TESLA POWERWALL 2 REVIEW - solar power at night?

[@candidafeliz25]

*Absolutely perfect for what we use . **Generater.Systems** for Our 500wt power station! Love it!!!!*

[@chrisvanderstock]

As in a smaller version, but still a battery? I guess so? Most fridges consume about 1 to 2 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per day, so yeah, would work.

[@arnyswart]

We got ours for $9000 with a $3000 grant. I have a 6.6kw solar system. We use 33kw/day with the electric car and pool heating. I wanted a 14kw solar system but our electricity supplier would not support it. Otherwise we would be self sustaining. Cost to pay off the power wall is 4.5 years when factoring in the difference between solar import and peak power.

[@snuggles03]

That was one of the most magnificent videos on solar power and batteries I have ever seen. The kicker at the end was absolutely brilliant. Five stars

[@chrisvanderstock]

Wow, thanks!

[@mwenimramba5092]

LOVED THE TWIST AT THE END

[@FalkinerTim]

Excellent video thank you Chris. My solar/powerwall should be installed next month.

[@cjcro6456]

Enjoyed this mate. Just signed up for an 8.5kW system and Tesla battery today. Got 3 quotes to make sure I want getting swindled to badly and one of the companies actually tried to talk me out of getting a battery. Think this had something to do with how much more work it was for them. The excuse used was priceless though. Fella suggested that if you generated 30kW a day, used 10 kW, that you would be sending 20kW back to the grid for 10c/kW. Making $2. Minus the $1.1 service fee, you would be up 90c. Now if you had a, for argument sake, 15kW battery system, you would be storing 15kW, using 10kW, and exporting 5kW for 50c. Meaning that after the $1.1 service fee you would owe 60c. Nearly fell off my chair at the logic. Attempted to explain that he wasn't doing an apples for apples comparison as he hadn't taken into account even rates and obvious benefits from the battery against night time usage. Assuming evening rates were 20c and a, for ease of math comparison, 10kW usage this means you would actually need to minus $2 from the straight solar system meaning you actually owe $1.1 as opposed to the 60c with the battery. Now that is obviously an over simplification of the calculations as there is a saturation point at which the cost benefit lines intersect for the systems, personal usage affects feed in amounts, feed in tariff returns, peak power costs, power costs. All that aside I believe that batteries are worthwhile, provide peace of mind and maybe add the little bit of transparency with regard to your usage that prompts that other desirable outcome...thinking green. Thoroughly enjoyed your video antics. C

[@Pete856]

I've been living off-grid for the past couple of weeks with solar and a powerwall....only because I'm waiting for the local power supplier to approve the install for their grid, so I turned the grid off. I find that as long as I have 50% in the battery when I go to bed, it's good to get through the night and power the home in the morning until the solar gets up and producing. By lunch time the battery is usually full and the solar is either turned off completely, or it matches the usage. We only use about 25kWh/day, so it's really easy to get through from the evening to morning on the powerwall's 13.5kWh of energy.

[@mayorofsexytown6958]

Loved the commentary on size relative to Model S battery. If Tesla ever allows use of their cars as Powerwalls, game changer!

[@romeoC9968]

With the insane increase per KwH in July 1 2022 by Simply Energy close to 20%! we're biting the bullet. The spreadsheet says our 13.5kWh battery costing $15K after subsidy in SA, will be paid off in 7 years! Thanks for sharing the simulator, very useful and confirms my own calculations!

[@KJSvitko]

Tesla is leading the way to a more sustainable future. Solar energy production, battery storage and electric vehicle energy consumption. Solar power is so much better than fossil fuels. (coal)

[@aussietaipan8700]

I first started with using a Watts Clever power monitor to use power more efficiently, then in early 2020 had a 14Kwh solar array installed. Since then I have not had an electricity bill. I have just today purchased a Tesla power wall and gateway, this to keep the lights on during power blackouts. I'm weighing up whether to join a VPP but I do not like the fact the power company controls the PW and the credits are paid on the bill as credits, not to my bank account. Also, I'm in credit with my current provider, if I leave them to go with the VPP I will loose all current credits. 443 liked and great video.

[@briangilbert3429]

love the twist Chris.. great video :)

[@MichaelSmith-px1ev]

Very Lucky Chris to get one under the Victorian rebate. Even with the recent uplift in post codes there are still plenty of people in Victoria who want one that cant get the rebate. We are installing ours in May as part of our recent extension and will finance this under the loan. Looking forward to it.

