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Powerwall in New England ?
- Thread starter masam
- Start date
In the process of getting a multi-powerwall installation thanks to the referral program!
Had site visit and waiting for utility approval. Process was delayed by more than a month
so could upgrade my A/C since the old system (circa late-80's) had no specifications
available. That was completed in January...
Had site visit and waiting for utility approval. Process was delayed by more than a month
so could upgrade my A/C since the old system (circa late-80's) had no specifications
available. That was completed in January...
Would'a been nice to have a Powerwall this week, with a two day power outage due to the snow storm. But with net metering in MA, the only use (that I can see) for a Powerwall would be as a UPS...and it's a rather pricey one at that. I'd need a bunch to keep my house going for even 8 hours.
I’m looking at either a standby generator and all the associated headaches re: fuel & maintainence as compared with a Powerwall or two (with existing solar) where I have do nothing and I could essentially live off grid perpetually (with caveats of course). So far I’ve had no success in getting Tesla to call me back.
The discussion of the Powerwall or equivalent vs a generator was certainly highlighted last week. I am expanding my Sunrun solar system and they tried very hard to get me to be an early adoptor of their new battery option.
One time cost of $1k and then monthly payments of $7. Supports 4 circuits for approximately 9-10 hours. Problem for Sunrun is I already have a generator connected to 6 breakers and can run the generator as long as I have gas.
I still had snow on my panels long after 10 hours so while the battery option has advantageous it also has limitations. I ended up saying yes to expanding the solar system and no to the battery. Also found out which I didn't know that National Grid has a limit on the amount of power they will purchase so Sunrun had to downsize the solar system expansion since its a lease option. Eversource has a similiar situation. Anyone else run into this?
I was told last year that NG has limits on net metering for commercial installations. I was under the impression that panels hooked up to 10 kW inverters were not an issue. Higher than that might not be able to get 100% net metering.
I just went through this process with Eversource trying to get approval for additional 9 panels and 2 powerwalls (in addition to my existing 34 panels). Existing panels work off of 7kW inverter. And the smallest inverter Tesla can install is 3.4kW (I think), which was bringing me over that 10kW limit. After calling directly to Eversource, they actually told me, that you can have up to 25kW inverter on your house in MA (for three-phase connection), you just have to register with MassACA which was news to my Tesla representative. He double checked it, and said that this information is correct, and that Tesla will take care and cover the fee for MassACA application. At this point, I'm about a week/two away from getting approval from Eversource for installation of the system.
Very interesting. I am going to follow up and see what National Grid says about this.
So this morning I get an update from my Sunrun rep and he indicated that National Grid is much more restrictive then Eversource on this an that MassACA is not an option. Also commented on MassACA that some of their Eversource customers have gone on a waiting list and in some cases the customers approval process took many months.
ivolodin hope your application gets quick approval.
ivolodin hope your application gets quick approval.
Hope so, Tesla already contacted me and said that Eversource requested that they change some materials in their plan for the installation, and that they will resubmit it once those changes are done (was a week ago). I assume that if they gotten to the point where they are looking at specific materials, application has already gone through the general approval process, but we'll see.
It's interesting that MassACA is different for National Grid. I though that this was state-run program, and is part of the new law that went into effect in the last year, but maybe I'm wrong. I wouldn't completely trust Sunrun rep on this, since Tesla didn't even know that this program exists at all, and I had to do all of the leg-work myself and call Eversource directly to get that information. It's possible that's not the case with Sunrun, but I would probably verify it myself.
To get back to the original question (sorry the thread got derailed somewhat), I think it's a bit hard to answer directly, because at this point it doesn't make a whole lot of sense installing Powerwall alone, without installing solar panels at the same time. If you install Powerwall alone, you will have to pay for the Powerwall + installation charges, which usually comes out to be around $7k (for a single Powerwall), however, if you install it as part of the solar array installation, you get 30% back in federal tax credits and other credits, because in that case, Powerwall is considered to be part of the renewable energy system installation, which is subject to credits and incentives.
Installing both Powerwall and solar array through Tesla is a pretty smooth experience (unless you already have an existing solar system). If you already have solar panels installed, then Tesla at this point more or less refuses to install secondary system. I was only able to get mine approved because the rep that I worked with on the initial system promised me that she would be able to push through approval for additional panels later, and she got promoted to regional manager position, which allowed her to fulfill that promise.
@ivolodin: I agree with you. Not much sense in getting a Powewall without solar. I already have solar and when I discussed this with a Tesla Energy rep last week, he said there's no problem installing the Powerwall with an existing system. Just have to reserve one ($500, refundable) and they can come out to give a concrete estimate.
@masam Sure, Tesla has absolutely no problem installing Powerwall with existing solar system. Or even without any solar system at all. What I'm saying is - it doesn't make sense to do that right now. If you just add Powerwall to existing solar system, you have to pay the whole amount (around $7K). If you install Powerwall + additional solar system, you pay $7K for Powerwall - 30% federal tax incentive - all the local rebates. So adding Powerwall to the existing system will cast you about twice as much. For example, in my case, I'm installing two Powerwall, if I was installing them alone it would cost me $11638 for batteries + $1600 for installation and additional hardware. However, since I'm installing it as part of the solar system those two Powerwalls + installation will end up costing me around $8076, since they will be subject to federal tax incentives and local rebates.
In order to lower the price of the Powerwall, you have to install it at the same time as you are installing solar system. Otherwise, if it's just an addon, you have to pay the full price.
In order to lower the price of the Powerwall, you have to install it at the same time as you are installing solar system. Otherwise, if it's just an addon, you have to pay the full price.
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I see what you mean. I've seen some posts here claiming that if you charge the Powerball only by solar, they will be eligible for the 30% rebate. Here's one report I've seen on an IRS ruling for a homeowner : Adding Batteries to Existing Rooftop Solar Could Qualify for 30 Percent Tax Credit
There's caveats that you can't use this as a precedent ... so YMMV
There's caveats that you can't use this as a precedent ... so YMMV
Oh, interesting. I didn't know that. When I spoke with Tesla, they basically said you have to install batteries as part of solar system to qualify. But I guess it's in their best interest to sell you as much as possible. In my case, my existing array doesn't cover my electrical costs (not even close), so adding more panels is a good idea, since Tesla already has to go through getting an approval from Eversource anyways.
I’d love to get more panels too. I’m a little over 2MW short annually. Unfortunately, I will also need to build more roof
Assuming you don't have Time of Use rates. Although that is slowly changing - Liberty Utilities files for Tesla battery pilot in NH
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