How much is a Tesla home battery?

A Powerwall costs $11,500 with a solar installation through Tesla. If you want to install a Powerwall onto your existing solar system or are using another solar provider, the cost of a Powerwall without installation is $9,200 (though you’ll still need a Tesla Certified professional to install it). These figures do not account for the 30% federal solar tax credit and other incentives.

Of course, how many Powerwalls you buy will determine your final cost. You can add up to 10 Powerwalls to your solar system, but Tesla recommends most homeowners install between two and four units to have enough stored energy during an outage. If you want to go completely off-grid, you may want to consider even more.

How Many Tesla Powerwalls Do You Need?

Most solar installers recommend installing two or three Tesla Powerwalls. The more batteries you install, the longer you’ll be able to power your home with stored energy. Therefore, you can determine how many Powerwalls you need based on your energy consumption and the number of hours or days of backup power you want.

Tesla’s Powerwall and Powerwall+ batteries have been the gold standard in home solar energy storage solutions for quite some time. I have two Powerwall batteries installed in my garage as part of a home solar system, so I’m intimately familiar with how much they cost and what they add to a residential solar system.

In this article, I’ll give you my experience with the Tesla Powerwall batteries and review my extensive research on these and other solar batteries. I’ll explain why I think they’re worth the investment for some people, how long it takes to break even, and whether you should install one in your home.

Tesla makes solar batteries and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, but it doesn’t install either. To buy a Tesla Powerwall battery for your solar system, check out one of the Tesla-certified installers below.

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How Much Does the Tesla Powerwall Cost?

A Tesla Powerwall battery costs between $10,000 and $15,000 for a single unit, depending on where you live, what solar installation company you choose, and other factors like how many Powerwalls you buy. Installing more than one Powerwall gives you a discount on each unit you buy after the first one, so installing two Powerwall batteries is not twice as expensive as installing one.

To be sure, Tesla Powerwalls aren’t cheap, but they’re also not as expensive as they initially seem. The average solar battery costs between $4,000 and $7,500, which is more affordable than a Powerwall. But there’s a catch. Powerwalls have a greater capacity than most solar batteries, which means they store more energy and can keep your home up and running for longer. The kilowatt-hour (kWh) cost is lower than most other batteries.

The Tesla Powerwall also integrates seamlessly with the Tesla solar monitoring app, which gives it a few superpowers that most solar batteries don’t have. You can take your solar system off-grid with the push of a button if you have a Powerwall installed, and Tesla’s proprietary StormWatch feature automatically sets your Powerwalls to store as much energy as possible if the system detects a nearby storm that’s likely to cause a blackout.

Here’s a short video outlining a homeowner’s experience with Tesla Powerwall batteries, including how much it costs to add them to your solar system. 

Powerwall Pricing With a Tesla Solar System

Until 2022, Tesla only sold its Powerwalls as part of a package with its solar panels. However, the company announced it would no longer make Tesla brand solar panels but would continue making Powerwalls, solar roofs, and EV charging stations.

Even on their own, Powerwalls are expensive, but they get increasingly affordable for every additional unit you buy. The base price for a single Powerwall is $14,200, but the price-per-unit goes down for each subsequent Powerwall you buy.

The table below shows how you save money per Powerwall if you buy more than one. I have included the installation cost in the price and not included any discounts from solar incentives, tax credits, or rebates.

Number of PowerwallsPer-Unit CostTotal Cost1$14,700$14,2002$11,100$22,2003$10,067$30,2014$9,550$38,2005$9,340$46,7006$9,200$55,2007$9,100$63,7008$9,025$72,2009$8,967$80,70310$8,920$89,200

Powerwall Pricing With Powerwall Direct

As of March 2023, you can buy a Powerwall from Tesla through the company’s Powerwall Direct program. The program lets you buy a stand-alone Powerwall like you would order any product online.

The sticker price for a single Powerwall is $8,700, which doesn’t include the $6,000 it costs for the Powerwall installation. Remember that you can’t install your Powerwalls — or, at least, you shouldn’t.

The same multi-unit discounts apply to Powerwalls purchased through the Powerwall Direct program. Purchasing two Powerwalls, for example, will run you $16,200 for the Powerwall units and $6,600 for the installation. Once again, these prices don’t include any solar tax credits or other incentives — more on that later.

