an expensive battery. Solar energy should be more or less free once you installed the system. The panels will last for decades and new ones get cheaper and cheaper, but having to replace those batteries every 10 to 15 years is a major expense. Do they make sense in areas with hardly any power outages at all?
All batteries wear and the more they are used the more they wear. 10-15 years is fiction. Try 3-5 years. And I understand the app says the batteries are good for 10-15 years but as with EV range, this is an easily debunked lie. Now another thing is when powering a house, there is the issue of surge current. A worn battery may still power a lightbulb, but when the AC is trying to kick on there is not enough there. Since you want AC you're going to be buying a new battery pack fairly regularly even if the old one has 50% life left. And of course you can't go below 20% (and even that permanently harms the battery) so 50% life left is actually 30%.
@@melainewhite6409 Well... my Powerwall is guaranteed by Tesla to still maintain at least 80% of its charge after 10 years, and they will replace it if it falls below that. I don't know where you are getting you "facts" about battery degradation from. With EV's I'd say you were correct about the first Nissan Leaf's which had no battery management systems, so battery capacity degradation was hard and bad. Pretty much everything since the Leaf has a battery management system which monitors the state of the battery, charging and discharging the individual cells in an optimum way to maximise battery life. In my experience of owning a modern EV and a PowerWall, I can say I have no worries about the long term (10+ years) viability of my batteries. Each PowerWall can discharge at upto 5kW sustained and 7kW peak, which should be more than enough to power one or two light bulbs. The PowerWall is also rated for use from 100% charge right down to 0%, and mine regularly makes that trip daily with no noticeable degradation. What are you basing your assumptions on, other than unreliable 3rd hand stories from the internet?
@@boxertrix2540 P.T. Barnum would love you. That guarantee would be 80% of its _expected_ charge. What, you thought sellers interpret things in the buyers and not their own best interest. So after 1,000 charge cycles--what they're saying is "10 years" for example--the battery is expected to have 50% of its new charge. So you get your fooled you payout if your battery is less than 40% of new (80% of 50%). Your "guarantee" would be if less than 40% capacity after 3 years for example, but you let us know in 10 years (after we've all perished for sure from climate change, lol).
Oh, and your replacement if you are at 30% say, is a pack with at least a whopping 40% capacity.
How do I know this? This is how EVs (and other battery devices) are treated. When a Telsa EV proclaims your battery is at 100%, it is actually proclaiming it is at 100% of the expected capacity based on use and not on new capacity. A big scam that they get away with, no doubt because people like you will say I'm wrong and blindly defend them.
When your Powerwalls are fully charged, and your solar panels are still producing power in excess of your consumption, does the excess automatically go back into the grid?? How does that work?
Are solar panels connected directly to the power wall or do they get inverted and put on your house wiring before going to the power wall?
Solar panels are connected to the batteries 🔋 If you want it that way then power supply can be taking from the batteries but either ways its best when you connect your panels to the batteries this way you save more energy
Is the gateway a separate cost? What's the maximum a/c coupled PV in kW you can have with 2 Powerwall +?
Very insightful! What’s the kW Peak amount your solar system can produce? I wish Tesla Powerwall would be more readily available in Germany. I inquired with Tesla/an installer listed on their website but never heard back from them.
I just want the batteries for black out times. So just a few panels to gather power and store in battery until needed. Will this ever be available. Kind of like a solar generator
hi, you did not talking about how much for installation cost you.
Can you please confirm whether during blackout, the battery will then supply the electricity to our home and in case it uses all stored energy it can then continue to supply electricity using solar panels, while still being in the blackout? Is that in relation to all Tesla batteries, or only Powerwall plus?
Only to Powerwall plus
Very good review/video, thanks!!
Thanks for your nice presentation. Do you have an idea what is the difference between Powerwall+ and Powerwall 2? Have one Powerwall 2 since 2021. No issues till now.
