What you need to know before getting a Tesla Powerwall
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- Опубліковано 11 січ 2021
- What you need to know before getting a Tesla Powerwall (first impressions and early review). Get Surfshark VPN at surfshark.deals/undecided and enter promo code UNDECIDED for 83% off and 3 extra months for free! There’s a few things I learned going through the installation process that might be useful if you’re thinking about getting a home battery installed. So let’s go through what you should know before getting a Tesla Powerwall. And ... my first impressions of it.
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Hmmm... The Tesla Powerwall: It's where you store the family joules.
dude
Indubitably 🤣
Ha!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
very underrated comment
You posted this two years ago and it gained you another Subscriber. Arkansas just changed their solar laws (March 2023), where the local electric companies have lobbied (and won) our state legislature to reacquire more money from revenue lost by customers who switched to solar, so I am researching adding a battery to our home solar system and become even less dependent upon our local services. Thank you for the informative video.
detecting the incoming storm and fully charging the battery is an awesome feature! I've got a small, older house and it's not practical for me for many reasons, but was interested to hear from your experiences, thanks for the video
I paid 2k for a dual fuel generator, gas and electrical hookup. But I'm glad you early adopters will bring down the price and lessen installation issues for me.
Thank You
Hi Matt. I live in the same area as you. I installed a double setup for 10kw so I didn’t need to deal with shutting down any circuits. I also am part of the grid power when they need extra demand during the year. Mostly during the summer time do they pull power from the unit. One thing I will share is I found the powerwall frequency caused some of my older electronics to go crazy when the powerwall “poisoned” my electrical system to force my solar panels to shut down. As you said in your video if you are in a power outage situation your solar panels will still power the house and any excess power will charge the powerwall. Once the powerwall is topped off, it slowly increases the 60Hz frequency to around 64.5Hz which is outside the operating range of the solar panel inverter causing it to shutdown until such time the powerwall goes below 90% SOC. Then it would shift the frequency back to 60Hz allowing the inverter to startup again. My experience was my UPS devices I had on computers would beep saying there was an incoming power problem, my electric range started locking and unlocking the door because it was turning the self cleaning option on and off. I fortunately have test equipment and checked the frequency and that’s how I found out what they were sending in a off grid situation. A call to my installer got me in touch with Tesla support and they were able to remote in and change the high frequency setting to 62.5Hz which still was outside the solar panel inverters range causing it to shut down as it should, but now my electronic gear and stove were happier with 62.5Hz vs 64.5Hz. I found this out by sheer accident. I simulated an outage by turning the main disconnect outside off to simulate an outage just to see how it all worked. That’s when I found some devices to be very sensitive to the frequency Tesla has as a default to turn off solar inverters as the batteries approach full charge. I’ve been happy with my setup and has an instant backup to my house, I barley notice the changeovers during an outage, just a quick flicker in the lights, but not enough to shut anything down. Hope that info helps anyone.
Jesus. So in other words I need to become a professional electrician to understand and fix my own system.
Great Information, not very well known by many.....Thanks a Million !!
I assume you have solar panels also. Is it enough for you to be completely off the grid year round? I’m also in the northeast and I’m curious about doing this kind of setup when I change my roof.
@@acchaladka honestly I read others experiences and do have a background in electrical engineering, so I am a installers worst nightmare. A homeowner who know too much is the worst 😂. My installer was knowledgeable, but there are things he didn’t know from the Tesla training that we learned together. Fortunately my installer is open to my technical experience so he can go to Tesla and explain what we were seeing vs him having to come out and troubleshoot himself. This technology is so new Tesla is playing it safe for there may be older systems out there that may not comply with today’s standards to shut down as quickly. Last thing your want is a electrical power plant in your house that has no way of offloading it power. That’s how electrical fires start if things overload. Electrical standards for solar install and shutdown have really matured in the last few years which will help reduce the need to be so strict in how Tesla operates its battery equipment to cover a vast array of solar installs out there.
Wait, so the only way the battery has to tell the solar panels to shut off is to deliver an illegally high frequency? that's fucked up
Thanks for being on the bleeding edge so the rest of us can have an easier experience.
Thanks! Hopefully this will help others out there.
The fact that your electrician did a walkthrough the night before tells me that particular electrician is VERY good at his job.
Had our Powerwall for two years now and it’s brilliant so good I’m definitely going to buy another. In the U.K. we get 4 hours of night rate with our supplier at 7.5p per kWh. for the rest of the time it’s 32p per kWh. We’ve ours set to charge up during that 4 hour period and it chargers from the solar panels too. What I love about the Tesla system is it knows if there’s going to be good solar production and will only charge from the grid if it needs to, the algorithm use is really very clever and has only got things wrong on a couple of occasions. In my opinion it’s the best cheapest per KWH domestic battery storage system out there.
I had Tesla install my powerwall and I would definitely recommend going with them for the install instead of a third party installer. They cam out and it was installed in a single day. No missing parts, no mistakes on wiring, etc.
How much did Tesla install cost?
That Tesla installer probably had a few extra of those "proprietary" parts. Which can be had at any electrical supply house (even Home Despot). The cost for the "independent" installer to go get that part would have likely been 1 to 2 hours. Time that this customer would not have wanted to pay.
How do you deal when a basic part blows and you can't fix it yourself and you're left holding your d**k until Tesla comes out to fix a simple fuse. I will never buy Tesla PW.
Go with 280ah lifpo4
@@itsm3th3b33 Powerwall installation is $3,500, if you don't need a new breaker panel.
