What is the Tesla Powerwall?
The Tesla Powerwall is a good choice for a home battery, offering utility bill savings and backup during outages. Learn why the Powerwall is the most installed home battery in the world.
Home batteries are becoming increasingly popular as electricity prices rise, weather outages increase, and grid resilience falters.
The energy stored from a home battery can power your home for extended periods of time when called upon due to grid failures and more; including devices and appliances.
The Tesla Powerwall is a compact, simple-to-install home battery. The Powerwall can recharge from the grid and store extra energy from solar power or the grid to be used later. Tesla’s Powerwall can be used as a way to power your home 24/7 or as a backup for power outages and comes with energy efficient programs and a means to sell your energy back to the grid. You could also use the Tesla Powerwall during power outages or as a means to stay off the grid. Tesla’s Powerwall comes with customizable power modes for outage protection and electricity bill savings.
There’s more to the Tesla Powerwall than meets the eye. The Powerwall is designed to optimize your energy usage for further savings, provide protection against power outages, reduce reliance on the grid, and integrate with your home. Let’s jump right into what the Tesla Powerwall is, including some useful features and model information.
What is the Tesla Powerwall?
The Tesla Powerwall is an energy storage unit that can power your home in an outage, maintain your home off the grid, or power your house 24/7. It comes with features that enhance your energy usage or even automatically manage your home’s power before and during a storm. The Tesla Powerwall utilizes solar energy and can also use energy from the grid.
The Powerwall comes with energy monitoring, metering, and smart controls through the Tesla app. There are currently three models of the Tesla Powerwall, with a plus version that stands between the Powerwall 2 and the Powerwall 3. Aside from being the more powerful choices, the Powerwall Plus and Powerwall 3 also include an inverter for solar-to-grid efficiency with a system controller.
Here is a copy of Tesla’s Models of Powerwalls table:
The Powerwall 2 is a 13.5kWh floor or wall-mounted indoor/outdoor system capable of being combined with up to 10 powerwalls with dimensions of 45.3 inches tall by 29.6 inches wide and 5.75 inches deep, weighing around 251.3 pounds. The Powerwall Plus weighs almost 100 pounds heavier at 343.9 pounds, with dimensions of 62.8 inches long by 29.7 inches wide and 6.3 inches deep with the capacity of 4 powerwalls. The Powerwall 3 also has a capacity of 4 powerwalls, with dimensions of 43.25 inches long, 24 inches wide, and 7.6 inches deep, weighing in at 287 pounds. The units are all compact and easy to install and can be quickly integrated with solar power and accessed through the Tesla app.
What are the Tesla Powerwall’s Customizable Power Modes and Features?
The Tesla Powerwall comes with the following modes:
- Self-Powered - stored energy is used to power your home after the sun sets to reduce reliance on the grid.
- Time-Based Control - stored energy is used when prices spike, like during the summer months, to give you a lower energy bill.
- Virtual Power Plant - distributed energy sources like solar and battery-powered homes integrated together.
- Backup Reserve - Powerwall energy reserves are stored to sustain your home during grid outages.
These modes can all be accessed through the Tesla app, where you can adjust your power usage of the Tesla Powerwall.
The Tesla Powerwall comes with utility rate plans,off-grid vehicle charging, a feature called Storm Watch, where the system will automatically charge itself to it’s max capacity in order to prepare for a potential outage in an upcoming storm, and a feature called Go Off-Grid.
Where and How Can I Buy a Tesla Powerwall?
To purchase a Tesla Powerwall, the Tesla website offers a purchase option page, in which you can purchase the Powerwall by itself or with solar. Selecting the with solar option includes offers like a solar roof or solar panels. Ordering from the Tesla website also gives you the ability to have Tesla install the system themselves, if they operate in your area. Overall, you’re expected to spend around $6,000 to $8,400 per unit before taxes and fees.
There is a special incentive, the Federal Investment Tax Credit, that offers 30% off of home battery systems like the Tesla Powerwall 3, which would bring the cost of a Powerwall 3 to $5,880. Consult with a tax advisor to understand the full extent of the tax credit. If you install a rooftop solar system with the home battery, you can qualify for 30% off that as well.
Check to see if there are more incentives within your state to purchase one of these batteries.
In Conclusion
The Tesla Powerwall is a great choice for your home’s battery. Updated and modern, the Powerwall comes with features that protect and enhance your home’s power usage. With full integration with solar, you can power your home and all of it’s appliances off the grid entirely 24/7 or have a powerful back-bone if you were to lose power in a storm.
Sources
How Powerwall Works | Tesla Support
Tesla Virtual Power Plant | Tesla Support
Tesla Powerwall 3: How to Order the Latest Home Battery - CNET
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