Powerwall Reliability

[pete8314]

So a little background....I'm building a house (DFW area), which should have been finished earlier this year, but, it's not, maybe by the end of the year....

Anyway, I got a quote from a local installer last year, which was fine, however since then the Powerwall has become available in Texas, and it's something I'd like to add to the Solar configuration, more for brown-out protection than anything else (5500 sqft home, pool, AC etc, so the PW will just support the majority of 110v circuits) The installer I selected is not certified for PowerWall, so I've been chatting with Treehouse (out of Austin, but opening in DFW soon). They've provided a similar quote, so I reached back out to the original installer to break the agreement, It's their reply that I found interesting, and wondered whether it's FUD or not:

...We can install and give you a quote for a battery....even a powerwall if you would like. However if you have done any research as of late the Powerwall is failing BIG time, having issues and is getting the worst reviews. I will be happy to let you speak with my engineer who goes to all of the conventions and installs our batteries to explain the problems the customers are having with these powerwalls if you would like.

I've not been staying that up to date with PowerWall, but equally I'm quite tight with the Tesla world and haven't heard anything bad. Have I missed something?

 

[Aussie]

No, you have not missed anything. But I would love to hear what that engineer is saying who goes to all the conventions.....

Some people have reported noise issues with the Powerwall which wouldn't concern you if the unit is outdoors. Others had high temperatures behind the unit. But nothing out of the ordinary. The unit is doing what Tesla says it does. It doesn't change the fact however that it is a very mediocre product. Cycle life is at the bottom of the food chain, it needs to be puzzled together out of many pieces to make a workable solution which creates warranty issues.
With your kind of load (and the Powerwalls low power output) you need at least 2 of them to be able to backup your house. Personally I would also look at alternatives. In the US, Sunverge or sonnen come to mind.

 

[pete8314]

Interesting. It would be installed in the garage, which is attached to the house, and infact the wall by the breaker boxes has a bedroom on the other side, although it's stagger studded and packed with acoustic insulation. I guess I need to do some more research. Over the past few months we've had a few annoying brown-outs (our current house is 5 mins walk from the new one, so it'll have the same issues), but in truth it's not that inconvenient, as I'll be able to have the truely critical stuff on a UPS anyway.

I don't deny the other motivation was that it's a Tesla product, we will have HPWC in both garages, and solar on the roof, so it makes for a nice story, if nothing else. The downside is that to get the Oncor incentives the house cannot be new construction, so until I get the final meter number, nothing solar-related can be installed.

 

[ecarfan]

Quoting an unnamed solar installer: "However if you have done any research as of late the Powerwall is failing BIG time, having issues and is getting the worst reviews."

that is all nonsense.

I have had my Powerwall for a month. Mounted in my garage. It is working perfectly. Very quiet.

 

[ecarfan]

It doesn't change the fact however that it is a very mediocre product. Cycle life is at the bottom of the food chain, it needs to be puzzled together out of many pieces to make a workable solution which creates warranty issues.

More nonsense. You have been bashing the Powerwall in multiple threads this week. Give it a rest.

 

[pete8314]

Thanks. I didn't want to name the local installer as they generally have a great reputation in the DFW area, and came recommended from other Tesla owners, but the tone of the email was a little surprising to me, and Treehouse, so far, have been very responsive, albeit they're new to the Oncor subsidies, so they're learning as they're going. I can, of course, retrofit the PW after the solar install by the original company, but there's an addition cost of around $2-3k, and two throats to choke if something goes wrong.

 

[Aussie]

More nonsense. You have been bashing the Powerwall in multiple threads this week. Give it a rest.

Not sure what is nonsense about this statement. There not many other products out there with such a low cycle life. And that you need to piece together a solution out of multiple components is also a fact. Don't get me wrong. I love Tesla, love the cars. The Gen 1 Powerwall however is just not up to Tesla's high standards.