This kind of video is what makes UA-cam worthwhile. Have always been interested in a power wall and definitely appreciate the heads up about the potential pitfalls.
Subbed not only for content, but also for the speed at which you deliver your thoughts. I LOVE not having to increase the speed of some videos! Thank you!
Let me tell you all something I live in south Louisiana during IDA Hurricane currently going through us. I invested in a Powerwall about three months ago, I also have a Generac Generator. When I tell you my generator never came on yet and the battery has powered my home with my family and in-laws, be mine you have to manage the power by not running AC constantly. I can tell you one thing Telsa power wall is awesome and is the Future and a must-have. Second infrastructure spending is a must and Louisiana will need every bit of it.
This kind of openness about the process is fantastic! Kudos for being able to express disappointment in a process without demonizing the installer, that shows real maturity. It's part of what keeps me coming back.
It's hard not to demonize an installer who insists that he needs a "communications wire harness" and delays your installation for it, when a simple piece of string would harness it just as easily.🤬
I would just install the damn thing myself, I don't have that sort of patience.
Matt, I live in Vermont and our power company, Green Mountain Power, has a net metering program. Any additional energy my PV solar system generates goes out to the grid and I get credit, at the current rate, which I use in the winter months. 3 yrs ago they offered a program to lease a Tesla Powerwall for $15 per month for ten years. $1800 total and that covered the installation and any maintenance or repairs (non so far). The caveat is that they can draw from it at anytime to help them with their green energy goals, unless a storm is pending. It’s a great program and works flawlessly. When power goes out we literally never know it until I get the notification on my phone. I too can’t stop checking the app to see how the energy is flowing and monitoring our power usage and solar production.
Great program! Would love to see that in northern Minnesota, right after we get Starlink!👍🏼😎✌🏼
You describe your experiences extremely well.
Straightforward no patronising easy to listen too. Well done
Thank you so much. This video actually answered a lot of questions for me. I'm still doing more research into this, but your video is so informative. I'll probably look into getting this system by next May 2022. Thanks again.
Be wary, he’s missed a lot of things out. Do some more research first.
Like so many install companies they just want to hook up the product instead of educating and working with the customer. Those red wires zip tied to the conduit are telling. Nice explanation.
Compairt to what we have here in Europa is that a joke.
The $2500 fee for everything was an in and out price. Tesla was obviously much more. Others were quoting $7500. He took the cheapest price which I think is very low for a project like this.
@@bryantjenks3598 if $2,500 is just for installation labor say at $60/hr = 41 man-hours. Maybe 2 guys working for 2 1/2 days. Seems fair.
As an electrician for over 20 years and installer of batteries and solar panels also, there is no way I would have done all that for $2500 dollars. It wouldn't be worth it.
@@MGiosparky How was that more than 3 days work? That would be $100/hr
Thanks for the headups. I used Tesla to install my Powerwall, and they engineered the system. I had no problems with the install or after.
Very nice review. Quite informative. Technology of our modern era is changing so quickly and becoming so complex that it is nice to hear someone put his/her experience with the transformation into terms the not-so-informed can relate to and understand.
This man deserves a “like” and “subscribe.” Thank you sir!
That extra charge in response to storm warning is really cool
I wouldn't have accepted that wiring from the second sparky. Appalling work.
Lazy.
Oh dude, I just had a 10kw solar installation done. All top panels with micro-inverters to max out efficiency. $20K+ system.
They install the main disconnect and breaker box and all conduits on the side of the house under the car port.
Not a single conduit was straight, nothing was level. Not even the box mounted on the wall was straight and level.
And they argued with me on the the apparent concept of "what is straight". I withheld the last 10% payment till they come back and fixed it.
Never would recommend them. So anyone in SoCal SouthBay LA area, if you are looking for solar installer. PM and I'll let you who not to use.
That's stuff you would expect from a non-motivated 1st yr apprentice
Was looking for this exact comment once i seen the work done.
it's common to see communications wires run that way in commercial construction. i see it all the time.
Another great episode. Before the end I was ready to hit the order button, I want that level of control over my circuits even without a solar array or battery system.
This was an awesome video Matt. I was very curious about the powerwall and you actually brought up a lot of my concerns. Thanks.
LOVE my Sense Solar. We installed our entire solar system ourselves. Everything but 1 box - Service disconnect. When we applied for our RGE power feed certificate we had to have one. Didnt cost too much but its totally worth it. Adds a nice level of safety as well to my system
In addition to powering your neighbors homes, if you don't have the disconnect, you'll also be endangering the line workers by creating live lines where they expect to find only dead ones.
Best detailed video I have come across. Appreciate your time and effort, Matt!
Thanks for this Matt. We have remodeled our, new to us, 35 year old home to make it as energy efficient and wildfire resistant (we live in the California foothills where entire, neighboring towns grasslands, shrublands and forests burn down each year) as possible. We insulated, put in new, efficient windows, insulated some more, sealed every leak, etc. The house was almost a tear down and we aren't rich. But, it was one of the few in the area that we, as members of the dying US middle class, could afford, By doing the work ourselves, we have probably doubled the value of our home, or more.
Everything is geared towards going solar, as with the increasing number of firestorms happening in our area, and the increasing number of towns and homes burning down, our electric utility is shutting down power every time we have a big rain, snow, or wind storm, or major heat event. A good idea for them, as the electric utility itself is causing many of these fires.
