Tempo di lettura ca.: 8 minuti, 47 secondi
Since the release of the Powerwall battery in 2015, Tesla has been involved in the battery industry. Since then, and for good cause, more than 250,000 Powerwalls have been built worldwide. The Tesla Powerwall is a fantastic battery with excellent functionality. In fact, we rated the Tesla Powerwall as the top energy storage technology of the year.
Recently, the business unveiled the Powerwall 3, the newest iteration of the battery, prompting homeowners to ask themselves, “Should I get a Tesla Powerwall?” The solution isn’t as simple as you might believe!
What will be the price of the Tesla Powerwall be in 2023?
A Tesla Powerwall can cost anywhere between $9,200 to over $18,000 depending on where and how you purchase it.
With the introduction of Powerwall Direct, you may purchase a solo Powerwall directly from the Tesla website. One battery costs $9,200 when purchased through Powerwall Direct. You will pay $17,200 for two Powerwalls and $25,200 for three. Also included is a $200 delivery charge. If you are extending an existing Powerwall system, costs can be reduced.
Kindly note that the installation is not included in these rates. The cost of the Powerwall will likely cost at least $3,000 in labour when you find an installer, bringing the overall cost closer to $13,000.
By combining a Tesla Powerwall with a solar roof system or solar panel system, both of which cost $11,500, you may also purchase a Tesla Powerwall from Tesla. With your solar system, the battery installation is included in this cost.
A licenced Tesla installer in your area may also sell you a Tesla Powerwall. With the average cost hovering about $15,000 and some users receiving prices as high as $18,000, this choice is most certainly the most expensive. A local installer, however, typically provides better customer service.
Are there any discounts or incentives available for the Tesla Powerwall?
The Tesla Powerwall is eligible for the battery storage incentives offered in the United States, so yes.
The federal solar tax credit, which will lower the price of a Powerwall installation by 30%, is the main incentive. Therefore, the federal government would grant you a $3,450 tax credit if you paid $11,500 to install a Powerwall.
Some governments and utilities provide additional refunds and incentives on top of the federal tax credit. In certain circumstances, incentives like the SGIP incentive in California and the Vermont Bring Your Own Device Program run by Green Mountain Power can pay for approximately 90% of the total cost of installing a Powerwall.
Does using a Tesla Powerwall result in lower electricity costs?
If your utility uses Time of Use rates, a Tesla Powerwall can reduce your electricity costs. The cost of power varies throughout the day with time of use tariffs. Peak times have the highest rates, while off-peak times have the lowest rates.
If your utility allows it, you can use solar power to charge your Tesla Powerwall during off-peak hours, or you can use the grid. Later on in the day, you can use the energy that has been saved to power your home and avoid paying exorbitant peak charges. Although this will theoretically save you money, the amount saved won’t amount to much until peak prices are significantly higher than off-peak pricing.
If you have solar and your utility doesn’t purchase solar power at the full retail rate of electricity, batteries can help you save even more money. You can keep your extra solar energy and utilise it later rather than transferring it to the grid at a lesser price, which is similar to how Time of utilise tariffs operate. You will fully benefit from your additional solar electricity in this manner.
A Tesla Powerwall won’t reduce your electricity costs, though, if your utility doesn’t offer full retail net metering or Time of Use pricing.
How is a Tesla Powerwall purchased?
Three options exist for purchasing a Tesla Powerwall:
Purchasing a battery via Powerwall Directly
Purchasing a Powerwall from Tesla
Purchasing a Powerwall from a licensed installation
1. Purchasing a battery via Powerwall Directly
Contrary to what the name might imply, acquiring a Tesla battery through Powerwall Direct isn’t quite simple. Just place an online order, right? Actually, it’s a little trickier than that.
Making sure you can get a Powerwall delivered is the first thing you should do because Powerwall Direct is only offered in a few markets. Although they don’t, Tesla should offer a list of these markets. So, how do you learn? You must utilise the Powerwall Direct ordering form from Tesla.
You will be taken to a website where you can choose how many Powerwall batteries you wish to get and how much each one will cost after entering your address. Study this page thoroughly! If Powerwall Direct is unavailable where you live, a notice similar to this will appear at the top of the page:
You can now determine if you are in Tesla’s service area. You can still input your contact information if you’re not interested in Powerwall Direct to be informed if it ever comes to your region. There are a few more steps you must complete before placing your order, if you are able to do so through Powerwall Direct straight away.
As we previously stated, ordering through Powerwall Direct only involves the delivery of the battery to your home and excludes any installation, permitting, or inspection services. Therefore, before submitting the form, get in touch with a Tesla Certified installer nearby.
