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Considering 2 Powerwalls for my Solar installation

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J

Jupiter2

Member
Jul 8, 2016
74
100
Los Angeles
#1
Folks…

Looking for some advice here. I bought a house last year that has Tesla Solar panels on the roof. It’s a lease….and I had to assume the lease. Only problem I have is that we generate a lot of excess energy, and they did not install any powerwalls when the project was done.

I’m considering 2 powerwalls (recommended due to our AC, etc). Sadly, Tesla will not sell them to me, but there are 3rd parties that will. But we’re looking at $20K-ish for 2 PW.

Would you go with 2 PW or look at other options like Generac?

Any advice would be helpful!
 
#2
Generac is not much cheaper if at all per kWh, I would get an estimate. $20K-ish considering that the PW is $7500-ish isn't bad for the labor to install the system. I have yet to find a good battery to connect to my house in a DIY fashion (I did my own solar) and all the installers that do Tesla have walked away when I mentioned that I ALREADY have solar, so you are actually ahead of me.

If you amortize it over the warranty period it'll cost you $150+ per month. I am not sure you can save that much a month by storing the sun, maybe in the winter.

I have been thinking about building a giant UPS that I could plug all my always on devices into that charges it's battery during peak solar and then runs my fridge and TiVo and TV and lights each night. I could probably build it for a few thousand bucks and it would save me paying for almost all that power I use at night. No permit, just like any UPS, no mods to my breaker panel, just plug it in and run extension cords to things that run off it.

Like one of these:
www.renogy.com

Lycan 5000 Power Box

Renogy's Lycan 5000 power box is a portable and powerful whole house solar generator that provides reliable and powerful energy for your home emergency backup or off-grid living. With a 5000-watt pure sine wave inverter and a 100Ah battery, it can power most of your essential AC and DC appliances.
www.renogy.com www.renogy.com
 
Last edited:
#3
RedDragon said:
Folks…

Looking for some advice here. I bought a house last year that has Tesla Solar panels on the roof. It’s a lease….and I had to assume the lease. Only problem I have is that we generate a lot of excess energy, and they did not install any powerwalls when the project was done.

I’m considering 2 powerwalls (recommended due to our AC, etc). Sadly, Tesla will not sell them to me, but there are 3rd parties that will. But we’re looking at $20K-ish for 2 PW.

Would you go with 2 PW or look at other options like Generac?

Any advice would be helpful!
Click to expand...

If your third party is willing to sell them to you for 20k installed (instead of 25k to 28k installed), thats pretty good in todays climate. This general question seems to come up fairly often, but the answer is always "what are you trying to accomplish?".

If you are asking "If I spend 20-25k on 2 powerwalls, when will that pencil out for me financially?" and the answer to that (since you already have solar) is probably somewhere between "10-15 years" and "it wont", since you are not talking about "solar + powerwalls".

If the goal is to be more self reliant on your own power, or have backup power, thats something else. I added 2 powerwalls onto my PPA solar in 2020, and am happy I did it, but I did it knowing that it really doesnt pencil out financially, especially for me, since I am on NEM 1.

If you can get them for 20k that seems like a good deal in todays climate. I am somewhat surprised a third party installer was willing to install 2 powerwalls, powerwalls only, for only a little more than what Tesla itself used to install them for when they allowed you to buy them separately. I would be expecting your quote to come in around 22k minimum, up to around 26k or so. I would check into what the lead time is on that, and how many they have done.
 
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#5
RedDragon said:
Folks…

Looking for some advice here. I bought a house last year that has Tesla Solar panels on the roof. It’s a lease….and I had to assume the lease. Only problem I have is that we generate a lot of excess energy, and they did not install any powerwalls when the project was done.

I’m considering 2 powerwalls (recommended due to our AC, etc). Sadly, Tesla will not sell them to me, but there are 3rd parties that will. But we’re looking at $20K-ish for 2 PW.

Would you go with 2 PW or look at other options like Generac?

Any advice would be helpful!
Click to expand...
I would love to have got a quote for 2 PW's installed for only 20K. My bid was a lot more
 
#6
Yeah, agree with some of the other comments. Surprised any installer would even bother doing PWs without solar or some major markup and at $20k which sounds like a crazy good price. I just checked Tesla.com and they charge $20,500 already for 2 so my guess is something is not right.

Most installers don't want to touch anything already there and solar is the easy work, batteries tend to be harder/more work from what I've seen. I've noticed more like $25k-$30k for 2 PWs that are not Tesla and that was 2021.

I'd be suspicious any outside vendor can be cheaper than Tesla.
 
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#7
sunwarriors said:
Yeah, agree with some of the other comments. Surprised any installer would even bother doing PWs without solar or some major markup and at $20k which sounds like a crazy good price. I just checked Tesla.com and they charge $20,500 already for 2 so my guess is something is not right.