So, when I rewired the house, I made sure to run wires from our electric panel to where the solar panels will be mounted on our roof. And, we saved space in the garage for the solar equipment and powerwalls or some other battery system.
A big problem for us is that there just isn't enough accurate and detailed information out there about how to run a home with solar and batteries. Even our local electricians, and we've talked to a few, don't have good answers.
So, again, thanks Matt, for sharing your experiences.
No, it's lack of maintenance and a stupid mentality behind forest management that makes wildfires so bad in California.
Since you're not smart enough to leave that parasite state, you deserve to have your property destroyed by it's management.
I too live in Mass and I am getting the PowerWall2. This was very informative and I love the insight that you have on these. Gives me an idea on what I should look out for and to intercept any problems that may lie ahead. Thank you.
I design and manage these installs locally in the Bay Area. Your experience nails many key points. But also points out your unique issues. Excellent documentation from your experience. I could go on for a long time adding clarity or depth to everything you said, just from the opposite side of the table but my key takeaway is the customer is suffering while companies figure out how to educate and offer a new product and work out all the kinks. 2020 has also definitely thrown in its own set problems for everyone. I would like to refer customers to this video ahead of time, also the price difference should be in the quality of the company and the education it gives the customer on what they are actually getting. Plus workmanship on the install. I’m sorry but yours looks like three different people at various levels of competency installed it. Keep the videos coming🤙
Employ educators to educate, empower them to do what they do and there will be educated customers, it they choose to be educated. There's always a catch ...
Very clear and useful info. Thanks so much for the care you put into covering the details succinctly and in an orderly fashion without getting distracted by them as happens to so many.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Want to get one eventually. I live in Florida, so winter is not a problem, but hurricanes are. Thank you for the info on what to know and ask. I'll get there someday.
I’m a new Texas Resident and just in time for that crazy winter freeze we just had a few months ago. I know that freeze was pretty rare, but Texas is definitely a place where weather can get rough. I’m definitely gonna look into this when we get out of this rental and buy our house. Plus the automation part really speaks to my inner super nerd. Thanks for the tips brother.
Great review. I have a 15.2 KW system with 4 power walls in the Austin area. It was installed last summer by Tesla. Its worked flawlessly since day 1. Last week I was never without power. My subdivision was without grid power on and off for about 40 hours based on my backup history in the app. It was eery seeing the whole neighborhood go dark at night and my house was the only one with lights on. I helped my neighbors as much as I could by running some extension cords to my back patio so they could power some things. I have a gas furnace for heat and at night according to the app I was drawing between 0.5-0.9kw which is nothing. I thought the frigid temps in my garage would make the PW's discharge faster or not hold as much capacity for very long but that was not the case. Very thankful for the investment in this system to say the least.
Thankfully lithium ion operates at a pretty big range of temps. Cold doesn't really affect it like lead acid/traditional chems.
How much was it for the install???
living in Austin Texas, 'frigid' temps will not be a problem.
@@gregknipe8772 Thats right!
@@gregknipe8772 As a former Austinite, usually you are correct...but I'm pretty sure this was posted during the winter storm that shut down the Texas power grid a year ago (or two?...I've lost track of time at this point). during then it was, to use the technical term, "cold as fucking hell"
Watched your first video on battery storage yesterday actually, Tbh i discovered your channel last weekend and have kinda been on a binge
Nice! Glad you're enjoying the videos.
Thanks for your honesty about the pitfalls you encountered in the installation of your Powerwall.
I’m a custom home builder. I always educate my home owners and make sure the understand the options, upgrade’s and pros / cons on everything pertaining to the home.
However, very few builders do this. Why? Because they want simple, fast and on to the next job.
Your videos are always so professionally well done.
I purchased my 2 Powerwalls when I purchased my solar system. I have 52 sunpower panels producing 327 watts each (17KW). During the recent storm issue, between the powerwalls, limited solar, and random grid power, we didn't get any colder, in my house, than the mid 50's. My current setup is to be as self powered as possible. Because of this setup, my average electric bill is -$450 per month (yes, that is a (-) sign).
I love the system.
So what you are saying is you spend 100K to get your setup and now you save 72 dollars a month? Having your house in the 50s when the outside temperature is in the 50s means your setup is crap. Are you stating after spending 100K to get it running, your system only works in great weather? So for 5 months out of the year you just suffer? Gee that sounds GREAT!
@@ernieellan5694 Hey rich gotta act rich
I see Matt has an EGO battery charger on the plywood there. Home Depot really screwed up when they sold the product line to Lowe's. Fabulous lawn tools.
I am in Oz, and my system was installed by the company I purchased it from (Tesla approved) and it took them 1 day to install, including the panels. Part of the install had to be approved by local power company and that took another week, but my basic service was not interupted by this delay. In the last 10 months, this has meant that I have made $1000 profit, due to my use being much lower than what the solar can provide, but like you the peace of mind of having the backup in the event of a power outage is the best thing.
I had my Powerwall 2X installed by Tesla in March, right before COVID shut things down, so things may be more complicated now. The install took most but less than a day. The installers were super and the install itself was flawless. The surprise was that it took more space than I was led to believe but this turned out not to be a big deal and was mostly related to an "outside or inside" question. The two modules were installed back to back so the install was twice as deep as one module but with the same length and height. Quite compact. (You don't need 6 feet of free space when operating BTW). The one surprise was that the Gateway replaces the service panel, which becomes useless other than the main cut-off switch.
