Tesla Powerwall 3
5 reviews
I bought it to compensate for my typical two-day power outages, not to save money on electric bills. After a little over two months, I've had no problems with the single-battery unit. It is quiet and doesn't get hot in my garage. I noticed the bad reviews all come from NSW, which is interesting. My only negative experience is that after installation and the bill was paid, when I phoned the installer to ask a technical question, I didn't get a reply.
Follow-up · Since the installation, there was only a brief power glitch. Without the Powerwall, I believe I would have had to reset all my electric clocks. The installation was efficient. No serious problems. The technical question was about the battery switch on the left-hand side of the battery. The top half of the switch is covered by an opaque plastic flip top. I didn't understand how to turn the switch off, and I was afraid of breaking the flip top, because it didn't want to move. After being ghosted by the installer, I used a screwdriver to lift the flip top and then discerned how to turn off the switch. Since using the screwdriver, the flip top can now be easily lifted with my finger.
Purchased in for $11,932.44.
Since writing review below, powerwall 3 has gone "off line" 3 of last 4 days. Had to reboot each time...TERRIBLE! Single Powerwall 3 is good, but multiple Powerwall 3's consistently needs to be rebooted via the toggle swith on the Primary unit. Since installing 2 more "daisy chain" units, I have had to reboot the system at least 6-7 times in 3 months. No solar info, no battery info...so the grid runs the house until you notice it has failed AGAIN. No sensible answer from Tesla. Dont install multiple units
Follow-up · As a requested follow up, here are my comments... 1. It has failed about 7 times since the second and third batteries were installed. Each time it fails, there is no solar or battery data on the Tesla app, so the batteries are not being replenished. This meabs more use of the grid, depending on battery level at failure 2. Installer has been as helpful as possible, including physical visits, but " nothing conclusive" 3. Tesla says its an " earthing bug" that will be "fixed in the next software release"!!...I am ex Microsoft..we said that regularly So I wait
Purchased in .
Overall, I'm satisfied with the Tesla Powerwall 3 to date, however I do have some reservations that I wish have been better explained before I made the investment. One of the key limitations is the built-in 5kW inverter. While the Powerwall efficiently stores energy from my solar array, the inverter can only supply a maximum of 5kW to power my home and charge the battery, regardless of the size of my solar array (12KW). In my case, my hot water unit and ducted air conditioning can spike to 7-8kW at times, which means that even though there’s ample energy being generated by the solar system, I still need to draw power from the grid to cover the extra demand. This is frustrating because the solar system, in theory, has enough power but is limited by the 5kW inverter.
While I could have opted for a standalone 8kW or 10kW inverter, the added cost of $2-4K made it a less attractive option. Given my energy needs, a 7-8kW built-in inverter in the Tesla Powerwall would have been a perfect solution and would have made the product a 9/10 in my circumstances.
In summary, the Tesla Powerwall is a great product but could benefit from offering higher capacity inverters as a more standard or customisable option. The 5kW inverter works for many, but for homes with larger energy demands, especially during peak times, it can be a bit limiting. It would have been helpful to have this detail more clearly explained up front, as it would have influenced my decision-making process.
If you have high energy needs, be sure to factor in the potential limitations of the built-in inverter when considering your solar+battery system.
If I can give a zero or negative rating I will. I totally agree with the extremely bad customer service of Tesla. DO NOT BUY this crappy battery, it's not worth it. Unless you want to wait and wait and wait for Tesla to provide you a new unit. Mine was broken 3 weeks after installation. Yes, it's a complete nightmare. And yes, you have to totally rely on your installer to chase up the new replacement for you. It's absolutely a disaster. I'm so regretful that I didn't do my research beforehand. The entire experience is comparable if not worse than waiting in line at Centrlink or something. The key difference is I’m not begging for money but rather giving them business/money.
Purchased in for $10,000.
The worst experience you could possibly have with Tesla – Don’t get Tesla Powerwall 3!!! We installed Tesla Powerwall 3 in Dec 2024 and it broke down in 2 weeks. Since then it became a nightmare. Tesla told us that it would take 4-6 weeks for a new unit to arrive and then a certified installer will contact us for installation. We had to follow up with their customer support team but could not get an update. Most of time we had to wait in the phone queue for over an hour in order to speak to someone. When we finally got the chance to speak to someone, the attitude was absolutely disgusting. They had no information of where the new unit is, no information of what the installer’s number it is. Instead I was asked to call our installer. Allegedly we cannot contact Tesla it should be our installer contacting Tesla for the new unit. We could not ask for compensation for our loss even it is Tesla supplied faulty battery to us.
Our installer now had to chase Tesla for all his customers’ Powerwall 3 issues. We are not the only one! And all his customers had to wait until Tesla gives the installer new units. We were told it was the hardware issue and allegedly Tesla has repaired the hardware but noone can guarantee whether the new Powerwall 3 will work fine. If not, we all have to experience the same episode again!
Tesla has designed a perfect scam business model so they delegate responsibility to poor installers and ultimately escapes from all liability to its customers.
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