Okay to buy Powerwall 2 from an estate sale?

[Deuce24]

Hello TMC Energy folks,

I have an opportunity to buy a Powerwall 2 from an estate sale in SoCal. I'm trying to gather as much info as I possibly can before deciding what to do. The cost of the Powerwall will only be ~$1,000, but I'm gonna have to find an installer to do some work...this is my thought so far:

1) Find installer to uninstall PW2 and gateway from solar system at estate home and set up to function without it.
2) Have installer install PW2 and gateway at my residence (I have a 7.4kWh solar system installed).
3) Have it connected to my Tesla account so I can monitor it/change functionality/etc.

I know it is going to cost a decent amount in labor for this to be done, I'm thinking at least a couple thousand dollars or more probably? I'm just not sure if it'll be worth it in the end for me. My bill through SCE at year's end is already negative, even with my Model 3. I'm on a grandfathered TOU-D-A plan and charge after 10pm during super off peak. I don't think there's any real ROI on the PW2 to be had for me until I get a 2nd electric car. I think it'll only function as a battery back up for me?

I believe I can arbitrage and have the PW2 charge up during off peak/shoulder hours up to 2:00pm on my TOU plan, and then I can feed that into my house during Peak hours? This'll save me some Peak power usage, but since SCE basically only pays $0.03 per kWH at the end of the year, it isn't going to be a lot of money, correct?

Just kinda looking for some input as to whether I should go through with it or not...thanks for taking the time to read.

 

[patrick40363]

I would pass on it.

 

[AEdennis]

Have you checked with Tesla to see if a Powerwall can be re-installed in a different home? Will they continue the warranty if you have someone OTHER than Tesla do it?

 

[gaswalla]

This sounds like a great plan if you’re an electrician

 

[Sherlo]

I’d pass since you don’t need it for arbitrage. Only other benefit is backup, that’s your decision.

 

[Deuce24]

Soooo I actually installed my entire solar setup. I could honestly probably do the install for the PW2, but finding specific documentation or YouTube walkthroughs has been challenging. I’m unsure about warranty transfer. I doubt if I attempted to do the work myself that they’d allow for the warranty. But at only a $1,000 cost warranty wouldn’t be a major concern to me.

Unfortunately as excited as I am about the PW I think I might pass on it, as sad as it makes me. I also don’t have any panel space left and would have to install a sub panel to accommodate the PW and backup gateway.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

[zanary]

Soooo I actually installed my entire solar setup. I could honestly probably do the install for the PW2, but finding specific documentation or YouTube walkthroughs has been challenging. I’m unsure about warranty transfer. I doubt if I attempted to do the work myself that they’d allow for the warranty. But at only a $1,000 cost warranty wouldn’t be a major concern to me.

Unfortunately as excited as I am about the PW I think I might pass on it, as sad as it makes me. I also don’t have any panel space left and would have to install a sub panel to accommodate the PW and backup gateway.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

If you do it yourself, will it still appear in the Tesla app automatically? If not how would you get Tesla to provision it?

just curious.

 

[jjrandorin]

OP I found a copy of the powerwall installation manual online somewhere that I have. Not because I was ever going to do it myself, but I like to have documentation on things I own (or am about to own), so I could post it here if you wanted.

With that being said, You would have to contact Tesla to see not only would the warranty it or not, but would they even add it to your tesla account / provision it, or not. Would they? Can they refuse? No idea, but it would be a question I would ask.

 

[Az_Rael]

Will they continue the warranty if you have someone OTHER than Tesla do it?

Plenty of non-Tesla installers out there that are Powerwall certified. You don’t have to buy Powerwalls directly from Tesla and you still get the full warranty and all the features.

 

[bkp_duke]

Plenty of non-Tesla installers out there that are Powerwall certified. You don’t have to buy Powerwalls directly from Tesla and you still get the full warranty and all the features.

Correct, but Tesla does have to activate them for usage and app access. If you watch the 3rd party installers, they always get on the phone with Tesla for this part of the install, no way around that. They won't talk to the mothership and get software updates, provide usage, etc. without it.

 

[jjrandorin]

Correct, but Tesla does have to activate them for usage and app access. If you watch the 3rd party installers, they always get on the phone with Tesla for this part of the install, no way around that. They won't talk to the mothership and get software updates, provide usage, etc. without it.

Thats what I was thinking. A person wouldnt need to buy it "from tesla" but would likely need to have a "tesla certified" installer do the work. Its likely that those certified installers have a phone number to call / info to provide tesla to get these added to a customers account.

I wonder if just any ole person can call up tesla and say "yeah I need you to add this powerwall to my tesla account", without the install being done by a tesla certified installer.

At least in my area, tesla certified installers charge 2-4k more than tesla itself for a powerwall solution, and tesla itself told me it sells the powerwall to the installers for the same price we buy it for, so that difference is a difference in labor charges.

Translation, something like this could easily be 1k for the powerwall, and 4k for labor or something just to throw a number at a wall. Maybe more, since the electrician would have to both de install the powerwall from one location and do all the work to return the home to a regular setup, then install at a new location. typing it out, it sounds expensive, several thousand easy, since its at least a couple days, transporting the powerwall, etc.

 

[Deuce24]

Thats what I was thinking. A person wouldnt need to buy it "from tesla" but would likely need to have a "tesla certified" installer do the work. Its likely that those certified installers have a phone number to call / info to provide tesla to get these added to a customers account.

I wonder if just any ole person can call up tesla and say "yeah I need you to add this powerwall to my tesla account", without the install being done by a tesla certified installer.

At least in my area, tesla certified installers charge 2-4k more than tesla itself for a powerwall solution, and tesla itself told me it sells the powerwall to the installers for the same price we buy it for, so that difference is a difference in labor charges.

Translation, something like this could easily be 1k for the powerwall, and 4k for labor or something just to throw a number at a wall. Maybe more, since the electrician would have to both de install the powerwall from one location and do all the work to return the home to a regular setup, then install at a new location. typing it out, it sounds expensive, several thousand easy, since its at least a couple days, transporting the powerwall, etc.

Yeah your final paragraph sums up my concerns. I'm still going to call a couple installers tomorrow to see if I can get even a ballpark quote over the phone.

 

[bkp_duke]

Inquiring minds want to know: did you get the PW2? Were you able to install and provision it?

 

[Pale_Rider]

Keep in mind a single PW can only handle 5 kW sustained and 7 kW peak for charging... You solar array may be slightly too large, but it depends on what your actual max output is on a sunny day.