Agree that having Tesla do the install would be best. Avoids all the finger pointing issues and probably wouldn't be a huge difference in price. The Tesla install was just really good. Tesla even sent someone out to fix the minor damage to the garage drywall. Don't agree there should be any real questions about how many modules you need. The Tesla website has a simple questionnaire that will give you a recommendation. Just follow it. Basically if you have want to run your HVAC system you should get two unless the system is very small. But the website goes through this.
Agree the software and app are awesome. I would likely not have done things the way the app does but it it clearly smarter than I am. For example, I was surprised to find the Powerwall discharging rapidly on Fridays but then realized that this was the right call since since on my TOU plan Saturday and Sunday are super off peak days.
Great info! Had ours installed through Tesla with Solar and they went though everything and our options.
My array and Powerwall have been in use here in southern NH for a week now and I am super impressed with how I can double or triple my solar use overnight now in late November. I set the reserve every night based on how much power I think I'm likely to generate to refill the battery the next day, Currently, Eversource buys my kWh for .26, but sells my banked power back to me for .32, so they are in essence charging me .06/kWh for using my own power! So I use the battery to minimize how much I send to the grid, which has varied from 0.1 to 0.8 except on one very overcast day when I sent 0 and used more from the grid. I've been able to be self-powered up to 85% on some days -- less so on others. Very pleased so far!
Matt, I have solar installed on my house (desert south west, wall to wall sunshine) and installed in my previous house as well. We don't get winter storms with wet, heavy snow that cause wide area blackouts and take some time to repair. Here most blackouts are due to summer storms with strong winds that usually only take out small areas and without deep snow repair crews get there quickly and restore power quickly. Any one residence is likely to go years between power outages that last more than 3 or 4 hours. This makes whole house backup a very low priority. Loads are modest in winter, briefly very low during spring and fall, and then serious AC usage during summer. Here solar homes go onto a none-time based rate structure, so there is not a cheaper time to recharge. That means battery load leveling or time-shifting power usage to cheaper grid rates also does not make a good ROI. My solar is 12KW and hits nearly zero annual payments. With net energy billing I get effectively perfect power storage. I love the idea of a power wall and being able to run partial or full house operations when everyone is dark, but currently it is not worth the investment.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am in the Southwest desert as well and I was pleased to see a comment that addresses the realities of this region. I have just started considering solar now that I have addressed other priorities in my home.
@@hamyncheese Don't forget that if you mount the array of panels over the roof, and have standard stand-off of 6 inches, the panels will shade the roof, thermal syphon cooler air between panels and roof, and drop your summer cooling load. But the higher summer heat makes the panels less efficient and degrade faster. The shade gain about balances the efficiency loss so plan for full summer load anyway.
Everyone from Texas searching this.
Not really because
I have solar and batteries and my 2 days of of power didn't run for 2 days at all.
More like a half day then the polar zone won. Batteries dont like it cold.
I came to find out what I missed
The biggest problem in Texas is still the summer, a hot summer with no AC is worse than a hard freeze. Can take other precautions for freezes and maybe a week of generator use, but summers last a lot longer... and if a freezer goes out in the summer, you lose all the food stored up for shortages
@@TheBomo Thanks. Sorry to hear that. Get a gas or NG powered generator.
Mother Nature can overcome even the best laid plans and preparations... But in the case of our Texas Arctic Freeze last week, there were no preparations Texas power generating plants had never winterized their equipment properly to begin with! People literally froze to death as a result. Betting by Winter 2021 (next winter) there will be a lot more equipment in this state that get's winter upgrades!
@tyler gray Gas will go bad quickly. Diesel has a shelf life of several years. If you have good infrastructure for propane that is also an option.
Matt, thanks for your explanations and insights. You are definitely on my "must watch" list!
Glad I found you. I've been looking at solar for years. Nice to learn more about it.
Videos are very informative. Thanks for posting them. The cost is scary for a powerwall but dreaming of building a passive home (myself) with geo thermal heat and this would be a great addition to the project.
All the batteries are expensive but relative to storage the Tesla’s are the best deal and by far the most efficient. The LG’s aren’t that great and I’ve installed an enphase battery system that was twice as much work but still didn’t store as much as a tesla.
We love ours. Love that when people are having power outages we don't have them. Love that our panels are supplying us power 24/7.
FYI: It is not standard to have one of those giant service disconnect handles installed on the exterior of your home. Though it serves the same function, the disconnect in newer homes and homes where the services have been upgraded are "Meter mains" where the meter socket is on one side of a single metal enclosure and a panel with breaker handles is on the other, always including at least the main breaker.
Hahaha, I started watching this Today, and it caused me to remember to pay my power bill. Thanks Matt. You gained a new sub!
moved to florida but lived in the northeast most of my life. will get a powerwall once i buy a new home down here. also liked your wind generator video too
Really looking forward to getting a house, solar, and powerwall some day.
Same, also a Tesla as well
Thank you for highlighting those options/issues.
A fellow New Englander! I'm up in Maine and currently getting some solar panel quotes for my home. House faces south and plenty of sunshine to cash in on. I've asked my vendor about the Tesla Powerwall since I like the idea of the 50.50 balance you mention, providing off hours power or backup. A Generac LP backup would be about $5000+ and then there's the giant tank. I don't exactly have a data center to back up but I do have a lot of 3D printers I run. We do get those annoying power blips which the UPS systems seem to help cover. Given the recent rate hikes up here of up to 30% or more, I'm really hoping self generating and some storage helps
I worked on some of the systems in the assembly of these units. It is kind of feels good knowing equipment I worked on and helped design resulted in this.