Powerwall plus gives you all the best experience you need and more features you can imagine
i have solar since 2012 from solar city(now tesla) with 7.11 kWh system. they're leasing my roof so i just pay them their monthly bill + the pse&g distribution charges of typically $4.95 but much more if i use more the grid if my solar does not produce on some days. will it be advantageous for me to purchase 2 powerwall plus or do u think it will complicate matters since tesla owns the solar system ?
Is the solar panel included in the price and what about installation?
You pay for installation service
Very informative.
How much was the installation cost for 2 power-walls? Does Tesla installs these or do they have certified power-wall installer?
I saw a video of a guy saying a third party installer was a big pain. Unfortunately Tesla has a waitlist for these types of installations. I’m gonna go solar when I purchase my next house and was thinking about a Tesla’s battery too. Id probably go with Tesla installing them if you don’t mind waiting
@@KidLofi Good idea. Thanks.
I'm surprised you use so much per day, do you include car charging? We don't have solar and have a 5 bedroom house in the UK and use 8-11kWh per day excluding car charging
That’s lean for a 5 bed. Uk average is 9 per day, these are 3 bed semis.
Solar and insulation first, then batteries.
Great vid. Thank you!
I wonder how the Powerwall(s) compares to purchasing a BEV with 30-200 kWh with the feature that you can also use it to power your house during an outage? I have limited space to install a Powerwall; but, plenty of space for a second electric vehicle park next to the gas vehicle in the garage. Plus, I can take the BEV with me if I move or get another BEV a few years down the road. I don't think I would reach the breakeven point in under 10-12 years adding solar+Powerwall.
A BEV will be the best overall, but at least in the US there are only one or two viable options to connect your car to the house easily. More options will be coming though.
Using the huge battery in my Tesla Model 3 would be nice if it was available, but one drawback is that if there was a power outage while I was away from home it could not be used. Ideally a single permanent Powerwall to cover us while the car was gone, but then using the car's battery as a huge buffer when I came back home.
so far, as far as I am aware, only the Nissan Leaf is warranted by the manufacturer as being ready for vehicle-to-home (V2H) to vehicle-to-grid (V2G), although many new cars support vehicle-to-load (V2L). The car is only half of the solution however. You still need some king of wall box in your home, much like an EV charge point, but one which can also discharge power from the car when the house demands it. Those boxes are currently very thin on the ground and hard to find, but they would allow you to implement V2H and/or V2G. With V2L, you get an adapter to plug into your car's charging port into which you can plug a domestic power plug, so you could run your refrigerator or TV from the car's battery rather than from your house supply. These V2L adapters are usually limited to around a 2kW power draw, so probably not enough to run a whole house once you start cooking dinner. I think V2G will become a reality in the next 5 to 10 years, since it will allow the grid to smooth the power demand curve by storing power in BEV's when demand and cost is low, and buying it back at times of peak grid demand for a higher price. We already have experiments running in the UK with utilities charging domestic batteries at cheap rates then buying the electricity back at a higher price when grid demand is high.
Be aware, Tesla Energy is an absolute shitshow to deal with. I've been chasing a connectivity issue for over 18 months. Every service call leads to a 21-60 day wait before they will even attempt remote diagnosis. People are nice enough, but there is an obvious lack of staff. Operation of the system without connection to the Tesla server is not ideal and system operation cannot be verified; no Storm Watch e.g. Are the other options any better? I don't know.
I currently have a 12.5KW Tesla solar panel on the roof but don't have any powerwalls. However, however my usage is average around 500KWh/day or about 21KW, so im under powered, drawing from the grid 24/7. How will the Powerwall charge in this case where I have no surplus solar?
Well when you get the batteries you connect them to the panels and allow the panels charge the batteries while you then take light from the battery to the house this way even at blackout you still have excess energy store in your batteries to be used or you can connect panel to both home and batteries this way you still have more energy stored in your system
What's the difference between a PowerWall 2 and the PowerWall Plus ?