If you can find a willing installer, you can discuss the price, potential site inspections, design, and installation of a Powerwall with them. The simple part is now ahead of you since you’ve located an installer. Go back to the Tesla order page, enter your address, choose the appropriate choices, and place your order! How lengthy Powerwall Direct’s shipping times are unknown.
2. Purchasing a Powerwall from Tesla
This choice is a little easier to understand. Visit the Tesla website, enter your address and utility bill information, and then place your order. You merely need to wait for the installation after Tesla gets in touch with you to arrange inspections and complete the system design.
By purchasing your Powerwall in this manner, you eliminate the need to find an installer because the installation is already included in the cost. But keep in mind that if you order in this manner, you will receive the entire solar system. If you already have solar or don’t want solar, this method won’t work for you.
Be advised, though, that you might not actually pay the price that Tesla’s estimator displays when you place your order. Depending on the design that works best for your home, some elements might vary.
You might have to wait a time for that installation to take place, depending on the final system design and location. Some people claim that it took them more than eight months from the time they placed their order until their solar installation took place.
3. Purchasing a Powerwall from a licensed installation
The Powerwall is a Tesla product, but you are not required to purchase one via Tesla’s website. If you locate a nearby installer who sells Powerwalls, you may purchase both the battery and the installation from them. Why not simply do it all at once if you already have to hire a certified contractor to install one that you get through Powerwall Direct?
Of course, it could be challenging to locate a solar contractor with Powerwalls ready for installation. But it wouldn’t hurt to try and find out. If there is, you could install your batteries much faster. Remember that a Powerwall purchased from a local installer can cost more than what Tesla does. The average cost of a Powerwall installation by a local contractor seems to be approximately $15,000, though it can go as high as $18,000.
How should I purchase a Powerwall?
In the end, it all comes down to what you need. However, we advise at the very least getting in touch with nearby installers to obtain some prices and see what they have available.
Although placing an order online can seem simple, you will need to locate installers in your area if you only want the battery via Powerwall Direct. Find out what else they’re offering and whether they have any Powerwalls on hand before comparing it to what Tesla is offering in terms of overall cost and wait times.
Choosing a local installation is highly advised if you also want solar panels. Going with a company close to you will likely result in a better solar experience as Tesla isn’t exactly recognised for having the finest customer service. Although the pricing is a little bit higher than what Tesla is asking, you get what you pay for. Over the course of the system’s 25-years lifespan, local installers frequently offer greater assistance.
TORONTO, ON – MAY 21: Shawn Marsh and his wife Eve Claxton, designed and built the first-ever certified Net Zero luxury home in Canada — a $6.5 million, 9,000 sq. ft. house that’s the first to use the Tesla PowerWall 2. Courtesy: Getty Images
Can a complete house be backed by a Powerwall?
Installing a Powerwall has many benefits, one of which is having backup power in case the grid goes down. However, if your power goes out, one Powerwall won’t be able to power every gadget in your home. Instead, you’ll select the Powerwall to back up your most crucial electrical loads, such as your refrigerator, lights, Wi-Fi, and outlets.
Installing numerous Powerwall batteries is necessary if you’re interested in whole-home backup. Go for it if it fits in your budget! It’s up to you to decide whether running power-hungry loads during a blackout, such as an air conditioner and a well pump, is worthwhile spending the extra money to build more Powerwalls.
Another thing a solar installation can assist you with is choosing the proper size battery system for your requirements. They will be able to advise you on the most economical course of action and the number of batteries you’ll need to power all or some of your equipment.
The Tesla Powerwall’s main characteristics
The most outstanding smart monitoring and management software in the solar battery market is found in the Tesla Powerwall, which has some excellent specs.
Tesla Powerwall and SpecificationsFeaturesPowerwall 2
13.5 kWhUsable energy capacity13.5 kWh
On-grid: 7.6 kW full sun/5.8 kW no sun, Off-grid: 9.6 kW full sun/7 kW no sunContinuous power rating5.8 kW
Off-grid: 22 kW full sun/10 kW no sunPeak power rating7 kW
90%Round trip efficiency90%
100%Depth of discharge100%
62.8 in x 29.7 in x 6.3 inDimensions45.3 in x 29.6 in x 5.75 in
343.9 lbsWeight251.3 lbs
Solar Self-Consumption, Time-Based Control, Backup PowerOperating modesSolar Self-Consumption, Time-Based Control, Backup Power
Capacity
The amount of electricity a battery can store is indicated by its capacity. The battery can power your home for a longer period of time the larger its capacity. The Powerwall has the capacity to store 13.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, which is nearly half of what an average American home uses each day.