Thanks for being the beta tester of these products. Sounds like a nightmare to get it setup. But glad it was worthwhile in the end.
Enjoyed this video, looking forward to the virtual grid video.
Glad to hear it!
The grid is virtual. With 100 plus years of family experience in grid management, the "spyder web" we call the grid is a shared connection and resource. With my electrical system management hat on, & 40 plus years of personal experience to reflect on, I think we should have been generating our own power since I installed the first solar system I designed & installed in 1981. The grid should share, balance and manage load/demand. Our various PUC's have allowed the larger power providers to dominate grid "services" to hold us hostage. As registered voters, we can own "the power". We have to want to involve ourselves. I think the work is worth it.
@@coloradochildrens5449 Speaking from the IT side of it (dealt with lots of protective relaying and a fair amount of remedial action schemes before I retired) I feel safe in saying stability is the devil in the system. I don't even recall a blackout that didn't start with loss of a transmission line. Here on the Western interconnection (geographically the largest in North America) stability means shedding portions that can't be sustained. RAS can do that but - outside California - there is not nearly enough of it.
California is generating toxic amounts of photovoltaic solar already, and is selling some of it at negative prices in the afternoons. The company I retired from - I won't identify them by name but it is the only Fortune 100 electric company in Arizona - makes millions of dollars every year on the "energy imbalance market." See www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-electricity-solar/
and www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/solar-energys-duck-curve/
Excellent and timely video for me! I am on track to have two power walls installed by my Utility because of forest fire power shut offs, elderly, dependent on water pump system, and installed solar that I can't use without an up and running grid. While the Utility spent all of its time and effort questioning my power needs, there has not been a word of concern about my service entrance installed somewhere between 1935 and 1950, lack of a power shut off switch, or extent of wall space for mounting, or that we have no garage for interior mounting. So thanks again for the heads up! I can weigh my options and enlighten the installation planners.
Interestingly, the Utility likes solar in the desert 1000 miles away with sparking power lines running through 500 miles of forest, but derides rather than maximizing local solar rooftop and solar fences-- so much that it has mounted a huge lobby to support dependency on bare wire power line "fuses" running hither and yon up and down and across canyons at high risk of spark throw during high winds.
id like to see the updated disappointment when and if you have it done.
A excellent very honest evaluation on a Tes Powerwall ,Thank you nice to see your still smiling.
So after having a large Tesla Solar and 2 power wall setup - what I wish I would have known before buying is that you don't choose the amount of power walls for total backup power only, you also choose that amount for total concurrent energy usage. For example one power wall is capable for 5 kw, while two is 10 kw, three is 15 kw, etc. Also having more power walls allows for more energy storage if he grid happens be offline. With my large solar system from Tesla, two power wall can fill up and then there is no where for excess energy to go. The solar inverter has to shut off, and I am missing extra energy. Also two, depending on your AC system, you need 2 or more power walls. You gotta look at your LRA rating on your AC to figure out. Stuff I had no idea about until AFTER my system was installed. Tesla installs a sure start, but I think it messed with my capacitor so had it removed. If I had 3 power walls it would start my AC unit WITHOUT a sure start. So that being said Im definitely looking into getting a 3rd. (I realized you covered nearly all of this, so that is great!)
I was reading on the Tesla website today about the Powerwall and LRA was in there. I don't remember seeing it when I had looked months ago. But as you say, it's not really so much about storage capacity as it is current capacity.
Tesla must be software configuring PowerWall 2's different here in Australia... My 6.4kW solar array fills up the PW by mid morning (usually) depending on cloud cover, BUT... once the PW is full, all excess energy is exported to the grid (at 20c/kWh). There is no solar shutdown just because the PW is at 100%
you better be out in the boonies if you're not selling it back to the power co.
@@greghudson9717 sorry I should have clarified there is solar shutdown if the grid is offline.
yes of course you sell to the grid, I meant if the grid is offline in this situation.
I want a Power Wall and a Tesla Solar Roof ; however, I cannot afford either so I have to live vicariously through you.
If you have a house upon which to install those things, you can easily get a home equity loan to cover it and the money you save on your utilities will cover the payment.
Do you pay an electric bill?
Then you can afford both.
Simple decision: wanna' give money to the utility or pay for your OWN power?
After 12 years (or so) my solar will be paid for.
In the meantime, my payment for the panels is LESS than my previous electric bill.
So, in a few more years, the panels will be paid off, then, no payment, for the life of the panels (30 years?).
Big step now is: battery.
Tesla is a step in the right direction, but, even if you get ANY battery, it would have to last.
And that's a big deal, the life of the battery.
I saw one recently, had a recharge life of 20,000 cycles.
No idea what the cost was, but such extended cycle life would last my remaining lifetime!
And I'm sure even more options will crop up...
Bottom line: electric utilities are on the way out.
As a bonus, every item that consumes power is using less and less!
Perhaps the time is coming when the only electricity needed will be DC?
Solar makes that a possible idea.
No more need to run miles and miles of cable, generating the need for AC to begin with.
Interesting: Mr. Tesla convinced everyone of AC back in 1910 and if everyone uses solar and batteries, then, no need for AC!
SOLAR is Already a Requirement of NEW HOMES in California as well as NO GAS Service. 100% Electric home.
this is a MODEL for homes in the United States.
Sadly many of us are living pretty much paycheck to paycheck. I also have kids to send to college so no power wall for me. I think its a great idea. It seems though everything made today is not really meant to last for a long time. I dont see people having 16 year old Model S. I could be wrong, who knows.