Has anyone done an efficiency/loss test on the PowerWall? For instance, if you pull 1KW for 1hr from the grid to charge the battery. Then turn around pulling 1KW from the battery and see how long it will supply the 1KW. I suspect the "loss" is about 25% but whatever the loss factor is it should be taken into account when calculating the cost of ownership.
You right but with Tesla the calculation is different and easy to monitor 🎉
My system stays in stanby mode, why? Won't charge, help
Well done,thank you for your efforts and expertise. Rick
So are these prices for just the power wall or including solar panels
Just the powerwalls
Congrats and thanks for going green. 👍🏼
I just got quoted $32,000 for 2 power wall 2's. WHY SO MUCH MORE for installation in New Mexico
Doesn't the Powerwall+ have a Gateway?
Extremely interesting. A great presentation.
great detail, much thanks
Spoke to a rep from Tesla at Home Depot a few years ago, then they stopped selling them. Anyone know why?
The. 'batteries' do not provide the alternating current to run your house.
The power walls contain batteries and inverters to change DC to AC.
That is what powers your house
Did Tesla arrange installation or did you use a third party and if so, at what cost?
We arrange for installation but you have to pay them but if you wish to use a third party its fine but for better installation it's best advice to use the Tesla team installation service representative.
@@tesla_customerI ordered 2 about 3 months ago after watching this video but the only response is they'll let me know when they become available in my area. Guess owning 2 Teslas with Solar City on the roof and living near the NV gigafactory has no help in the pecking order.
Can tesla power wall direct being charged from the grild?
Yes
that was its original purpose. to charge up at low times when the cost of electricity is at its lowest and use that at the high times.
I understand that some states offer a tax credit for installing solar and batteries, but if you take the credit for the batteries, they cannot be charged from the grid, only from solar. I'm sure each state is different.
On my Tesla app if I click "Grid Charging" I get a warning that "Grid charging may have tax implications or may be restricted by your utility."
better yet, if you have a cheap time of day tariff, you can charge the PowerWall in your cheap period and use that power in your house when grid electricity is more expensive, saving you money.
Can you charge them up with a gas generator.
Sure
If they're damaged through a natural disaster are they covered? Under homeowners or other? Like a solar event type damage. Or emp
You have to check your insurance. I have seen a separate deductible for solar sometimes. Your agent should be able to explain options.
Those are definitely Powerwall 2s which are better in my opinion.
Helpful but illustrating the app’s features would have been easier for to see if you’d used a tablet
Great Video review full of information.
I would be interested if Tesla made a solar stack of 100 kw. The panels just too small.
Am from South Africa...on average we have a minimum of 2 hrs. and up to 6 hrs. "loadshedding" (blackouts) every day. And solar installation costs here are way above the average middle income.... Tesla is even higher, so we have to gamble with Chinese imports. (If you can get it) So enjoy the convenience of only having "one blackout last year"😀
I live part of the year in Vanuatu and we recently got hit by twin tropical cyclones knocking power out for several weeks. Our solar off grid system has been incredibly useful during this time.
@@budawang77 Am sure, I can only dream
to get finance here to have that type of system. However, there are plenty businesses installing it, this drives the cost and availability issues.
@@mariusverwey2125 You have to take into account how much you are paying per KWH in South Africa. In Vanuatu mains electricity is extremely expensive (about 80 cents US) so it's a no-brainer if you can afford the upfront cost. In Australia, however, electricity is reliable and much cheaper so the business case is less obvious.
@@budawang77 Eish, that expensive. We pay around 20 cents US. But a good middle income salary is 1100 USD. Anyway, thanks for the chat.
It's all about the break even point. When do people expect a return on thier investment
Yeah, the answer is...never. Think about it, Wal-Mart is the most successful retailer in history and they are renowned for their penny-pinching. So why isn't the roof of every Wal-Mart covered with solar and the storage room full of batteries?
