OT: anyone have the Tesla powerwall?

[bikerboy337]

I'm in MA. We installed a 1.5kwh solar system 2 years ago and that's been amazing, break even at this point with a loan, in a few years we'll be in the black and making money while paying little or no electric bill (my bill used to be around $250-300 a month for electric).

I was looking into battery backup a few months ago and my solar installer/electrician recommended against it at this point, reasoning was the pricing isn't quite there yet to make it worthwhile for our purposes. We lose power a few times a year and maybe once every 1-2 years it goes out for 1-2 days. He recommended that we sit tight for now with the generator and wait a few years for battery pricing to come down before jumping in. I felt that was a decent recommendation seeing as i would have been paying him for the work...he hasn't done it himself (he has a huge solar system at home) as he's waiting a few years as well, the pricing structure here in MA at least hasn't shown to be too beneficial for homeowners yet... at least from what he said and from the short amount of research i did...

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by pasadena

tesla pricing is good, made diy seem pointless for me.

I'm in socal, so I can bank on sun most of days of the year.
Tesla rates at 15Kwh for the battery, but if a blackout goes for more than a day, I would most likely have 5-7hrs of full sun most every day, especially in the summer when blackouts are most likely to occur.

Ideally, I would like to use the AC but central is at least 3.5Kwh every hour...

However, I'm thinking it could run a mini split unit (which I do have also) if things got to that point of discomfort in a blackout situation.

Other than kitchen, lights and some electronics - the power seems adequate for even a multi-day blackout (my assumption that I would have solar recharge during the days).
Unless i'm missing something?

I'm not sure if I should futureproof and get more solar panels, if I want to add a power bank or have more load.... ?

I don't get many power outages so a battery backup isn't worth it for me. I've got a system that uses optimizers. There's also the old fashioned string system and microinvertors. Make sure you get the type of system you want. I'd plan the system for some future growth, like an electric car, hot tub, or some other planned future load, but wouldn't futureproof beyond what gives you a zero electric bill. The power company will pay peanuts for any excess power you generate. As long as your inverter has excess capacity, you can add more panels later.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by MikeD

The power company will pay peanuts for any excess power you generate.

Some don't pay at all...I'm just building up credits...

I should put a charging station out by my mailbox, with a tip jar for payment.

[KarlC]

Im in Ca and we are working towards the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP)

Has anyone else gone thru this process ?? ........................... Here is how I was told it works, in a nutshell ......

Great meeting you, attached is the solar proposal we went over, below is the basic break down.

Because they keep turning properties off in the fire zones due to winds, the state is providing $13,200 of rebate per battery to install Tesla Powerwall whole home battery systems.

I have attached some additional information on Powerwall for your convenience. Here is the fire zone link: ArcGIS - Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) - Residential v2. Here is the link for the SCE Medical Baseline application: DocuSign.

We would take care of your SGIP (State Rebate) application to make the process easy. As we discussed, we are working to get customers on the waiting list as soon as the paperwork is done, to insure funds are available.

Here is the pricing breakdown:

Powerwalls./. SGIP Rebate./. Net Cost
2 $29,400......... $26,400...........$3000
3 $42,600 ......... $39,600......... $3000
4 $55,800 ......... $52,800 ........ $3000
5 $69,000 ......... $66,000......... $3000
6 $82,200 ......... $79,200......... $3000

Here is the pricing breakdown if your project is eligible for the Federal refund (ITC) in which case they would be paying you to put these in:

Powerwall./. Federal Tax Credit./. SGIP Rebate./. Net Cost
2 $29,400......... $7,644......... $26,400......... -$4,644
3 $42,600......... $11,076......... $39,600......... -$8,076
4 $55,800......... $14,508......... $52,800......... -$11,508
5 $69,000......... $17,940......... $66,000......... -$14,940
6 $82,200......... $21,372......... $79,200......... -$18,372


.

[MikeD]

Another thing, how's the condition of your roof? A guy on an EV chat list said he put on a new roof in conjunction with solar, and the federal solar tax credit covered the roof also.

[NHAero]

You can credit that to another meter.

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Some don't pay at all...I'm just building up credits...

I should put a charging station out by my mailbox, with a tip jar for payment.

[pasadena]

Karl,
Seems SGIP is exhausted, only a waitlist unless you are SCE or SCGas.
It may be good to wait for a possible extension of this program, thanks for this info

Originally Posted by KarlC

Im in Ca and we are working towards the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP)

Has anyone else gone thru this process ?? ........................... Here is how I was told it works, in a nutshell ......

Great meeting you, attached is the solar proposal we went over, below is the basic break down.

Because they keep turning properties off in the fire zones due to winds, the state is providing $13,200 of rebate per battery to install Tesla Powerwall whole home battery systems.

I have attached some additional information on Powerwall for your convenience. Here is the fire zone link: ArcGIS - Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) - Residential v2. Here is the link for the SCE Medical Baseline application: DocuSign.

We would take care of your SGIP (State Rebate) application to make the process easy. As we discussed, we are working to get customers on the waiting list as soon as the paperwork is done, to insure funds are available.