@@mtadams2009 the model S was originally released in 2012. So the oldest model S will be 8 yrs old.
When you do a followup video, I would be really interested in understanding how participation in a virtual power plant affects the longevity of the Powerwall. In other words, how much does it increase the number of charge/discharge cycles, and how does that compare to the projected lifetime cycles of the Powerwall? Thanks!
My participation in a virtual power plant in New England resulted in a $730 check Eversource paid me for helping with peak shaving for one year. At that rate the power wall will pay for itself pretty quickly.
that would really depend on if the power is drawn from the tesla pack, or from the solar panels on the home, as well as the amount of load and duration of the load.
In short, it depends on where you live and how underequipped your local grids are on a peak load.
I do enjoy you videos… your honesty and openness with sharing the good and the bad. You see the online quick commercials for the Powerwalls… but of course you NEVER see any wiring. That of course is not reality.
I am a bit of a a perfectionist and it just kills me to see that you paid someone to install the Powerwall and you ended up having to run wires externally along the conduit. And like you said… hope that can be taken care of later. And why not paint the plywood white before installing everything…. ? I have a Telecommunications and Electrical background and we used to paint the backboards with a flame resistant (code) white paint before mounting anything. Just makes for a real clean job.
Anyway… thanks for sharing about the Powerwall… and again… for being so open and honest.
That's pretty interesting that it brings the power level up before the storm on it's own I'm going to research this thanks for the info!
Wonder if storm watch includes hurricanes which is what I have to deal with.
@@JohnVanderbeck I'd be willing to bet it does shouldn't be to hard to find out.....
looks like this channel is only about energy
(i like it)
Sustainable tech.
@@UndecidedMF
Sustainable tech from the consumer perspective.
Back when discovery channel and the like showed educational TV I would see all sorts of programs about "upcoming technologies that could revolutionize xyz" and those are fine topics, but it was always disappointing to notice these never come to fruition due to various economic factors.
Your channel is unique in that it examines the real-life-right-now costs of these technologies as they are brought to market - which means we can finally start getting excited about these technologies for the most part as most are either already cost efficient (thanks Chinese solar investments!) or make financial sense is select markets / conditions.
As these products reach the market, this channel can be to sustainable tech what MKBHD is to smartphones.
@@UndecidedMF And home automation toys.
That was very well done. I was very pleased with the direct forward information. I have solar and am thinking about a power wall. Living in Florida power goes out often.
Awesome, you’re in Mass. I’m in Taunton and I’m considering it for the second house because it’s perfect for light. It’s good to hear it works well.
100% installer matters the most. My parents recently added an LG battery system to their existing solar system and the guy who did it ( and also did their solar install) did a perfect install. Plainly laid out the options for cost vs. simplicity of future expansion, and the conduit runs were pr0nographic
Matt awesome video I suppose for the $7000 price tag they would include the insulating grommet for the conduit less wiring awesome work..
I have Powerwalls on order (taking AGES!) and recently learned about Enphase batteries from an energy expert/architect friend. I found you video while doing research to compare the two. It turns out that many of the downsides you mentioned are addressed by the Enphase technology. I admit that I’ve been a Tesla fangirl but I think it might be time for a change.
I live in Melbourne Australia we never have snow here thankfully. I recently had a solar system installed that comprises 10 kw of panels which is 25 panels and a power wall 2. It has only been in a week sadly we have had overcast days every day. The system has still managed to keep the battery charged over 50% even though this month is the lowest in the year for sunshine. The entire system was installed in a week by a registered solar installer. It cost me $30.000.00 AUD .like you I am fascinated by watching the app showing power going into the grid or battery or just charging the battery. Although it is mid-winter here we have still managed to run the house over 90% off the solar. I have found your videos informative and entertaining you say it as it is . I appreciate the effort you put into producing them.
Gary Melbourne Australia.
I don't have the bell set to ring on any channel. but I watch everything from my subscriptions.
I'll take it! Appreciate it.
Tesla installed our solar and dual pw2 for all circuits and it was amazingly seamless. Some other vendors didn't even know they existed. Tesla did all the work with the power company and knew all the steps to do. Highly recommended to have Tesla install their own products.
Don't believe on advertising zombies, do your OWN research , tesla is overpriced premium MUMBO JUMBO.
@@nexusdrexus9361 and whose battery is unmatched in the industry. fantastic product and you known nothing.
To your final question, yes, home (or at least nearby) battery sounds like a good idea! And you’re welcome. The suspense was well played and the music on point.
Great video Matt. We are very very close to getting both solar and a Powerwall,. Now I am prepared to ask questions of my installers, and what to watch for when the come! I think we only need enough juice to run the HVAC and our Model Y, and since we live in a desert, there is ALWAYS sunshine 99.8% of the year.
My dad always said to get multiple quotes and never go for the cheapest one.
This is good advice, but in my case, I went with the cheapest 2 our of the three major times I hired a contractor for a major project, and the third off time, when I hired someone with good reviews, it turned out Id accidentally hired a copycat contractor who was deliberately using another company's name to benefit off their reputation. Someone who shows up, does the letter of the law, but not the spirit, and costed me thousands to have the actual company come in and fix their screwup. The other two times when I hired the cheapest contractor, those two contractors did a fantastic job and I'll definitely hire them again.
Most contractors charge high on residential because the homeowner is not clear on what they want or expect, and they will not pay for electrical engineering.