Powerwall Pricing With Local Installers

If you don’t want to buy a Powerwall through Powerwall Direct, you can have one installed by one of your local Tesla installers. Most of the time, people buy a Powerwall when they purchase their panels, which makes it easy to have everything delivered, installed, and set up simultaneously.

Local installers will also help you choose the right Powerwall model and tune your system’s power output to offset the energy you use daily and help you achieve energy independence.

One drawback to buying Tesla Powerwalls through a local installer is that they are often more expensive. Solar companies sometimes upcharge for labor and other services, such as setting up your Powerwall and ensuring your system is connected correctly to the electricity. It’s worth getting a free quote for a Powerwall from several local installers to see which company offers the best deal.

If you prefer to buy a Powerwall through a local installer, use this map tool to find Tesla-certified installers near you.

What Rebates and Incentives Are Available for Tesla Powerwalls?

If you’re thinking that Powerwalls are too expensive to fit into your budget, don’t worry. Tesla Powerwalls are eligible for solar incentives that make them more affordable. 

The largest incentive that applies to the Tesla Powerwall is the federal solar tax credit (ITC). This tax credit offered by the federal government allows you to claim 30% of your solar system’s total cost as a credit to reduce your federal income tax liability for the year you have your system installed. It’s important to realize that this is not a tax rebate, so you’ll only benefit if you owe federal taxes.

As a concrete example, the purchase price of one Tesla Powerwall battery effectively becomes $5,865 after the 30% credit from the federal ITC. Tesla’s website only shows the credit as applying to the Powerwall itself, not the installation cost. But installation costs are usually included in the ITC when you report your system’s total cost to the federal government on your application.

Tesla also offers a $500 rebate on Powerwall system purchases until October 31, 2023. This is a per-unit rebate, so installing two Powerwalls will get you a $1,000 rebate. The only warning: the rebate is available only for the Tesla Powerwall 2 and Tesla Powerwall+ units. Today, that’s not a big deal because these are the primary units Tesla recommends to new solar customers.

The Powerwall+ is more than just a battery storage solution since it comes with an islanding solar inverter, which helps explain the higher price tag. An islanding inverter lets you maintain power even during a blackout, which panels on their own — and even some batteries — cannot do for safety reasons.

Are There Other Ways to Save Money With the Tesla Powerwall?

Besides Tesla’s internal rebate and the federal solar tax credit, there are a few other ways you can save money with the Tesla Powerwall.

The most obvious way is that you get to offset your energy needs at the full retail electricity rate. Some places recently switched from net metering to net billing, reducing the amount utility companies pay you for any excess energy your solar panels produce. If you live somewhere with net billing or time-of-use rates, installing a Powerwall will save you more money than you’ll earn from selling your electricity back to the electric company.

If you’re looking for other ways to save money on your Powerwall purchase, look at state and local solar incentives. Many states have sales tax exemptions for solar equipment that apply to Powerwalls, but these benefit retailers and not solar customers. That means you only benefit from the sales tax exemption if you buy a Powerwall from a local installer.

Some states also have tax credits to encourage homeowners to switch to renewable energy. These incentives often lower your state taxes the same way the federal ITC reduces your federal taxes. 

Not all states have this, so check with your local government to discover any solar incentive programs available in your area. California, for example, has several solar incentives, while Kentucky has none.

Photo Credit: Tesla

How Long Until You Will See an ROI on Your Tesla Powerwall?

Calculating a breakeven point for a Tesla Powerwall is fairly complicated because you need to factor in your home’s energy consumption, your local electricity rate, whether your utility company offers net metering, whether you pay in cash upfront or take out a loan, and several other hard-to-parse factors like the number of full sun peak power hours your home gets per day.

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The average total cost of a residential U.S. solar panel system is $16,758 after the federal tax credit. That’s for a 9 kilowatt (kW) system and assumes an average monthly electricity bill of $117.46. The payback period for such a system is an average of 11 years.

The average total cost of a residential U.S. solar panel system is $16,758 after the federal tax credit. That’s for a 9 kilowatt (kW) system and assumes an average monthly electricity bill of $117.46. The payback period for such a system is an average of 11 years.

Figuring out the return on investment for a Powerwall requires a more detailed calculation. ROI on a Powerwall depends on how often your home uses the Powerwall as its only power source and the cost of the electricity you’d have to pay if you didn’t have a Powerwall.