[@NaughtyGoatFarm]

So if the grid was down indefinitely and if days were sunny and power usage was kept to a minimum could a power wall with solar keep the house running indefinitely? Or does the solar charging get disabled if the grid is down?

[@Reg853OKG]

Another great video Chris, well done.

[@kaleidoscopeon]

Excellent video mate.

[@michaelfink64]

A twist at the end that Agatha Christi would be proud of, Chris!

[@kdkd693]

Good video Chris. I noticed you had the same Brivis evap conditioner controller we did in our last home. (Check the model for electrical recalls as ours caused a serious house fire, out of the blue after 17 years of no problem use! We never knew until the fire chief showed us the next day - the installer had gone out of business and not passed on the recall notice to us)

[@chrisvanderstock]

That's gone for sure. We recently replaced it as I broke the front cover! :-| I guess the fuse looks the same though?

[@Joiedevivredesilives]

In the UK I have brought my electricity bill down from £162 to £39 a month. We have a 4kwh solar A 8kwh Powervault Battery But having a time of use Tariff that allows even in winter to use very cheap grid to charge the battery. For us the battery will be the 12 months of year return on investment. The solar only kicked in -some days yes days- in March but then if you know our weather.... However I cant believe every household in Australia doesnt have Solar and Batterys Rather than get a depreciating new car get Solar and drive a jalopy.

[@goldreverre]

Great video Chris. We got a 6.6Kw system in Melbourne. Needed this info.

[@maximumnoise78]

Our ducted air con draws approximately 7kw of power when running, so i could run our air con for 2 hours off this battery.... We currently have a 14.5kw solar system however our house is 3 phase. This means we would need 3 tesla power walls. Be good if they come up with a cheaper solution for people with 3 phase.

[@superwag634]

Just turn off the aircon and harden up 😆

[@dushyantx]

Why 3 Tesla Pw for 3 phase? I have 3 phase and 4.5kw system. Looking at solar batteries now.

[@barrynitschke7177]

No household a/con uses 7kw/h power that's its heating or cooling rating unless your house is as big as a factory

[@Lucidnaire]

Great video, we love our powerwalls!

[@snsesifushreder1148]

C.V., Is it true that even the best quality panels only last about on average 3,500 days (9 years & 7 months), and pretty much every 10 years all the panels on the roof have to be fully replaced...?

[@snsesifushreder1148]

So pretty much your current house requires two PowerWall2’s to be installed if you use close to 17kwh per day, but not worth spending an extra AU$15,000 to install a second PowerWall2

[@jdlutz1965]

You only have to spec your system for when the sun isn't shining. If you have a sunny day, your solar is providing the bulk of power and battery is the buffer. Only at night will you be totally consuming power from the battery.

[@michaelfink64]

Hi Chris, I used the Sunulator calculator (renew.org.au/resources/sunulator/) to estimate the outcomes of different solar and battery combinations. We eventually decided on a 15.4 kW PV system with 1 x Powerall 2 battery. Sunulator estimated a payback period for the whole system of 9 years, which I thought was pretty good. Return on investment is 7.2% PA.

[@maykelsach795]

@chris vanderstock what are the options for financing a tesla wall? I have a 9 kw system at 20 years payment agreement.

[@glockman9c]

They are quite a bit cheaper in America especially when you buy several batteries at the time of tesla solar panels installed. I think they can get down to about $5500 each.

[@c1tywi]

Hey Chris, awesome video! I was wondering - what's the name of the music track that you used in this vid? It's great

[@chrisvanderstock]

I pay for Envanto - so it's their music collection. The last track was "Epic" by StudioKolomna; and the others were by Alex Rufire, "The Workout" and "Indie Sports"; and "The Rock" (not artist noted).

[@a1peck]

Hey Chris you fooled us. Nice one.

[@turningpoint4238]

Looking to build another house in a couple of years, why on Earth would I want to be connected to the mains?

[@barryhamm3414]

I have solar with no battery and connected to the grid. I use all the energy I want and receive a quarterly payment from my electricity retailer. This is why I'm keeping my grid connection.

[@turningpoint4238]

@@barryhamm3414 It's just with a new build the cost of connection is high (especially as we will build in a rural area). And the more independent I am the happier I am, I'll pay a premium for that (although in reality I'll save money).Edit: this will be a couple of years off and battery prices are falling.

