What you need to know before getting a Tesla Powerwall

Hmmm... The Tesla Powerwall: It's where you store the family joules.

Hi Matt. I live in the same area as you. I installed a double setup for 10kw so I didn’t need to deal with shutting down any circuits. I also am part of the grid power when they need extra demand during the year. Mostly during the summer time do they pull power from the unit. One thing I will share is I found the powerwall frequency caused some of my older electronics to go crazy when the powerwall “poisoned” my electrical system to force my solar panels to shut down. As you said in your video if you are in a power outage situation your solar panels will still power the house and any excess power will charge the powerwall. Once the powerwall is topped off, it slowly increases the 60Hz frequency to around 64.5Hz which is outside the operating range of the solar panel inverter causing it to shutdown until such time the powerwall goes below 90% SOC. Then it would shift the frequency back to 60Hz allowing the inverter to startup again. My experience was my UPS devices I had on computers would beep saying there was an incoming power problem, my electric range started locking and unlocking the door because it was turning the self cleaning option on and off. I fortunately have test equipment and checked the frequency and that’s how I found out what they were sending in a off grid situation. A call to my installer got me in touch with Tesla support and they were able to remote in and change the high frequency setting to 62.5Hz which still was outside the solar panel inverters range causing it to shut down as it should, but now my electronic gear and stove were happier with 62.5Hz vs 64.5Hz. I found this out by sheer accident. I simulated an outage by turning the main disconnect outside off to simulate an outage just to see how it all worked. That’s when I found some devices to be very sensitive to the frequency Tesla has as a default to turn off solar inverters as the batteries approach full charge. I’ve been happy with my setup and has an instant backup to my house, I barley notice the changeovers during an outage, just a quick flicker in the lights, but not enough to shut anything down. Hope that info helps anyone.

You posted this two years ago and it gained you another Subscriber. Arkansas just changed their solar laws (March 2023), where the local electric companies have lobbied (and won) our state legislature to reacquire more money from revenue lost by customers who switched to solar, so I am researching adding a battery to our home solar system and become even less dependent upon our local services. Thank you for the informative video.

detecting the incoming storm and fully charging the battery is an awesome feature! I've got a small, older house and it's not practical for me for many reasons, but was interested to hear from your experiences, thanks for the video

Thanks for being on the bleeding edge so the rest of us can have an easier experience.

This kind of video is what makes YouTube worthwhile. Have always been interested in a power wall and definitely appreciate the heads up about the potential pitfalls.

Had our Powerwall for two years now and it’s brilliant so good I’m definitely going to buy another. In the U.K. we get 4 hours of night rate with our supplier at 7.5p per kWh. for the rest of the time it’s 32p per kWh. We’ve ours set to charge up during that 4 hour period and it chargers from the solar panels too. What I love about the Tesla system is it knows if there’s going to be good solar production and will only charge from the grid if it needs to, the algorithm use is really very clever and has only got things wrong on a couple of occasions. In my opinion it’s the best cheapest per KWH domestic battery storage system out there.

Subbed not only for content, but also for the speed at which you deliver your thoughts. I LOVE not having to increase the speed of some videos! Thank you!

I had Tesla install my powerwall and I would definitely recommend going with them for the install instead of a third party installer. They cam out and it was installed in a single day. No missing parts, no mistakes on wiring, etc.

Like so many install companies they just want to hook up the product instead of educating and working with the customer. Those red wires zip tied to the conduit are telling. Nice explanation.

I paid 2k for a dual fuel generator, gas and electrical hookup. But I'm glad you early adopters will bring down the price and lessen installation issues for me. Thank You

You describe your experiences extremely well. Straightforward no patronising easy to listen too. Well done

This kind of openness about the process is fantastic! Kudos for being able to express disappointment in a process without demonizing the installer, that shows real maturity. It's part of what keeps me coming back.

I wouldn't have accepted that wiring from the second sparky. Appalling work.

Thank you so much. This video actually answered a lot of questions for me. I'm still doing more research into this, but your video is so informative. I'll probably look into getting this system by next May 2022. Thanks again.

Let me tell you all something I live in south Louisiana during IDA Hurricane currently going through us. I invested in a Powerwall about three months ago, I also have a Generac Generator. When I tell you my generator never came on yet and the battery has powered my home with my family and in-laws, be mine you have to manage the power by not running AC constantly. I can tell you one thing Telsa power wall is awesome and is the Future and a must-have. Second infrastructure spending is a must and Louisiana will need every bit of it.

Thanks for the headups. I used Tesla to install my Powerwall, and they engineered the system. I had no problems with the install or after.

That extra charge in response to storm warning is really cool

Very nice review. Quite informative. Technology of our modern era is changing so quickly and becoming so complex that it is nice to hear someone put his/her experience with the transformation into terms the not-so-informed can relate to and understand.

Another great episode. Before the end I was ready to hit the order button, I want that level of control over my circuits even without a solar array or battery system.