The Ultimate Guide to Tesla Powerwall

Powerwall is a rechargeable home battery system that maximizes your home's energy independence. That means seamless backup and a smaller carbon footprint for your home, and potential savings on your electricity bill. Powerwall is an intelligent system that can be customized to your energy needs, with the ability to charge from solar so energy is always available on demand.

Got Watts and Powerwall

As a Tesla dealer and a Certified Installer for Tesla Powerwall, Got Watts has demonstrated their expertise in designing and installing solar systems across the Greater East Bay Region. As a Diamond Certified company for eight consecutive years, Got Watts has an excellent reputation backed by hundreds of 5-star reviews with Google, Yelp and Diamond Certified.

Powerwall Illustration

Protect Against Outages

Powerwall is an integrated battery system that stores your solar energy for backup protection when the grid goes down. Your system detects outages, powers your home and electric vehicle with backup energy, and automatically recharges with sunlight to keep your appliances running for days.

24/7 solar energy
Outage protection
Energy independence
Use stored energy during outages
Recharge with solar
Keep appliances running

Seamless Backup

When the grid goes down, solar energy will continue to power your home and charge your Powerwall. With Storm Watch enabled, Powerwall can communicate to the National Weather Service and prioritize charging in anticipation of severe weather. In the event of Powerwall changing status due to severe weather, you will receive a push notification from the Tesla app.

Self-Powered Home

At night, Powerwall can provide your home with clean energy that you've generated from solar during the day.

Time-Based Control

If you’re on one of PG&E’s time-of-use rate plans, you can use less expensive solar energy you've already generated to avoid electrical charges during more expensive rate periods.

Monitoring

Each Powerwall installation includes a complete energy monitoring solution for your home. You can see how your home both produces and uses energy at any given time.

Use Solar at Night

Powerwall is a compact home battery that reduces your reliance on the grid by storing your solar energy for use when the sun isn’t shining. You can add additional Powerwall units to your system to reduce your impact further and better prepare your home for power outages.

Monitor and Optimize Your Energy

The Tesla app allows you to monitor your solar energy in real-time. Set your preferences to optimize for energy independence, outage protection or savings. Support the grid when demand is high and during critical times, like when outages are likely, by sharing your excess energy. Control your system from anywhere with remote access and instant alerts.

Powerwall System Components

All Tesla Powerwall models are rechargeable home battery systems that can be installed with solar.

Powerwall 2: A rechargeable home battery that stores solar energy. It is designed to be added to existing solar systems and is compatible with all major inverter brands. For more information, download the Powerwall 2 datasheet.

Powerwall+: A rechargeable home battery with an integrated Tesla Solar Inverter and a system controller. Tesla Solar Inverter converts energy from the home’s solar panels or Solar Roof to be used by the home. Its battery assembly stores energy from solar. When Powerwall+ is installed by itself with a non-backup* configuration, it entirely operates when the grid is active but does not provide power when there is a grid outage. For more information, download the Powerwall+ datasheet.

Powerwall 3: Designed for owners installing a new solar and storage system. Solar systems are integrated directly into the Powerwall 3 for higher efficiency and a more compact installation, with solar inverters included. For more information, download the Powerwall 3 datasheet.

*Note: A non-backup configuration is only available with Powerwall+ and is not currently supported for Powerwall 2 and Powerwall 3.

Tesla Solar Inverter: Tesla Solar Inverter converts energy from the home’s solar panels or Solar Roof to be used by the home.

Backup Gateway: Backup Gateway controls system operation, detects grid outages, disconnects the Powerwall system from the grid to enable backup power from the battery, and functions as a site meter. Backup Gateway may be installed in whole home or partial home backup systems.

Backup Switch: The Backup Switch detects grid outages, disconnects the Powerwall system from the grid to enable backup power from the battery, and functions as a site meter. It is installed in whole-home backup systems. The Tesla Backup Switch is approved by PG&E but may not be approved by other utilities.

Additional Electrical Hardware: Additional electrical hardware, including electrical panels, conduit, disconnects, meters, etc., are installed based on site needs and local code requirements.

Models of Powerwall

	Powerwall 2	Powerwall+	Powerwall 3
Energy Capacity	13.5 kWh*	13.5 kWh*	13.5 kWh
On-Grid Power	5 kW continuous	7.6 kW / 5 kW continuous¹	11.5 kW continuous
Backup Power	7 kW peak 106A LRA motor start Seamless backup transition	9.6 kW / 7 kW continuous¹ 22 kW / 10 kW peak¹ 118A LRA motor start Seamless backup transition	11.5 kW continuous 185 LRA motor start Seamless backup transition
Scalable	Up to 10 Units	Up to 4 Units	Up to 4 Units
Size and Weight	L x W x D 45.3 in x 29.6 in x 5.75 in 251.3 lbs	L x W x D 62.8 in x 29.7 in x 6.3 in 343.9 lbs	L x W x D 43.25 in x 24 in x 7.6 in 287 lbs
Inverter	None	Solar-to-grid efficiency 97.5% 4 solar inputs with Maximum Power Point Trackers	Solar-to-grid efficiency 97.5% 6 solar inputs with Maximum Power Point Trackers
Installation	Floor or wall mounted Indoor our outdoor Up to 10 Powerwalls -4°F to 122°F Water and dust resistance	Integrated inverter and system controller -4°F to 122°F Water and dust resistance	Integrated inverter and system controller -4°F to 122°F Flood and dust resistance²
Warranty	10 Years	10 Years	10 Years

*See Powerwall Technician Specifications for more details
¹ Full sun / no sun; load starting capability may vary
² Floor resistant to over 2 ft

What Powerwall Provides

The number of Powerwalls purchased determines whether whole or partial home backup is provided.

Whole Home Backup: With whole home backup, your Powerwall system will be able to support all appliances in your home during a power outage. Whole home backup is determined by the number of Powerwalls and the loads in your home.

Partial Home Backup: Partial home backup allows you to back up essential loads, such as lights and outlets, and leave out larger loads, such as air conditioners and washing machines. When the grid is operational, you can use and monitor all appliances. When the grid is down, only the loads you deem essential will be usable.

Got Watts Solar Expertise

With years of experience and hundreds of satisfied solar customers, Got Watts is one of the East Bay’s leading solar installers, plus we’re a Certified Installer for Tesla Powerwall. We offer only the best solar battery systems, including Enphase, FranklinWH, and Tesla. To learn more and discuss your solar project, contact Got Watts.

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