[@barryhamm3414]

@@turningpoint4238 Hi Jake, I misunderstood your situation. The cost of a grid connection in a rural area can be eye-watering, so solar panels and a battery makes perfect sense.

[@ChrisBrownFazer1]

At last an Ozzie review, thanks. Is the Powerwall 2 noisy, we have a timber frame house!

[@AshleyWilsonAU]

It's completely silent. We got ours 10 months ago; not a single peep.

[@kdkd693]

What is the battery type in the PW2? Is it NCA or ?

[@chrisvanderstock]

It's a Tesla/Panasonic 2170 cell. The same as they use in Model 3's.

[@Motown952]

Can your Tesla vehicle power the house if needed?

[@chrisvanderstock]

No, only Nissan Leaf 2 can offer that (if you buy the hardware). In theory, a Tesla could but needs additional bits.

[@SkepticCyclist]

The Powerwall canNOT be charged from the grid in most locations if you have solar. They only allow grid charging if you do NOT have solar panels

[@homohoglet2915]

No that's not the case as of 2022. I have two, with 40 solar panels in NSW. When i got notice that the grid power would go off for maintenance, I powered up both to 100% AT NIGHT, only overnight, to give me off grid power the next day. Worked perfectly !

[@NoirHammer]

I can imagine how small Powerwall 3 will be after Tesla unveils their new battery.

[@chrisvanderstock]

Agreed - I think they'll be smaller by 15-30% but with greater power density - and maybe two models a 15kWh, and 25kWh.

[@Mae-nr7wr]

does anyone know if the app give a warning if the grid disconnect

[@chrisvanderstock]

I don't think so; it seems our power goes off once per month, or two - and I haven't noticed a notification. Mind you, I like clearing notifications without looking at each one carefully.

[@AshleyWilsonAU]

There's an option in the app to turn on notifications during outages.

[@marktiller1383]

I bet your not filling it today. Ive had mine since early August 2017 , and mine cost about $10k+ installed. 8 people came for the install. Payback? Never bothered to work it out.

[@chrisvanderstock]

Definitely not, it's gaining 0.2kW/h, so maybe +7% by day's end - and that will last just one hour tonight. 😔 But my repay was based on 80% use, and today it's showing lifetime at 75%. Hopefully that picks up?

[@marktiller1383]

My lifetime use is 43% solar 57% powewall

[@michaelfink64]

It depends on the size of your solar setup. We have a 15.4 kW PV system and our Powerwall was full by just after midday (today: 5/3/20 in Melbourne). It is now discharging to fill up my Model 3.

[@twelvewingproductions7508]

Nice review. Stop by our channel and see our year long study on it called "The Energy Sovereignty Project. It will give direct answers to much of what you speculated about at the end of your video. Thanks for sharing.

[@antoniozerkhfaoui1918]

No i dont want a f...in coffee i want a model Y Tesla solar panel and 2 power wall 2 thats what the f... i want

[@antoniozerkhfaoui1918]

Awe know everything about it however i cant f...g afford it f....

[@marktiller1383]

I was wondering, 3 phase, do you need 3 Powerwalls?

[@chrisvanderstock]

I think so (given Fully charged episode RE it). I think it's about the power output needs a big fat pipeline out.

[@kdkd693]

Damn, I was wanting to put in 3 phase solar/power on my new house build in anticipation of needing to charge the trimotor Cybertruck when it arrives. Triple batteries may be a killer, as will be harder to balance usage across the 3 phases within the house. I guess some expert can do the calcs for us

[@michaelfink64]

No, we have 3-phase (got it mainly so we can have a larger PV system) and one Powerwall. It works fine.

[@barryhamm3414]

@@michaelfink64 Does you powerwall power all three phases or just one? My limited research (I also have three phase power) is that the PW can only be connected to one of the phases.

[@kdkd693]

michaelfink64 interested to know your system size and how much FIT you can get when exporting - is it just on one phase or all 3? In WA I was told it was limited to one phase, 5kW inverter max. But I wasn’t sure if the advice was correct for a 15kW system say (which is what I’d like)

[@davidpearn5925]

So you don’t wear a tie in bed apparently Chris)))))

[@davidpearn5925]

Delivery day tomorrow.......YEAH !

[@snsesifushreder1148]

david pearn Tesla Model 3 or a Tesla PowerWall2?

[@davidpearn5925]

Sensei Shredder 3 wheeee