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Tesla solar panels experience (1 Viewer)

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oguzman

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Hi all I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with the Tesla solar panels. The price has gone down since I was looking at them years ago and I think it might be worth the investment as a backup and way to power the house. Let me know!
 

foos

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I have had them for a little over half a year now. Got permission from Center Point to run them in Sept.

Any solar you get, don't expect it to be a quick turn around. Demand is high and there are all kinds of permits. The physical install takes 1-2 days for normal solar panels. The design and permits before install and the approval to operate after install can take months.

Number one complaint I see from anyone that gets solar, should have gotten more panels. I maxed what I could fit on my roof, and wish my roof was bigger. People worry about the look, and panels change every few years, so if you install only a few and want more later, they are not going to look the same and that kinda looks bad.

Tax rebate does not apply back one year, you'll find articles that say it does, but that is for commercial installs. It does roll forward but it looks like it applies at that years percent. I have not bothered researching since I'll use it all before it drops.
 

soymilk

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if you have the ground space, you can technically install ground mount solar panels that isn't tied into the grid without permits. Its alot cheaper but any solar that isn't used, is going to be wasted.


I was thinking about running enough panels to run a mini split off the grid and the remainder charging up slowly 20kwh worth of batteries.

@foos how many powerwalls did you have installed?
 

soymilk

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How long does the 3 powerwalls last you in a complete power outage? Looks like right around 40.5 kWh. Im debating about getting a natural gas generator or buying some batteries to hold me over in a power outage.
 

foos

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I dumped some data using the api and the internal reported capacity of all 3 combined is 41,819Wh. They sell them with a bit more capacity than advertised and I do backup only so I have minimal if any degradation.

As for how long in an outage.... that sorta varies. Air conditioner running non stop, I get about 13hrs on battery with no sun. Cool day no air conditioner or heat I get about 48 hours with no sun. Fortunately the solar helps and on days that the Air conditioner goes non stop the sun does the same. Clouds days, less sun, but less cooling needed.

If the grid went down the 1st of this month and was still down, I'd be fine no changes to what I do. If it did that the 1st of Aug.... might have to ration air conditioning or get a small unit for just the room with the tank and camp out there at night.

As for adding a generator, if you get Tesla the do not support it, but it can be done. Generac has a new system that is or will be out soon that has a dc coupled generator that charges the batteries directly. Effect is that the generator can be a lot smaller, quieter, efficient, and only run if there is not enough sun+battery.

I have not seen any reviews of the generac solar/battery system so do not know how it stacks up against Tesla. Not in a hurry to learn either since if it turns out to be better I will be a bit miffed. It does seem that the one drawback to the generac is that I can't find anything about more than one battery compartment other than one article that says you can have 2 of them for up to 36kWh. It also looks like their system max is 18kW. If I am getting 10Kw solar I can still get another 15kW from batteries with the batteries being able to burst much higher than that.

So, low usage and want comfort of a genny in addition to the solar, generac may be better. If you have two 3ton a.c.'s, electric dryer, electric heat, and electric range and want to be able to use all of it during a short outage, lots of powerwalls.


is where I got the generac info.
Compared to Tesla Powerwall’s max peak output of 7,000 W, the PWRcell is much better.
on that article is misleading. Maxed out generac vs single powerwall using old specs, yeah, generac is better. New powerwall2 can peak output the same and powerwall2+ can peak output more. Also, it seems only 2 genearc batteries on a system but you can do 10 powerwalls if you are rolling in cash.

For the generac they also offer managment modules to turn off loads, and soft starts for airconditioners so they can start. Tesla, if you do not have enough powerwalls you get a critical loads panel for the things backed up. Otherwise, you just slap more powerwalls on to be able to run more and start larger airconditioners.

Looked up specs for powerwall2's shipping. 5.8kVA continuous with 106LRA startup surge for things like airconditioners. 3ton has about 79LRA and that is what dims your lights when one kicks on.

Also, if anyone has crazy $$$ I have heard they will install those powerpacks on residential.
Would run my house for a week without solar....
 
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oguzman

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I have had them for a little over half a year now. Got permission from Center Point to run them in Sept.

