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Powerwall vs Panasonic Harbor Plus Smart Battery

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Ok, so I have been seeing thread after thread where people are having a multitude of issues with the PW. Since I am just getting ready to do a site survey for my Tesla PV system, I thought I would ask if any forum members out there have any good things to say about their PW's. I am in line for the PW, but could switch to the Smart Battery if it makes more sense.

So please chime in if you have installed a PW and have had no issue with it at all.

Thanks!
 
I have a dual Powerall system running since Feb 15. I'm very happy with the way they're performing and the price worked out to be much cheaper per kWh than other systems. The big plus is that I also have whole-house backup, which would have been hard to achieve with any other system.

The only issues I've had are teething problems with the new time-based controls. It's been working fine for the past week and a half, though.
 
Overall I am satisfied with my Powerwalls. The major benefits are:
  • Cost savings with mitigating of the utility's Time of Use rates
  • Whole home house backup with 2 Powerwalls
  • (Potential) Integration with Tesla vehicles though the app
Some minor cons:
  • Install times for most can take a while, I am fortunately that I am in California where there is not as bad of a lag with installation.
  • Better software integration and options. Like other Tesla products, this can be fixed with updates. I would like to see the option to stop charging a Tesla car in the case of a grid outage. This is especially important during overnight charging.
 
The price on the PW2 was compelling for me. I expected that there were going to be issues and limitations and Tesla has not disappointed on that front. One of my regret so far is I didn't get a 3rd one. I believe I could have switch to the SGIP program for larger installations and gotten similar rebates. Tesla was not helpful on that front, they were recommending that I get 3rd unit (because my PV size was just over their design guidelines for 2 PWs) but I said no because the economics didn't work without the rebate. Tesla has been surprisingly conservative at pushing rebates. I think they don't want to promise a rebate they don't control.

The unfulfilled bet is that Tesla will offer the option to aggregate our units to a virtual power plant. I think that's when the economics really get good. For now I'm reasonably comfortable with my bet. I should break even in 7-10 years with the benefits that I have now.

I would recommend anyone going with Tesla counting on a rebate like SGIP that requires work from the vendor (Tesla) have something in the contract/payment terms that clearly states their responsibilities. After I paid Tesla in full I felt a little powerless while I was waiting for them to finish the paperwork for the SGIP rebate. I don't expect Tesla to float the rebate amount but in hindsight I would have requested a holdback on the contract until they submitted all the paperwork for the rebate and the utility has given the PTO.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Tam
My system has been up since August 2017 with few issues. I have two units and 4.1 kW of solar on the central coast area of California. My goals had originally been to minimize power sold back to PG&E due to the very small payback on the rate plan on I was on (buy@ ~20 c/kWH and sell @ ~3 c/kWH). I have subsequently moved to the EV-A rate and found that the utility pays significantly higher amounts for sold electricity during peak and partial-peak times making it more financially sensible to sell back excess solar.
My current configuration uses grid from 2300 - 0700, primarily for charging my Model S otherwise I'm on solar or battery. Currently, I'm seeing enough solar to recharge the batter to 100% by about noon each day so I go into the peak with a full battery and divert all solar back to the grid. We are fortunate enough to live inland about 15 miles as the crow flies so we benefit from the marine layer most evenings resulting in very little air conditioning usage most of the year, perhaps 2 or 3 weeks in the hottest months. Average non-occupied system usage is less than 8 kWh / day. Occupied is about 25 kWh/day. These numbers are for 2700 ft2 home with good south and west exposures.

I have found that the new TBC settings required some tweaking to meet my needs but overall I'm happy.
I think the key takeaway is that the Powerwall, while not a perfect product, is able to upgraded over the air with firmware updates. Absent that capability, I wouldn't even consider any other system.

One last thing; we've had 8 outages since installation. Most have been short, less than 10 minutes, but two were more than an hour. All were seamless to the computer and any other electronics.

I'm happy.