Most installers don't want to touch anything already there and solar is the easy work, batteries tend to be harder/more work from what I've seen. I've noticed more like $25k-$30k for 2 PWs that are not Tesla and that was 2021.

I'd be suspicious any outside vendor can be cheaper than Tesla.
Click to expand...
Again, would LOVE to have that quote for 2 PW's. But, if he can get it for that price, its a no brainer. Now, maybe they told him the price after the fed rebate?
 
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#8
h2ofun said:
Again, would LOVE to have that quote for 2 PW's. But, if he can get it for that price, its a no brainer. Now, maybe they told him the price after the fed rebate?
Click to expand...

That would make more sense as far as third party pricing. Like "Oh its going to be roughly 20k (after the fed rebate). That would make the price more like 25-26k, which is more like what we would expect a third party to charge for 2 powerwalls to install them.
 
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#9
RedDragon said:
Looking for some advice here. I bought a house last year that has Tesla Solar panels on the roof. It’s a lease….and I had to assume the lease. Only problem I have is that we generate a lot of excess energy, and they did not install any powerwalls when the project was done.

I’m considering 2 powerwalls (recommended due to our AC, etc). Sadly, Tesla will not sell them to me, but there are 3rd parties that will. But we’re looking at $20K-ish for 2 PW.

Any advice would be helpful!
Click to expand...
First, if you can get and afford the Powerwalls, get them. With AC, if you can afford 3, get 3.

That price, installed, is not that bad. Ensure the installer is conversant with the Tesla Gateway, etc...
 
#10
jjrandorin said:
That would make more sense as far as third party pricing. Like "Oh its going to be roughly 20k (after the fed rebate). That would make the price more like 25-26k, which is more like what we would expect a third party to charge for 2 powerwalls to install them.
Click to expand...
I saw this game with my install. I just said nope, lets talk the net from them, since not everyone has the tax liability to get the 30% back.
 
#11
If you are adding PW's, be sure to wait until next year (knowing most installer pipelines, you prob have to anyway), because then they qualify for the 30% tax credit. With that credit, I would think that tips it in favor of the PW's. In addition, you might qualify for CA battery storage incentives of up to $200 per kWh. That would be an additional $2700 per PW.
 
#12
kulea said:
If you are adding PW's, be sure to wait until next year (knowing most installer pipelines, you prob have to anyway), because then they qualify for the 30% tax credit. With that credit, I would think that tips it in favor of the PW's. In addition, you might qualify for CA battery storage incentives of up to $200 per kWh. That would be an additional $2700 per PW.
Click to expand...
I have been told PW's are good for 30% this year as a write off
 
#13
kulea said:
If you are adding PW's, be sure to wait until next year (knowing most installer pipelines, you prob have to anyway), because then they qualify for the 30% tax credit. With that credit, I would think that tips it in favor of the PW's. In addition, you might qualify for CA battery storage incentives of up to $200 per kWh. That would be an additional $2700 per PW.
Click to expand...
Got links on these. I assume the CA stuff is means tested? Got links
 
#16
kulea said:
No, the new law states that for 2022, a battery storage must be a part of a solar system that you are installing (as has alway been the case). However, starting in 2023, stand alone battery installations can qualify on their own.
Click to expand...
I just wrote my installer? What does part of a solar system mean? Does it have to be 100% new? Or, can someone add a few panels and be legal to
write off? I do not, and would have have stand alone batteries.
 
#17
#18
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#19
h2ofun said:
www.solar.com

Do Batteries Qualify for the Solar Tax Credit in the Inflation Reduction Act?

Do batteries qualify for solar tax credit? This article explains how the Inflation Reduction Act expands the tax credit for battery storage.
www.solar.com www.solar.com
Click to expand...
"If a homeowner wants to add storage to their existing PV system, it may still qualify for the ITC! In a 2018 private ruling, the IRS clarified that the ITC can still be applied to a battery storage system if it is added within a year of the qualified solar installation."

Based on the info the OP gave, I would assume his solar system is over a year old. Therefore, he has to wait till 2023, to get the credit as a separate installation.
 
#20
kulea said:
"If a homeowner wants to add storage to their existing PV system, it may still qualify for the ITC! In a 2018 private ruling, the IRS clarified that the ITC can still be applied to a battery storage system if it is added within a year of the qualified solar installation."

Based on the info the OP gave, I would assume his solar system is over a year old. Therefore, he has to wait till 2023, to get the credit as a separate installation.
Click to expand...
Note that the private ruling specifically states different years. If it is within the same year, it can be claimed as part of the solar system installation.
I used the private ruling as justification to claim the credit two years after the original installation and this was approved by an accountant (YMMV).
 
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