A Powerwall can likely power your home’s necessities, such as your refrigerator, Wi-Fi, several outlets, and a few lights, for roughly 24 hours on a single charge.
Rating for continuous power
One significant change was introduced with the advent of the Powerwall+: a higher power rating. You may find out what and how many appliances a battery can run by looking at its continuous power rating.
When the sun is shining, Powerwall+ batteries connected to the grid can now provide 7.6 kW of continuous electricity, and 5.6 kW when it’s cloudy.
The Powerwall+ can output enough energy to power outlets, lights, and 120-volt appliances like your refrigerator. Additional Powerwalls are required to run powerful equipment like an air conditioner.
Off-grid operation will let your Powerwall+ to produce additional electricity, with output varying from 7 kW to 9.6 kW depending on the weather. Therefore, it can power a few extra appliances in your house while the Powerwall is not linked to the grid, such as during a power outage.
Maximum power rating
Batteries not only have a continuous power rating but also a peak power rating, which is the most power a battery can produce in a brief period of time (often 10 seconds). The battery’s capacity to endure brief power spikes, such as those experienced while turning on appliances, is determined by its peak power rating.
The Powerwall+ does not have an on-grid peak power rating, but when it is operating off-grid, the peak output can range from 10 kW to an incredible 22 kW if the sun is shining.
These figures are far greater than the industry standard for peak power rating, which is typically 7 kW of output. However, unless you have at least a 12 kW solar system, you won’t be able to realise its full potential. Without solar, it will likely be closer to the Powerwall 2’s 7 kW peak output rating.
Functioning modes
There are three basic operating modes for the Powerwall:
Backup reserve, which sets away all or a portion of the battery’s stored energy for use in an outage.
Self-powered mode saves any unused solar energy for use at a later time in your home. Depending on the rates in your area, this can help you save a little additional money on electricity bills while increasing the quantity of solar energy your home utilises.
You have more control over when your battery charges and discharges when you choose the Time-Based Control mode. If your utility charges by the hour, you can optimise your charging schedule to save your electricity costs.
Although you’ll likely employ one of these three operating modes, Powerwall has other modes to accommodate every circumstance. If your utility permits it, you can send power from your Powerwall to the electrical grid to earn credits by using the Energy Export option. Additionally, you may manage how much power your solar panels give to the grid in comparison to how much they send to your battery by using the Advance Settings option.
Additionally, a preconditioning mode enhances battery performance in cold climates.
Durability and warranty
The guarantee that comes with the Powerwall is excellent, however the details of the warranty change depending on the operating mode you choose.
Because Tesla’s warranty employs outdated terminology for the operating modes, the language can be a little unclear. However, it appears that using a mix of the backup reserve, self-powered, and time-based control modes will grant you an unlimited cycle warranty that ensures the battery will continue to function at least at 70% capacity after ten years.
The Powerwall will run at 70% capacity if you utilise any other apps after ten years or when it has discharged 37.8 MWh of AC power, whichever comes first. This basically means that your guarantee will be reduced from 10 years to about 7.5 years if you completely discharge your Powerwall every day. The terms of Tesla’s warranty specify how your usage affects battery life in more detail.
AC-coupled
The Tesla Powerwall is an AC-coupled battery that has an inverter built right into it, making it simple to connect to solar power systems that are already in place. Your battery will continue to function even if something goes wrong with your solar inverter, and vice versa.
A little less hardware is required for AC-coupled battery systems than for DC batteries, and more components indicate more possible failure points. In the end, both AC and DC batteries are excellent options for solar energy storage; which one is best for you simply depends on your requirements.
The Tesla Powerwall: Is it pricey?
The Tesla Powerwall is a fantastic battery, in our opinion. It has cutting-edge features and outstanding technological specifications for a (maybe) fantastic price. Whether it is worthwhile is entirely up to you; it depends on why you need a battery and whether you are prepared to wait more than a year.
If you live somewhere that frequently has blackouts, like California and Texas, the peace of mind you get from having a Powerwall as a backup power source can be completely beneficial. Powerwalls may also be able to lower your monthly electricity costs, particularly if you reside in an area with Time of Use tariffs and exorbitant peak power pricing.
However, a battery won’t be as helpful to you if your power goes out infrequently or your utility offers full-retail net metering. Instead, it will cost thousands of dollars to add to a solar installation, which won’t actually save you any money.
As indicated earlier, we advise obtaining quotations from nearby installers to compare them to Tesla’s prices if you decide to buy a Tesla Powerwall. Even though it can cost more than utilising Tesla, you’ll probably receive better customer service both during the installation and for the duration of the system.
Your local solar business will be able to offer you the professional assistance you require for such a significant purchase.