Where i live it doesn't matter. Actually in many (most?) part of the world more expensive doesn't mean better
2500 is super cheap. I’m an electrical contractor and 4-5k would be a ball park.
Cheap labor is maybe why it delayed so much.
when I buy a product, I first spend a while looking at my options and doing research. I first figure out what it is that I should be wanting from the product. you can't know what you don't know. once I know what it is I want, I look for the best deal on it. usually mid-range is best. never go for the cheapest, you'll be disappointed.
I live in South Africa and had one installed about a year ago. Absolutely amazing!! We have power outages sometimes up to 3 times a day and this has been a life saver for us. Trying so save up to add a second one.
Did you have to get it directly overseas or there's a dealer in South Africa?
@@sifisodubazana9931 Rubicon is a distributor but stock availability may vary
@@dawiezeelie6631 Thank you
Personally Im considering going with Generac PowerCell due to expandability and higher peak load capacity, but it is nice hearing the pros of other battery systems.
Really good vid and many thanks for the pro level outcome. I have a 15kW gas generator with a breakout panel and mechanical cutover switch. Cost for equipment and sub-panel install- about $3,500. I keep gasoline in steel 55 gal drums with Sta-bil. 1 gallon/hour for fuel use. Rotate the gas into my cars once a year and I have gasoline delivered to refill them. I've used this system in multi-day power outages and it works flawlessly. Just a thought on an alternative to Powerwall- way less expensive, runs the entire house except for air conditioning. No drama on the install either. Again, great work on the vid, and I totally understand why folks use solar/Powerwalls.
Many solar systems pay for themselves after 10 years or so due to savings on energy bills.
2021 I feel will be a drastic change. I have so many hopes. Power wall and solar roof I hope to be in my near future. Great video, like the points you brought out
how do you feel about the illusion of distributed shingles, when infact its a massive High voltage string of shingles going thru a centralized Delta inverter. well i guess now its the Tesla inverter same dinosaur technology. for solar to be superior it is imperative that your system is utilizing distributed architecture. power generation is most efficient and safe with AC on the roof. not DC like Tesla uses.
@@guidedbygreen1480 Micro inverters would be safer, not sure what the voltage is that would come in on the tesla roof, but my solar shed has 135v coming in with no issue. I am always looking to broaden my knowledge though, please provide link to any information.
Doing a parts and required tools inventory prior to starting work is important.
Had a local installer in a small town in South Australia install our tesla battery with our solar panels - bit pricey, but no problems with the installation and have been very pleased with the system. Even on quite cloudy days am getting some 'solar' input on our 8Kw system - credit in spring and summer hopefully to offset less solar in winter. Feed in credit to the grid is less than half of exporting costs. Hope it pays for itself in about 7 years.
After I installed my solar panels I knew that “someday” I would add a Powerwall. However, that “someday” is coming sooner than expected. My service provider (FPL) recently began charging customers who use less than $25 / month, which includes me, as I constantly produce more power than I use, meaning my electric bill is $0. But now I have to pay $29.93 for the privilege of staying connected to the grid, even tho I put surplus power into the grid and never take any out. So I am learning about electric storage by watching videos and reading. Once I get my Powerwall I am disconnecting my FPL service. I am getting nothing for that almost $30 per month. I would rather pay PACE or Ygrene and know I am getting something for my money.
After learning that he went with the cheapest place he found I’m all the sudden not surprised he had these issues. Sometimes it’s worth paying extra to have the job done right and fast the first time
Research is just as important as price. There are plenty charging through the roof (erherm) and still providing shitty service.
The Solar Roof thing was a clusterfuck from top to bottom.
Competent, reliable, experienced people are hard to come by.
a HARD Man is Good to find. some Woman said.
these were all great points. When i had solar installed I used all engery solar and they covered all the things your brought up.
G'day Matt, thanks for the info. I have a 14Kw solar system and I was investigating battery backup. We do go through extended power outages here in AU particularly when the temp outside is 40+ Dec C and everyone has there AC flat chat. The issue here is even with a grid disconnect we cannot use the battery/solar if the grid power goes off. They do not permit solar/battey power during a grid outage through risk of high level feed back into the grid with solar/battery.
@@calebmauer1751 G'day Caleb, it is illegal here in Victoria AU to manually disconnect from the grid then enable the solar/battery system, fines are extremely heavy at 100K for a private house and 1mill for a business. I purchased a Bluetti inverter battery system to help with power outages.
Several thoughts:
Generac has load shedding modules that could be used to prevent over drawing your power wall. I ran into these when looking at a transfer switch for a portable generator.
The installer was probably going to ignore any need for a service disconnect switch. I’m sure he’s not the first.
Do you like your Generac? My wife and I have been discussing on which avenue to go power wall or Generac.
My 56kwh's of chevy volt batteries has been running off grid system for 3 years. It can be done. With 18000 watts of inverters runs everything.
Inverters are the bane of our existence
@@joeltashinian5888 : Only if you buy by price not by design......Competent engineering
will protect itself from most hazards, cheap, made in China, will blow it's self out.....
My point is we are too quickly just converting to AC when many products actually use DC ! And we don't get in and insist on DC circuit's the house that run before the inverter takes the power and converts it then we are forever losing a lot of power to the inverter and then that power is going to have to mostly be converted back to DC and actually that the most inefficient process of all. so why take it there? Let's not be so quick to invert all this excellent DC power which is powering our lives these days all of our lighting Electronics Etc. but not only that, DC refrigerators Kenmore efficiently use solar energy
@@joeltashinian5888 That is a true statement. It sure was easy to hookup my 12kw 240 split phase inverter and run everything. One circuit breaker and 4 wires AC side and two 4/0 dc wires done.