Any solar you get, don't expect it to be a quick turn around. Demand is high and there are all kinds of permits. The physical install takes 1-2 days for normal solar panels. The design and permits before install and the approval to operate after install can take months.

Number one complaint I see from anyone that gets solar, should have gotten more panels. I maxed what I could fit on my roof, and wish my roof was bigger. People worry about the look, and panels change every few years, so if you install only a few and want more later, they are not going to look the same and that kinda looks bad.

Tax rebate does not apply back one year, you'll find articles that say it does, but that is for commercial installs. It does roll forward but it looks like it applies at that years percent. I have not bothered researching since I'll use it all before it drops.
Yeah I was actually curious about the rebate. Is it part of itemizing? And I'm not following your comment about going a year back.
 
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Yeah I was actually curious about the rebate. Is it part of itemizing? And I'm not following your comment about going a year back.
It’s not a rebate it’s a tax credit the issue is that you can only get back what you paid in that year so if you bought a 100k system you would get a 26k tax credit if you only pay in $10k a year in taxes the max you could get back in credit would be 10k so 3 years worth of tax filings to recoup that. If you itemize and your already reducing your tax liability it will be even longer
 
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Also if you are financing the panels your looking at about 13-15 cents a kwhr in lease payments with applying your tax return to the payments and around 13 yr break even period.
 

foos

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Yeah, what @Ostentum said, tax credit. There are articles that say you can apply to last years taxes, those are wrong as you cannot for personal taxes. I had read somewhere that if you don't use all the tax credit and roll some of it forward that it applies at that years credit. Not sure if that is accurate but if you are looking at it taking more than 2 years of taxes to get the full credit you may want to talk to a tax pro first.

This year is 26%, next 22%, and zero after that if they do not extend it again. There was a bill they were trying to pass that would set it to 30% for like the next 5 years before phasing it out again and retroactive that 30% to anyone that claimed under the 26%. Dunno what happened to that bill, or if it even made it to a bill. Could have been politicians talking about what they would like to do.
 
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oguzman

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Yeah, what @Ostentum said, tax credit. There are articles that say you can apply to last years taxes, those are wrong as you cannot for personal taxes. I had read somewhere that if you don't use all the tax credit and roll some of it forward that it applies at that years credit. Not sure if that is accurate but if you are looking at it taking more than 2 years of taxes to get the full credit you may want to talk to a tax pro first.

This year is 26%, next 22%, and zero after that if they do not extend it again. There was a bill they were trying to pass that would set it to 30% for like the next 5 years before phasing it out again and retroactive that 30% to anyone that claimed under the 26%. Dunno what happened to that bill, or if it even made it to a bill. Could have been politicians talking about what they would like to do.
This is good to know! Next year might be the year to do it then if I hear that the tax credit is not going to be renewed.
 

reeftopia

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When I looked at it thought it would be a 14 yr break even. Thats a long time to break even when most people dont live in the same home for 14 years.
And how many times have I heard this is my forever home. The real knock to me is there is no maintenance in this calculation. Worked in the maintenance field
for 40 yrs can tell you there is no such thing as no repairs on anything. Many claim a 10 yr free maintenance but can tell you the majority of companies went
broke and no longer around. Plus you will need to replace batteries 2 to 3 times minimum. Lastly If your roof needs replacing your panels will be toast
and will probably have to be replaced. Rusted screws and parts will make them hard to take down without damage. Just my opinion solar panels
are just another rich mans toy. When they ever get the cost down to 6 or 7 years Im in.
 

BigRick

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Yeah, what @Ostentum said, tax credit. There are articles that say you can apply to last years taxes, those are wrong as you cannot for personal taxes. I had read somewhere that if you don't use all the tax credit and roll some of it forward that it applies at that years credit. Not sure if that is accurate but if you are looking at it taking more than 2 years of taxes to get the full credit you may want to talk to a tax pro first.

This year is 26%, next 22%, and zero after that if they do not extend it again. There was a bill they were trying to pass that would set it to 30% for like the next 5 years before phasing it out again and retroactive that 30% to anyone that claimed under the 26%. Dunno what happened to that bill, or if it even made it to a bill. Could have been politicians talking about what they would like to do.
Curious to how much power you generated the past 2 days if any.
 
