As the price of solar panels continues to fall, more and more people are choosing to take advantage of the financial and environmental benefits they offer. However, there is one drawback with solar power – it only works when the sun is shining. This means most people with domestic solar panels and tiles rely on the grid to power their home during the night.

However, Tesla, the company best known for its electric cars, think they can change all that with their latest product – the Powerwall.

What is the Powerwall?

Fundamentally, the Tesla Powerwall is a big lithium-ion battery for your home allowing you to store electricity for later use. This is the same basic technology Tesla uses in their cars, but the idea here is that you can store excess energy generated by your solar panels during the day and use it to run your house at night.

There are currently two different versions due to be released offering 7 kilowatt hour (kWh) and 10kWh capacities which will cost £1,981 and £2,312 respectively. It is possible to run up to nine of either version in sequence, allowing up to 90kWh of storage. Tesla are also offering a commercial alternative known as the Powerpack which comes in 100kWh towers and allows unlimited scaling.

Is it really a game changer?

Although it’s always been possible for homeowners to use batteries to store excess power from their photovoltaics, the Powerwall does offer several advantages over existing technology.

Convenience – Previously if you wanted to use battery storage with your solar panels you would most likely have had to improvise your own system by hooking up a series of car batteries or similar. The Powerwall offers a simple, reliable way alternative that has the convenience of being wall mounted and relatively slim, so won’t take up much room.

Reliability – One problem with batteries is that they tend to lose capacity over their lifetime, but Tesla have addressed this issue by using smart technology to control the way the Powerwall charges and discharges, helping to extend its lifespan. Each Powerwall will come with a 10-year warranty showing Tesla’s confidence in their design.

Price – Although Tesla’s home batteries aren’t exactly cheap, even if they only last for the 10 years they are under warranty, that still works out for only £16.50 a month for the 7kWh version and £19.27 for the 10kWh.

Design – Apart from all of the practical benefits, it’s worth noting that the Powerwall design is actually pretty stylish, certainly much more so than a row of old car batteries!

Metrotile offer a range of photovoltaic roof tiles and panels that can help you reduce your bills and cut your carbon footprint. To find out more, call Metrotile today on 01249 658 514 or fill out our contact form and we will get back to you.