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Tesla Solar/Powerwall
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I've been looking at solar power options for my home and like the thought of an add-on battery system. The Tesla Powerwall has caught my eye.

I live in far west Texas, where we get 360+ days of sunshine, but none of the battery systems claim to be off grid solutions as they provide just a few hours of whole home back up. Recent changes in how our local electric company bills solar customers has me scratching my head a bit and concerned that additional changes will hurt my payoff timeline.

I'm not seeing a lot of reviews of the Tesla system or some of it's more common competitors like the LG RESU. I do see that Home Depot and Telsa have partnered for installation.

Any advice on this system specifically or home solar in general would be appreciated. I'm not sure that a battery back up is desirable or the timing is right yet, but it seems that technology is close.

Suffer Well.
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Re: Tesla Solar/Powerwall [jmh] [ In reply to ]
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You should try to get yourself to consume as little electricity as you can first. That means buying the most efficient appliances and devices and consuming less, especially air conditioning. If you do this, then you basically save twice as much if you go solar.
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Re: Tesla Solar/Powerwall [jmh] [ In reply to ]
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Solar in Texas usually means solar panels on the roof. Our cost of energy here is so cheap that you only do solar to feel good, not save money.

I'm a LEED AP working in construction, so I know a bit about green construction.
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Re: Tesla Solar/Powerwall [jmh] [ In reply to ]
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I'm with you, I need the battery back up to be like a weeks worth of energy, then I would feel comfortable going off grid. I think that is what Elon has in mind, but just not there yet, at least for the single homeowner. I mean he has some big batteries, hell I think he opened a power station in Puerto Rico using batteries and solar. But it is a lot of batteries at the moment, I want just one big Mofo that stores the sun I get virtually every day of the year up in the high desert...
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Re: Tesla Solar/Powerwall [jmh] [ In reply to ]
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I had an electrician friend recommend that if you were considering going off grid, ensure you won’t have a high Amperage need. Solar and the battery systems can’t/or may struggle to produce the Amps needed for heavy power tools, ie table saw, electric welder etc. I’m sure there could be other things as well but those were two that come to mind.

I’m in SoCal and went solar 3 years ago. Haven’t paid a bill to electric co since (I’m on their Net Energy Metering Plan) . The cost of my system essentially locked me in at a fixed cost/kWh for the next ~30 years.
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Re: Tesla Solar/Powerwall [monty] [ In reply to ]
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Why not just buy multiple batteries? Don't see how it's any different to one big battery, if anything it should give you more comfort as you're not exposed to a single battery which could develop a fault.
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Re: Tesla Solar/Powerwall [cartsman] [ In reply to ]
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Why not just buy multiple batteries? Don't see how it's any different to one big battery, if anything it should give you more comfort as you're not exposed to a single battery which could develop a fault.

You could, but at $7K a pop for the PowerWalls, it would get expensive. And to have enough to go off grid for days would fill your garage.
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Re: Tesla Solar/Powerwall [cartsman] [ In reply to ]
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cartsman wrote:
Why not just buy multiple batteries? Don't see how it's any different to one big battery, if anything it should give you more comfort as you're not exposed to a single battery which could develop a fault.

All these systems are based on small batteries that are bundled together. They are very similar to the type used older laptops and cordless tools. A bigger battery is simply more smaller batteries networked together. Even the gigantic system Tesla made in Australia is a collection of these small batteries.

There are several youtube channels that show you how to build power units. It's a lot cheaper to build your own, but it does take some work. You can always start small with something similar to a computer UPS. In fact, you can even make a system out of an old used UPS. There are also companies that test and sell used batteries from laptops and and power tools at significant discount.
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