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oguzman

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When I looked at it thought it would be a 14 yr break even. Thats a long time to break even when most people dont live in the same home for 14 years.
And how many times have I heard this is my forever home. The real knock to me is there is no maintenance in this calculation. Worked in the maintenance field
for 40 yrs can tell you there is no such thing as no repairs on anything. Many claim a 10 yr free maintenance but can tell you the majority of companies went
broke and no longer around. Plus you will need to replace batteries 2 to 3 times minimum. Lastly If your roof needs replacing your panels will be toast
and will probably have to be replaced. Rusted screws and parts will make them hard to take down without damage. Just my opinion solar panels
are just another rich mans toy. When they ever get the cost down to 6 or 7 years Im in.
Well with all this war getting ramped up energy prices might go up. Just speculation though!
 

RobertP

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When I looked at it thought it would be a 14 yr break even. Thats a long time to break even when most people dont live in the same home for 14 years.
And how many times have I heard this is my forever home. The real knock to me is there is no maintenance in this calculation. Worked in the maintenance field
for 40 yrs can tell you there is no such thing as no repairs on anything. Many claim a 10 yr free maintenance but can tell you the majority of companies went
broke and no longer around. Plus you will need to replace batteries 2 to 3 times minimum. Lastly If your roof needs replacing your panels will be toast
and will probably have to be replaced. Rusted screws and parts will make them hard to take down without damage. Just my opinion solar panels
are just another rich mans toy. When they ever get the cost down to 6 or 7 years Im in.
I would expect the prices to come down at some point as they sell more and more of them to other states where energy prices are stupid high. I REALLY like that generator plug in for the battery to recharge it! I wonder if that would work for my smaller portable generator. See the battery is getting low and plug in my 3000watt genny to charge the batteries while we are sleeping. The hybrid option is about the only way I would buy into it since you have several options for getting power.
 

soymilk

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im currently debating about these batteries. they are rated for 10 year battery life. Not quite a new battery chemistry but a new one they are making more of nowadays. It has a lot longer battery life than lead acid or lithium. LiFepo4 - Lithium Iron Phosphate.

the cons of the battery is weight, and charging/discharging the battery in freezing temps is very bad for the battery. We "shouldn't" have a problem with this.


and this controller


the controller can receive solar, charging from wall/generator for an offgrid system. Maybe add a transfer panel to switch from grid power to my battery bank.

although hearing the news I need permits for ground level panels kinda sucks. thought this was 'murica
 
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decimal

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or you can wait for the next gen of batteries which seems around the corner. Don't know about cost, but increased efficiency, lifecycle and size reduction seem to offer significant variables to change the ROI equation.

 

soymilk

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lifep04 is suppose to get 4000-6000 charge cycles to 80% capacity, its available now, you won't have to pay the early adopter tax. Weight is not a concern since all these batteries will be stationary. even if you discharge the battery every day for 10 years, it should last that long. The old lead acid battery banks had to replaced every couple years.

solid state batteries will be a game changer for EV cars tho. I figured this is where the majority of the initial production will go to. Hopefully we'll have a domestic manufacturer, so we don't have to keep relying on other countries.

I figured i'd jump on this for now. And hopefully something much better is available in 5-10 years.
 

foos

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Curious to how much power you generated the past 2 days if any.
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Smidge over 12kWh each day, and my tank used a smidge over 14kWh on both days combined. With that generation and usage I have enough battery backup to go about 3 days. Peak production right now on a cloud free day is 62kWh. So, on this level of dark and gloomy I am getting about 20ish% my max production. Some people intentionally get more panels than the inverters can output at peak production so that on gloomy days they see less of a dip.
 

BigRick

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20220225_205259000_iOS.png 20220225_205307000_iOS.png
1645823149244.png
Smidge over 12kWh each day, and my tank used a smidge over 14kWh on both days combined. With that generation and usage I have enough battery backup to go about 3 days. Peak production right now on a cloud free day is 62kWh. So, on this level of dark and gloomy I am getting about 20ish% my max production. Some people intentionally get more panels than the inverters can output at peak production so that on gloomy days they see less of a dip.
That's not bad at all.
 
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