581 Days With My Tesla Powerwalls: Was It Worth It?

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Timestamps below if you're short on time!
I've been powering my home with a 10 kW solar array & 2 Tesla Powerwalls for the past 581 days. Have they performed as advertised?

Let's find out 🙂

👋My name’s Zach, and I’ve been in the solar industry since 2015. I enjoy talking about solar, battery storage, electric vehicles, Tesla products, and more! My goal with this channel is to provide transparent information, share my experiences, and empower both consumers and solar professionals

Thank you for watching! 😀

0:00 What's this video about?
1:21 Project Timeline
1:59 System Design
4:14 Why did I get Powerwalls?
6:24 What I've Enjoyed
8:00 What Went Wrong
9:48 Performance Metrics
13:27 Intro Revealed - How Much Did I Pay?
16:57 Should You Do It?

[ZachSolar]

If you're short on time & want to jump to the numbers or performance metrics, check the time stamps! I appreciate you all watching the video.

[jackcoats]

I am near Nashville TN in a TVA served area. Rates are similar and so was our decision. No TOU or solar credits locally. We still like it, we did 3 Powerwall 2's and 50 370W solar but due to our situation none are oriented 'correctly'. Still, we would do it again.

[johnesver]

4.5kw system with 1 powerwall3 just installed and waiting for PTO in Northern Cali, NEM3 . New to solar so I'm learning and so far its been great even without PTO. I will definitely keep watching and learning. Thanks for all the information

[savagecub]

I have a 15Kw array with enphase micro inverters here in Florida. I was very fortunate to be able to purchase the system upfront. Lowest bill I’ve seen has been $27.42 for April and also in May. Worst so far was $239 in August. But I have a 2500 sqft house running a pool pump and also recharging two electric vehicles. I am going to add an additional 3kw and two powerwall 3s soon.

[leelastname]

I live in California. I have time base rates. From 1600-2100 the rates more than double. So I think it will be a good fit. I’m going with a power wall 3. I have one ev (chev volt) I convinced the wife so I hoping to save a few hundred a year. Plus gas prices are higher in California. So having an ev with solar. I’m not spending 500 a month on fuel. I get to drive that car for free now.

[sunalwaysshinesonTVs]

Left the comforts and security of living in a very modern city to live a more quiet rural life. Part of that no city water, so private well, ergo electric water pump, ergo got my Tesla Powerwall3 just for grid outages. So that with solar put my estimated paybeack on investment at 18yrs... but so worth it.

[kullanma]

Meh, it's either give the money to the electric company or have a cool back up system paid for mostly by what you would have given to the electric company. I have almost exactly the same system at 10.2Kw array and 2 power wall 3's for $48, 000 here in Florida. It shows that I will be paying a bit more than my previous utility bill every month, but now I don't have to have a diesel or LPG generator. Also, if I pay back the loan sooner the extra interest is erased and thus probably paying the same as if I were just on the grid. Thanks for sharing your system with us. I think it is grand!

[shaggydogsales]

Really good summary and nice system. Your cost of energy independence is priceless.

I'm also a Trico electric customer, as you may already know the new Trico EV unlimited charge rate may help offset your vehicle charge expense. Makes a lot of sense to use this rate if you have 2 or more EVs.

[ljaywilson]

Love the channel. You are one of the few people on YT that give technical info in an easy to understand manner. You also have almost an identical system to mine (getting two PW3's to go with the existing 10.4Kw Tesla / Enphase solar system). Question - my system was installed last Sept and I got PTO in early Nov. 2023. My production chart for for 2024 so far is 8.7MWh. That is far lower than yours. I am wondering if my installer just over-estimated my production or if the Arkansas climate (I live in Little Rock) is why the difference is so significant. Any thoughts?

[kolifx]

Great video, just like all the others of yours. Good job!

[ryandahl-x]

Getting the solar system pays for the battery these days. Seems like everywhere you look there’s outages and huge rate hikes. No brainer to get a PW

[leelastname]

Zach . You spoke about battery stacking. Basically having a power wall 3+ extra batteries for storage. Can you tell me what video that was?

[irfanwaseh]

Made 9000 life time on my Tesla system 7.7 inverter. 2 pw

[richardmenz]

I would assume 15c per kW prob not worth it for me then. We do have a net metering in my city at 100% back atm because I live in a small city.

[andromedach]

up against 11c electricity really put a damper on my solar aspirations.

[richardmenz]

11 cents per day def worth it just for power outage protection

[James-cqdp]

why would you blur the info at the beginning... lame

[croomcas]

$25k in Tampa area for 2 PW3's installed in about 5 weeks time from saying "lets do it" to the moment I went off grid for the first time. I don't care to backfeed the grid at all. I'm DIY-ing 13k solar directly to the PW3's soon. Pallet of 32 Hyundai bifacial 410w panels for $4.3k. So far $29, 300 - 30% = $20, 510. The ground mount will be made mostly from wood. Didn't price it out yet.