All About Tesla Powerwalls and Solar Panels

Renewable energy like solar can help property owners reduce their utility bills and carbon footprints. If you have solar panels, a solar battery is an excellent way to store your solar panels’ excess energy. You can use it during an outage or at night when your solar panels aren’t harnessing power from the sun.

Tesla makes one of the most popular solar batteries on the market, the Telsa Powerwall. Learn more about the Powerwall below and how it can become your backup power energy solution.

What Is the Tesla Powerwall and How Does It Work?

The Tesla Powerwall is a backup power system that stores the excess energy your solar panels produce. This solar battery can work alongside your solar inverters or as a standalone unit. Regardless of how you set up the Powerwall, you can utilize the battery storage system and the Powerwall app to store the excess energy your panels produce when rates are low and discharge them when rates increase.

By monitoring your energy consumption and expelling extra energy to utility companies when rates are high, you can save money on your monthly utility bills. The app gives solar customers more control and increased insight into their solar power. Unlike some other solar batteries, the Tesla Powerwall can be recharged via your solar panel system, too.

The Tesla Powerwall requires a strong internet or cellular connection to stay functional, so it can receive regular updates and monitor energy levels. While the Powerwall can operate without an internet connection, it’ll only work with the most recent settings and isn’t ideal as a long-term solution.

Once your solar installer has connected the Powerwall unit to your home, the backup gateway built into the system will detect power outages and disconnect your backup solar batteries from the electrical grid, allowing them to restore power to your home when necessary. The Powerwall helps solar customers become completely energy-independent.

Depending on your solar panel system’s performance and energy consumption, you may need multiple Tesla Powerwall units. Tesla recommends that solar customers have at least one unit for each solar 7.6kW AC within the backup circuit.

Tesla Powerwall as a Power Solution During Outages

The Tesla Powerwall has many significant benefits over backup generators, making them an appealing choice for homeowners and businesses. However, the Powerwall may not be the best solution for everyone. While some people can use only the Tesla Powerwall as their backup power solution, others prefer using a combination of methods.

benefits of the tesla powerwall

Benefits of the Tesla Powerwall

The Tesla Powerwall is an excellent option for solar customers who want a reliable backup power source. However, the best power solution varies for each home and business. Consider the following factors and benefits of the Tesla Powerwall to determine whether it might suit your needs:

  • Environmental impact: The electrical grid is a shared power source for communities — people without solar power rely on it for 100% of their electricity, and people with solar panels can rely on it for backup power when they don’t have a backup power source. The Tesla Powerwall can help reduce how often you need to pull power from the grid, reducing your environmental impact. If there’s an outage or your solar panels aren’t producing enough energy one day, you can rely on your Powerwall to provide the energy to meet your consumption needs. Overall, solar batteries like the Tesla Powerwall offers solar customers a clean, reliable solution to power their home or business.
  • Safety and usability: Traditional backup generators emit fumes and pollutants that can harm your family or patrons. Using the Tesla Powerwall eliminates the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, improving your property’s air quality. These solar batteries also create minimal noise compared to other backup power solutions, making your home or workplace more comfortable.
  • Cost and maintenance: A standard Tesla Powerwall is $7,600, costing $2,000 to $8,000 for installation. A whole-house backup generator can cost up to $15,000 before fuel costs, though smaller units can be less expensive. While the Tesla Powerwall is an investment, it can help you power your home during an outage or when your solar panels don’t produce enough energy to power it, which makes up for the cost.
  • Installation: The Tesla Powerwall is easy for your solar installer to set up. It has a sleek design, and some units can be integrated onto a wall in your home or business for a more discreet appearance. The Tesla Powerwall is also dust- and water-resistant, making maintenance a breeze.
  • Energy performance: The Tesla Powerwall can help power small applications, such as lights. You can have up to 10 Powerwalls to meet your energy needs, which is more efficient than relying on a gas-powered generator that requires a dedicated fuel supply.

FAQs About the Tesla Powerwall

Below, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the Tesla Powerwall so you can feel sure about your investment:

1. How Many Powerwall Units Do You Need?

The exact number of units you’ll need depends on how much energy you consume on average. Standard residential homes need between one and three batteries, but we can help you determine exactly how many you’ll need to power your home when there’s a lapse in power from your solar panels.

2. How Long Does the Powerwall Provide Power?

The energy you consume will determine how long your Powerwall lasts. The capacity of a standard Powerwall battery has a capacity of 12.2 kilowatt-hours for use and keeps a 10% reserve. This reserve is important because if there’s a power outage, it ensures there’s enough energy to activate your solar panels. This way, when the sun rises the next day, the battery can recharge.. 8MSolar can help you determine how long a Tesla Powerwall can meet your energy needs during an outage or when your solar panels can’t collect enough sunlight.

3. What Is the Powerwall Warranty?

Every unit has a 10-year unlimited cycle warranty, guaranteeing energy retention percentages. A warranty can protect your investment in case something goes wrong with your Powerwall. 8MSolar can help you learn more about the extent of the warranty and what it’ll cover.

4. Can You Add the Powerwall to an Existing System?

Yes! 8MSolar can add a Tesla Powerwall to an existing solar panel system. We can also design a new solar system and pre-wire it to be compatible with your solar PV system to make it compatible down the line. We’ll help customize a solution that works for your home or business.

Choose 8MSolar as Your Certified Powerwall Installer

Backup power is essential for solar customers when the electrical grid goes down or when your panels don’t produce enough energy at some points to meet your energy needs. The Tesla Powerwall can help you find a solution to your backup power needs. 8MSolar is a Tesla Powerwall certified premier installer, so we have the training and expertise to install units for your home and business while adhering to inspection, quality and permit requirements.

We can guide you through the entire process and provide you with a quote for your Tesla Powerwall installation. We can even install a unit using your existing solar PV system. Contact us today to learn more about installing a Tesla Powerwall!

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