@@regdor8187 Hmm. I don't think so. What is the source for such an outrageous statement?
I’m not close to thinking about doing this, but I appreciate the details! Well done.
I have to say, your verbal presentation is superlative. Absolutely never an ummm or uhhh. And never do you say something inaccurate or unclearly that may or may not get corrected with the next statement. Never any ambiguity or poorly chosen wording. Studio lighting, visual aids, audio quality and volume levels, across all edits are so very well done. And about your editing, it is very professional. Even your sponsor inserts are professionally and tastefully integrated and absolutely interesting- so much so that I continue paying attention (and do not skip ahead). Excellent production all the way around, but did I mention your script writing and presentation… absolutely superlative.
I like that your humble enough to publicly admit where you made poor decisions that resulted in delays ... other people also shift blame on someone else -- & seem to exhibit little if any personal accountability or integrity of character, when something goes wrong they "pass the buck" as its said!
Your right, the energy storage system combined with rooftop solar PV a really cool system when everything working. I would add that is should be able to work without an internet connection to really work well if there is a network outage & power outage, major natural disaster nearby that knocks out high speed internet or similar, or an extended power output, where you can jack into the unit with a laptop via a direct access web portal to "configure on the fly" to have at least some power for boiling water, keeping the fridge cold, using a electric blanket to stay warm, running small low wattage electric space heaters if the centra system fails (see backup indoor electric heating options- cheap small 700 w oil filled or little ceramic 250-500 watt units, to heat a bedroom to prevent dangerous cold harm etc
Matt, Tesla installed three Powerwalls at my house in November 2020. The installation went smoothly. For example, without me asking, Tesla installed a soft starter on my A/C. For those considering a Powerwall, I'll note two aspects. First, as expected, the system is not loss-free. On average so far, the Powerwalls return about 85% of the energy that goes into them. My main objective is to get through power outages, so I would consider "backup-only" mode, but my understanding is that batteries lose their capacity rapidly if constantly charged fully. Second, I recommend any electrical vehicle charger NOT be part of the circuits that are backed up. An EV charging overnight can rapidly drain the Powerwalls. Tesla cars appear to have some sort of integration with Powerwalls to prevent draining Powerwalls. (A customization setting is "Tesla vehicle charging will be enabled when Powerwall is above" 80%, by default.) Better charge EVs from the grid except in emergencies.
Hi Matt, I had a Tesla 4.8 kW solar panel system (1 of 4 set sizes from Tesla Energy) and a Powerwall installed in My MA home.
Still waiting for the bi-directional meter to be installed, though...going on 4 months wait.
The panels and Powerwall were installed in one day. Great, clean job. Electrical inspections were good but not as timely as I would have liked. The SMART program is fantastic and should mean an additional $10,000 over the 5-10 years of the SMART program. Add the 30% ITC, and as someone I met at the Y said when I explained the program, It's a no-brainer!
I used Tesla and my install was super clean and fast All professional with power wall emergency shut off and everything installed I would definitely Use them again on one of my other homes I didnt have any of these problems Thats why your Video is Very Good because its explaining all the things that could go wrong when you use a company that does not install solar everyday and has to order tesla products like power wall thanks for the information
I'd recommend keeping those comm wires out of the conduit. Switching loads can couple from the HV wires into the comm wires causing communication errors or even damage. (wiki EMC)
Keep in mind most of these people are nerds and have no formal education or training in the electrical world. I have watched post by these nerds trying to perform electrical work and their ignorance and aragance is mind boggleing and in most situation dangerous! I'm a Journeymen electricain with of 30 years of experience and taring in both the electical world and IT world.
Most communications are Class II wiring and should have separation from standard power wiring by code, hence the likely should not be in the same conduit with 120VAC power. Exception is if the Class II cables have high voltage insulation.
Hey Matt, I'd like to thank you for the great videos you put, always very interesting topics. Regarding this video I'd suggest you to prepare a pdf file with the list of items that you needed for the entire installation and maybe an instruction regarding the installment steps to follow and a link to it so that people who are not in the US can follow your experience in case they want to get a Powerwall like you.
What about the grape charges though? He really put that boys bee whole through the wringer.
In preparation for a Powerwall, last Winter I installed a 200 amp, single phase Honeywell ATO on my home out here in the Country. For now I'm backing up my grids electricity with a 12KW Westinghouse Propane Generator, but I wired it so that I can install a my Solar System & Powerwall easily to work with both the grid and the back up generator. The 14 KW Solar System will also have 600 watt wind generator.
I have the perfect spot to install 2 Tesla powerwalls. Half my home is Propane.
So during August my largest current/ usage draw is 9 KW here in the South.
2 should do it.
I am a retired Power Company Distribution Technician, so I am building my own setup.
FYI, If you folks have a Smart Meter on your house, you can check your power usages easy with your phone with the Power Companies Apps.
I was planning on getting a new roof this summer along with a natural gas generator. During my research, I found out about Tesla Roofs. When I started digging into it, I decided to go with the Tesla Roof/powerwall. Between the cost of just getting a new roof and getting the generator, the price for the Tesla option isn't much more expensive. It's not helping much now that the cost of everything is going up, but I'm hoping to have my roof and walls in before this next winter.