@@melainewhite6409 You have obviously given this a great deal of thought... It depends on your circumstances. If you live in an area with very cheap reliable grid electricity, then it's going to be a long payback time. When I installed my system about 3 years ago, my calculated payback period was about 15 years. Given the current energy crisis (in Europe, at least) and the soaring cost of electricity for me, my payback period has now shrunk down to nearer 5 years. It also gives me protection from power outages in my rural community and kept my EV fuelled up during our recent petrol and diesel shortages in the UK. Not everything is about return on investment when renovating a house. What's the return on investment on those fancy wooden floors and nice kitchen/bathroom you might have installed?
@@melainewhite6409 Pretty much in Europe many, If not all, new buildings are covered in solar panels, but I do get it that the US is a long way behind the rest of the world when it comes to exploiting green energy. One day you might, (perhaps) catch up.
@@knightsnight5929 But why--is there supposedly more solar use in Europe than in the US if solar is so great? How great is anything that you have to be forced to use? And does Europe have black outs when the sun sets like in California because the leftist brain trust hasn't been able to figure out solar does not work at night?
I should get a powerwall that's 13.8 KW or 19.6 or 28.8 kilowatts I can line up six of those each oh there's also a 9.8 powerwall battery I just Tesla's biggest for house is small. I know they make those great big ones for cities what is it 200 ft long by 12 ft tall 8 ft wide battery.
Everything about this video is great, except the white watch band.
🙄🤦
Go Tesla
I was quoted 15k from Tesla for 1 battery, Tesla didn’t mention 3 different battery options.
You can see all the different price points based on the number of batteries selected right at the Tesla Solar website.
Thanks all the great info...I have Tesla Panels and am interested in Batteries. It sounds like I might need three Power Walls to keep up with usage when there is not much Sun to help out !
I was surprised to hear him say that 3 Powerwalls is "Standard" and 2 is "Light". My impression is that 2 is standard, 1 is light and 3 would be useful for some, overkill for others.
I guess it really depends on your usage and how much sun you get in your location.
You right but 3 is perfect
Where 4К 60 FPS ??????
Power walls are great, but the Tesla app crashed September 2022, as of this week, almost the end of March 2023, have no monitor or control of my expensive Tesla solar system. No support from Tesla.
My electric furnace is 20 kW. I guess I need a heat pump.
The reality is for battery backup is that it’s expensive. For our house it would cost $20,000 for batteries and 8 foot of storage space which is limited for us. In 10 years the batteries would most likely need to be replaced. I bet teslas for of battery back is more expensive too. At that cost it’s just not practical
Actually Tesla batteries are about the best bang for the buck battery out there. They also tend to be the most reliable. The cost is still definitely real though. The way he has the batteries set up though isn’t necessary. They can be stacked like a sandwich instead of side by side. That would help with space.
I was told by Tesla rep that they don’t stack the batteries any longer.
@@edwingrigorian4585 hmm, I haven’t heard that. They still send us batteries with the stacking kit in it. We are getting the PW+ in our shop
I absolutely love Tesla but unless you have money coming out of your ears I could just install these or for the same price get over 3 years of electrical service every single day! Just like really, the price needs to come down!
I’d go with Tesla if a stupid battery wasn’t required. I don’t need a battery out here in Illinois..
Tesla's powerwall I'm only going to buy the powerwall I'm not going to buy the food system with a little tiny tiny freaking solar panels and I think the solar wall solar power wall has to be bigger or laying down on the side on the shelf atop one another and then put 20 of them on top and make them parallel.
Consider building geothermal power plants before you travel to Mars.
Is it worth it ?………NO - Franklin whole house battery - mo better !
From what I can tell Tesla still use cobalt and thats not a good material for many reasons. Decent battery companies are going Lithium Ferro Phosphate and you can get a deeper cycle out of them. So Tesla are not the best battery.... and they are falling behind better companies. Im not a big fan of their cars either ..poor build quality and underwhelming styling!
imagine the positive press Elon would get if he was a sniveling Lib?