Here is the pricing breakdown:

Powerwalls./. SGIP Rebate./. Net Cost
2 $29,400......... $26,400...........$3000
3 $42,600 ......... $39,600......... $3000
4 $55,800 ......... $52,800 ........ $3000
5 $69,000 ......... $66,000......... $3000
6 $82,200 ......... $79,200......... $3000

Here is the pricing breakdown if your project is eligible for the Federal refund (ITC) in which case they would be paying you to put these in:

Powerwall./. Federal Tax Credit./. SGIP Rebate./. Net Cost
2 $29,400......... $7,644......... $26,400......... -$4,644
3 $42,600......... $11,076......... $39,600......... -$8,076
4 $55,800......... $14,508......... $52,800......... -$11,508
5 $69,000......... $17,940......... $66,000......... -$14,940
6 $82,200......... $21,372......... $79,200......... -$18,372


.

[KarlC]

Originally Posted by pasadena

Karl,
Seems SGIP is exhausted, only a waitlist unless you are SCE or SCGas.
It may be good to wait for a possible extension of this program, thanks for this info

You are right, this free $$$$ is gone or going fast, but we are with SCE and we are told that we are locked in.

We are shooting for 6 Tesla powerwall batteries, Im still hoping it all works out.

Thx

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Another thing, how's the condition of your roof? A guy on an EV chat list said he put on a new roof in conjunction with solar, and the federal solar tax credit covered the roof also.

Umm...that's probably considered routine maintenance versus specific solar investment. If he were audited it might be disallowed.

We did some tree work in preparation for our solar installation, as a handful of trees blocked some of the roof. Cost ran about 10% of the total and we did lump it in with the rest of the solar cost. So far, so good.

Based on that experience, I have no concerns about taking a federal credit for a battery installation... A gennie might be a stretch...

[NHAero]

I was considering a Powerwall quite a while back (the company I worked for until the end of 2020 is a PV and battery installer) but now I am pinning my hopes on Vehicle-To-Building tech maturing, especially since Ford has put their muscle behind it with the new electric F150.

My new Chevy Bolt is the equivalent of almost 5 Tesla Powerwalls - that would do a nice job of powering my house, especially if the PVs could recharge it.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I was considering a Powerwall quite a while back (the company I worked for until the end of 2020 is a PV and battery installer) but now I am pinning my hopes on Vehicle-To-Building tech maturing, especially since Ford has put their muscle behind it with the new electric F150.

My new Chevy Bolt is the equivalent of almost 5 Tesla Powerwalls - that would do a nice job of powering my house, especially if the PVs could recharge it.

Wonder how many lithium batteries one could stuff into a Cannondale OS frame... You could make a nice on topic bike-to-building setup.

[pasadena]

That is really interesting!

Originally Posted by NHAero

I was considering a Powerwall quite a while back (the company I worked for until the end of 2020 is a PV and battery installer) but now I am pinning my hopes on Vehicle-To-Building tech maturing, especially since Ford has put their muscle behind it with the new electric F150.

My new Chevy Bolt is the equivalent of almost 5 Tesla Powerwalls - that would do a nice job of powering my house, especially if the PVs could recharge it.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by NHAero

My new Chevy Bolt is the equivalent of almost 5 Tesla Powerwalls - that would do a nice job of powering my house, especially if the PVs could recharge it.

I just got back from looking at a 2022 Bolt, may replace 2018 Fit being the trade in value is so stupid high. The wife actually had to pump her own gas yesterday, no one came to work to pump due to 114^ heat. Will see if never having to go to a gas station again is appealing, will be her commuter. Already have the Level 2 for the PHEV Van.

I asked my friend what kWh his Tesla powerwall is. Sez it is a PowerWall 2 and 200kwh storage. That was a serious upgrade to his system I bet.

[jimcav]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Umm...that's probably considered routine maintenance versus specific solar investment. If he were audited it might be disallowed.

We did some tree work in preparation for our solar installation, as a handful of trees blocked some of the roof. Cost ran about 10% of the total and we did lump it in with the rest of the solar cost. So far, so good.

Based on that experience, I have no concerns about taking a federal credit for a battery installation... A gennie might be a stretch...

the solar company won't guarantee the install against leaks if the roof is over a certain age. So unless the roof is pretty new, it is covered as part of solar install . You can pick a company that has its own roof division, or you can contract with a separate roofer, but the roof has to be done or else the solar co. won't give you any guarantee on leaks/repairs, which in turn impacts home insurance.

[NHAero]

I'll bet you a packet of Veloplugs your friend is mistaken

"One Powerwall 2 stores 13.5 kWh, basically enough to run your major appliances for a total of 24 hours."

Most Americans don't know the difference between kW and kWh so people describe their systems with creative quantities.

Of course, your friend may have 15 Powerwall 2 units!

Originally Posted by robt57

I just got back from looking at a 2022 Bolt, may replace 2018 Fit being the trade in value is so stupid high. The wife actually had to pump her own gas yesterday, no one came to work to pump due to 114^ heat. Will see if never having to go to a gas station again is appealing, will be her commuter. Already have the Level 2 for the PHEV Van.

I asked my friend what kWh his Tesla powerwall is. Sez it is a PowerWall 2 and 200kwh storage. That was a serious upgrade to his system I bet.