Following on from the first generation Powerwall, the most popular and cost-effective home storage product on the market is Tesla Powerwall 2.
Usable capacity: | 13.5kWh |
Power output: | 3.68kW or 5kW (subject to grid permission) |
Round-trip efficiency: | > 90% |
Monitoring: | Tesla app |
Warranty: | 10 years |
Mounting: | Wall- or floor-mounted and can be stacked |
Location: | Indoor or outdoor installation |
Dimensions (main unit): | H 1,150mm x W 753mm x D 147mm |
Weight: | 114kg |
Energy density (including inverter / charger): | 100 kWh / m3 |
The system offers a range of functionality:
Note if you have previously installed a Powerwall 2 unit without backup (likely pre-2019), you would need to upgrade the Gateway to enable backup functionality - see installation section below.
Powerwall 2 consists of the main unit (see picture in our downloadable guide) which houses the battery and inverter/charger, as well as a smaller Energy Gateway which measures the energy flows through the house and directs the battery to charge or discharge accordingly. It also 'islands' the house in a power cut, enabling the solar system to keep working and the battery to charge and discharge.
The gateway is a stylish frosted glass-fronted ‘mini’ version of Powerwall 2, measuring 380mm wide x 584mm tall x 127mm deep, and weighing 9.8kg. It is IP55 rated, so suitable for outdoors, and can be padlocked to stop any unwanted access.
The gateway is installed near the electricity meter. The main battery unit should be relatively close to the gateway, otherwise the installation cost increases. The ideal scenario is an integrated garage with the meter and fuseboard inside. If there is no garage, the main unit usually goes on the outside wall as close as possible to the gateway and electricity meter. The installation typically takes up to a day for two installers.
A typical schematic is as follows:
Across the nation, electricity demand reaches a high in the late weekday afternoons (4-7pm), and then falls to a low overnight. However, to date most domestic properties have paid a single rate electricity tariff which doesn’t reflect the peaks and troughs of demand. Some domestic properties are on an Economy 7 (or Economy 10) tariff with a peak rate and an off-peak rate.
More suppliers are starting to trial or offer time-of-use (ToU) tariffs, with time banded tariffs reflecting demand and supply across the nation and the true underlying cost of electricity. Octopus has even launched a Tesla Energy Plan with 10-12p/kWh import and export, and low standing charge.
With the advent of smart meters, able to record half hourly electricity use, the market will gradually witness the introduction of many more such time-of-use tariffs. Clearly there are large savings to be made by buying electricity at night and using it in the day. Time-based controls are now in place for Powerwall 2.
The system user can choose between two different control modes in the Tesla app:
Mode | Backup reserve | Solar self usage % | Savings | Who should do this? |
Self-powered | Configurable (0-100%) | Great! | OK | "I want to minimise my carbon footprint" |
Time-based control | Configurable (0-100%) | OK | Great! | "I have a ToU tariff and want to maximise my savings" |
You don’t even need a solar system to benefit from time-of-use charge and discharge. That said, the best savings will be realised through a combination of solar self-consumption and ToU charging and discharging.
Powerwall 2 enables you to continue providing power to your home or business during power cuts. It also allows your solar PV system to keep running in a power cut (as long as the system is subject to size limits below).
Powerwall can be installed to back up the whole house, or it can be installed such that it backs up only certain loads. Even with ‘whole house’ backup, certain large loads (such as a car charger) can technically be excluded via load shedding, though our preference is to differentiate backed up and non-backed up loads when wiring up.
The system will switch automatically although the switch will not be to UPS (uninterrupted power supply) standard. Tesla claims that in general you won’t notice the switch (except via a notification on the Tesla app), but don’t rely on the seamlessness of the system if you have critical loads requiring seamless backup e.g. life support equipment.
You will need to specify a reserve percentage (e.g. 30%) and the system will always keep that percentage of the capacity in reserve for a power cut. This setting can be changed.
If the grid goes down and the loads in the house exceed 5kW, (or if they exceed 3.68kW for a system set on the lower 3.68kW power output at commissioning), the battery will shut down. The system will spend the next hour sending you reminders to turn off high power loads so that the total load falls below 5kW and the battery can restart. After this the battery will need a manual reset to reboot (via the gateway box).
Not only will a backup enabled system keep the lights on in a power cut, it will also keep the solar system functioning. The system will continue to function whilst there is either a load or sufficient spare battery capacity to soak up the solar electricity it produces.
If there is insufficient load or battery capacity to soak up the solar, the system will automatically power down the solar. However it should be noted that for this to work effectively don’t connect more than 7.6kWp of solar to a system with a single Powerwall set at 5kW output. If Powerwall is set at 3.68kW (due to DNO constraints), don’t connect more than 5kWp.
If you want more solar, you need more Powerwalls, or you need to connect the solar 'upstream' of the gateway so that the solar disconnects in a power cut…
The sizing of Powerwall 2 means that with full backup power (5kW), with some judicious juggling, your life should continue undisturbed through the average power cut. That said, you should probably wait until the power comes on before using an electric dryer, and if you want to ensure you can continue to cook up a storm in the kitchen, it’s probably best to install two Powerwalls.
If you reserve 30% of your battery (4kWh), then you should be able to watch TV, use your laptop and keep the lights and freezer working for almost four hours, whilst enjoying a few cups of coffee in the process.
Typical loads are as follows:
Kitchen
Office and entertainment
Lighting
Laundry / dishwasher
Note that if you try and run more than the 5kW load limit, Powerwall 2 will stretch to 7kW for a few seconds, but after that you will see some brownout behaviour, as indeed you would if you tried to import more than your 100A supply from the grid.
Most households run on a single phase connection (230V). If you have a 3-phase connection (400V), Powerwall 2 can still be used but with the following limitations:
Powerwall 2 is AC-coupled and therefore compatible with any solar system when connected to the grid. It can be configured to allow any single phase solar system up to 7.6 kW AC rating to continue to function in a power cut (subject to install restrictions).
Tesla Powerwall costs around £9924 inc. 20% VAT, with prices varying depending on installation requirements. If installed as part of a solar system the applicable VAT rate may be lower at 5% (depending on solar product cost). The Tesla battery cost is generally lower per kWh than any other system, giving a lifetime cost per kWh competitive with the current grid cost of electricity (around 19p per kWh).
Spirit is a Tesla Powerwall certified installer.
Is Tesla Powerwall 2 right for me? | ![]() |
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Or if you are having your Powerwall installed, check out our Tesla FAQs.
We have been advised by Tesla that the company is no longer taking firm orders for Powerwalls as its backlog is now extending out to 15 months of production, meaning that any new orders will not be fulfilled before the second half of 2023 (Q3 2023).
Due to the high levels of inflation, Tesla is unable to set a price now for production carried out in 12 months' time. Therefore the only option that we can offer people wishing to place orders for Powerwalls is that we will place their name on a 'no obligation' reservation list.
Tesla has said that it will confirm the price for each batch of production 6 months ahead of production date. Thus we expect to know the price at which we will be able to buy Q3 2023 production of Powerwall in early 2023. At that point we will be able to place confirmed orders with Tesla, and will approach all those on our reservation list to see if they wish to purchase at the price at which Powerwall is then available.
We are seeking alternatives to Powerwall, although it is our experience that the boom in renewables since the high electricity price inflation has led to a shortage of batteries across the board.
We apologise for this situation; the circumstances are unfortunately beyond our control.
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