The Tesla Powerwall is arguably one of the most popular home batteries of all time.
This high-powered battery pack is riding the dual waves of the Tesla brand’s widespread automotive recognition and a boom in residential solar adoption that’s been reinforced by numerous incentives, including a federal tax credit that allows you to claim 30% of the total cost of your storage system back on your tax return.
Tesla itself has also offered rebates in the recent past that can be combined with other incentives.
Even with the many credits, rebates and other incentives, batteries are often the most expensive single component of a residential solar system. And the Powerwall 2 itself is a fairly pricey energy storage unit, at between $9,000 and $13,000.
In this quick guide, we’ll take a closer look at the Tesla Powerwall 2 and try to help you decide if it’s a worthwhile purchase.
There’s plenty to consider that you may not have thought of, according to Garrett Mendelsohn, founder of Solar Bootcamp.
“The thing about batteries is they have a 10- to a 15-year lifespan, and a lot of the time homeowners finance for 25 years,” he said. “So you’re financing a product that’s not going to really be doing anything by the end of the 25 years and paying interest on it.”
Yes, a Powerwall is eligible for a 30% federal tax credit.
There’s a number of factors that go into answering this question, including your energy goals and the needs of your home. You can start to get a sense by using Tesla’s energy design tool and speaking to local installers.
The Powerwall Plus is a Powerwall 2 battery combined with a Tesla Solar Inverter and must be installed with solar panels. The Powerwall Plus also has a higher backup (off-grid) power output rating.
