We Found Out the Real Cost of Using a Tesla Powerwall
To set up a residential solar system you have to have a battery to harness the solar power. Since there has been a boom in residential solar adoption, thanks in part to rising discomfort with current energy bills and also thanks to the federal tax credit that gives 30% of the total cost of the system back on your tax return along with other incentives, there have been many people looking into which battery may be the best. The Tesla Powerwall battery has become a popular choice to look into.
Fortunately, the Powerwall 3 is considerably cheaper than other batteries on the market. In fact, the Powerwall 3 is the cheapest it has ever been, costing about $1,065 per kilowatt-hour of energy storage, according to a report from EnergySage. Since the Tesla Powerwall 3 is a 13.5 kWh battery, you're looking at about $14,400.
In this quick guide, we'll take a closer look at the Tesla Powerwall 3 to help you decide if it's a worthwhile purchase.
"The thing about batteries is they have a 10- to 15-year lifespan, and a lot of the time homeowners finance for 25 years," Garrett Mendelsohn, founder of Solar Bootcamp, told CNET. "So you're financing a product that's not going to really be doing anything by the end of the 25 years and paying interest on it." Let's dig into the details to help evaluate what makes sense for you.
Put simply, the Tesla Powerwall is a big battery that can be mounted inside or outside of your home. It can be hooked up to charge an electric vehicle in your garage, provide backup power, store excess solar energy from a connected solar array or all of the above. You can also connect multiple Powerwalls together for more capacity to do all these things at once.
A Tesla Powerwall solar battery, like any other solar energy storage system, can keep your essential systems online during grid outages, help maximize your net metering savings or even be your primary source of power if you have an off-grid setup.
The Powerwall 3 is the latest model, offering a major upgrade over previous versions. However, it's not compatible with older Powerwall systems.
Those are the basics. Here are some of the more technical details:
By home battery standards, Powerwall batteries are on the cheaper side. Tesla's Powerwall 3 costs about $1,065 per kWh of storage. according to a recent report from EnergySage. The Powerwall 3 is a 13.5 kWh battery, so expect to spend about $14,400 -- without incentives. But this doesn't include the cost to install the battery. We were quoted $16,551 for the cost of installing a Powerwall 3 on a home in Fort Mill, South Carolina, via Tesla's website. This price includes the battery, gateway device, accessories, installation and taxes -- not too bad.
Older Powerwall models are a bit cheaper, in the $8,400 - $13,000 range. However, we suspect these are slowly being phased out by Tesla.
Other factors can impact the total cost of installing a Powerwall, such as labor and material expenses for placing it in a safe and convenient location. On the other side of the ledger, the federal tax credit, other incentives from state and local governments, utilities and even Tesla itself can drive down the net price.
Tesla offers an energy design tool to help drive sales, but it's also useful to get a sense of how much you might expect to spend on a solar system for your home that includes a Tesla Powerwall battery. Depending on your home's energy needs, you might need multiple Powerwalls if you're looking to create a whole-home backup.
And remember -- don't make any major decisions based solely on online research. Talk to multiple installers in your area to get more than one quote specific to your situation.
Pros:
Unlimited cycle warranty
High power output
Well-rounded efficiency and performance
Cheaper than other batteries of similar size
Compatible with and without solar panels
Cons:
Limited modularity
Glitchy energy management app
Poor customer service reputation
Not compatible with other Powerwall models
If you're set on storing a significant amount of energy for your home, the Powerwall is a solid choice. It has a great warranty, strong performance, an extremely competitive price and the backing of a well-known brand. But some have reported the company's customer service to be lacking. Tesla no longer operates a media office and didn't provide comment for this story.
For those with existing Powerwall 2 or Powerwall Plus models, you should know that you can't install the Powerwall 3 within your existing system. That, of course, can be a dealbreaker. However, it's clear Tesla wants you to switch to the Powerwall 3 and leave the older, less powerful models behind. Since one of these is much more powerful than previous models, it could be a savvy upgrade.
If you're on the fence about getting a large battery, Mendelsohn advises it might be better to wait. Most components of a home solar system are warrantied for 25 years, but batteries are rarely guaranteed to last longer than a decade, he points out.
"If you don't have blackouts, it's not really worth it for the price. You spend $13,000 to $15,000 ... for a battery that can't even do the full house" Mendelsohn says. "So it doesn't really make a lot of sense until the battery technology gets better, and they can be warrantied for 25 years."
Yes, a Powerwall is eligible for a 30% federal tax credit.
There are several factors at play here, including your energy goals and the needs of your home. You can start to get a sense by using Tesla's energy design tool and speaking to local installers.
The Tesla Powerwall 2, Plus, and 3 all have a usable capacity of 13.5 kWh and a 100% depth of discharge, but they differ in power output and integration. The Powerwall 2 has 5 kW continuous output, while the Powerwall Plus adds a built-in solar inverter and boosts backup power to 9.6 kW under full sun. The Powerwall 3 is the most powerful, offering 11.5 kW of continuous output but it is incompatible with earlier models, limiting modularity to four units. All models share an unlimited cycle warranty, but the Powerwall 3's performance is a significant upgrade.
The Powerwall 3 can last about 10 to 15 years, depending on how you use and maintain it. Tesla also offers a 10-year warranty for added peace of mind.
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