What I actually paid for my Tesla Powerwall and solar setup

Many people have been turning to solar lately. Government credits and rebates certainly help bring the cost down, but you don't even need that kind of incentive to justify putting solar panels on your roof, and a battery to store the energy. The cost savings and peace of mine are enough for many people to justify making the decision. L I know it was for me. The credits were just a bonus.

Solar panels to power your life

At the very basic level of this endeavor was installing solar panels on our roof. I started with EnergySage, to get a quick comparison of solar installation companies, what they offer, cost comparison, and a little about each company. One thing I really liked about using this website is that unlike most similar services, this one came with no spam. All companies provide their quotes through the website itself. You can then pick and choose which ones you respond to, and which ones don't look good and that you'd like to ignore, without the hassle of 15 attempts to contact you.

Overall, I received some higher cost quotes and some lower cost quotes. But I like to look at more than just the cost. How long has the company been in business? What kind of reputation do the panels they suggested have, and how long is the warranty? Are they taking an approach with inverters on each panel in order to see what each panel is producing and if one is bad at any given point? Or an overall inverter for the entire system? What kind of battery are they suggesting? Etc. This alone gave me a pretty good idea of how each company works. Some lean more toward quality. Others seem like they just want the sale, and they provide the cheapest option out there even if that compromises on quality or reputation. After narrowing down to two companies and calling each of them, I chose one. Then I worked with them to make a few modifications to customize to my needs. Unfortunately where I live, the amount of panels you can have on a rooftop installation which is tied to the grid is limited by the amount of energy used in the last year, proven by showing bills. Luckily, the previous owner was able to provide a bill that had this history, since we had just recently moved it. On the downside, she used much less energy than we do.

A battery keeps life moving through the night

So what happens during a power outage after the sun goes down? If you don't have a battery, you end up without power, just like your neighbors. That's why you really need a battery to complete the package here. For me, that's a Tesla Powerwall 2. It has a capacity of 13.5 kWh, and a max output of 5 kW, which covers most of the more significant devices in the house.

Normally when we have a power outage, we turn off most of the breakers. We keep one kitchen breaker on for the refrigerator, as well as the sump pump, the office to keep our Internet and Wi-Fi running, and a few others on at times if we're having a good solar day and have enough battery power. Our air conditioner is a model with a built-in soft start, which allows the AC to be used as well within the 5kW output limit, although it does use a lot of our battery capacity so we have to use it sparingly when we are without grid power.

The cost of powering your life when your neighbors are in the dark

So how much does all of this cost? I will say that not walking around with a flashlight...occasionally bumping into things, and not throwing away a few hundred dollars of food after every outage, and the ability to keep the house warm in the winter, or cooler than it otherwise would be in the summer...sometimes feels priceless. But of course, we all have our limits of what we're willing to pay, no matter how great it may seem.

Of course there are a lot of variables, but here's what I paid. For our 12 400-watt solar panels totally a 4.8 kW system, we paid about $18,500. For our Tesla Powerwall 2 battery, we paid about $15,447.