Assume you draw 10 kilowatt-hours (kWh) from your Powerwalls every day. Remember, this is the power you consume above what your panels produce. If you pay the national average electricity rate of $0.14 per kWh, you’re saving $1.40 per day with the Powerwall if you buy one Powerwall at $5,865 after the ITC. If you use more energy than average or pay more per kWh than average, you save more money and have a shorter payback period.

Again, this is a rough estimate. There are too many factors to consider getting a more exact estimate. I recommend talking with local solar installers to learn if they think a Powerwall is a worthwhile investment. If you live somewhere without one-to-one net metering, a Powerwall is a much better investment than if you live somewhere that compensates you at the full retail electricity rate.

Of course, calculating the return on investment in this way ignores the benefits you get from having emergency backup power built into your solar panel installation. Not having to worry about food spoiling or going without power during an extended power outage is a major benefit and is often why someone chooses to install a Powerwall.

Tesla Powerwall Cost Vs. Competitors

The Tesla Powerwall stacks up well next to the solar industry’s other top batteries. It has one of the highest battery capacities of all home batteries at its price point, can generate 5.6 kW continuously, and is the lightest battery by a considerable margin, a testament to its superior design and technology.

Here’s a look at how the Tesla Powerwall specs compare to four of the best solar batteries on the market today:

Tesla PowerwallEnphase Encharge 10Generac PwrcellSunPower SunVaultSonnen Eco 10Price$14,700$18,000$9,999+ (varies by size)$16,000$14,000Storage Capacity13.5 kWh10.08 kWh9+ kWh13 kWh10 kWhContinuous Power5.6 kW3.84 kW3.4+ kW6.0 kW7 kWWarranty10 years10 years10 years10 years10 yearsSize45.3 x 29.6 x 5.75 in42.13 x 26.14 x 12.56 in22 x 10 x 68 in26 x 14.8 x 64.5 in26 x 16 x 57 inWeight251.3 pounds341 pounds287+ pounds270 pounds474 poundsMonitoringTesla appMyEnlighten appPWRview appMySunPower appSonnen app

The table above makes clear that Tesla Powerwalls are sound value even though they come with a hefty price tag. Compared to the other most popular residential solar batteries, the Powerwall’s greater capacity means it will pay for itself more quickly, making it the obvious choice for anyone who wants to add an energy storage system to their home solar installation, in my opinion. That’s why I bought these myself over other options!

Bottom Line: Are Tesla Powerwalls Worth It?

I believe Tesla Powerwalls are the best residential solar batteries on the market and are a worthy addition to almost any home solar system. Powerwalls are especially good investments in places without full retail rate net metering, but they can help keep your energy bills down and predictable no matter where you live.

Compared to other top solar batteries, Powerwalls offer unbeatable value. Their high price tag doesn’t look bad, considering that other batteries with lower capacities are often just as pricey or even more expensive. The price seems even better when you factor in the savings from the federal tax credit, Tesla’s temporary rebate, and any local incentives available in your area.

The bottom line is that Tesla Powerwalls are worth the investment for most homeowners, especially those who don’t have a good net metering program. If you’re unsure whether adding a Tesla Powerwall makes sense in your specific case, I encourage you to find a local installer near you to consult. Even if you’re not under contract, the best solar installers are happy to discuss system design specifics with you.

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Here are a few questions I get asked most frequently about the cost of Tesla Powerwall batteries.

FAQs About Tesla Powerwall Costs

What Is the Average Cost of a Tesla Powerwall?

The average cost of a Tesla Powerwall is $14,700, including installation but not including the federal solar tax credit. With the tax credit, the total price is around $11,865. If you purchase more than one Tesla Powerwall, each unit starting from the second is eligible for a small discount. For example, buying two Powerwalls costs $22,200 rather than the $29,400 you would pay without the discount.

Are Tesla Powerwalls Worth It?

Tesla Powerwalls are worth it for most homeowners, especially those who live somewhere that doesn’t have one-to-one net metering. Storing your excess energy saves you money off the full retail electricity rate, which is always higher than the avoided-cost rate some utility companies offer.

Powerwalls also have an above-average round-trip efficiency of 90% and offer more stored energy capacity than most lithium-ion batteries on the market, which makes a Powerwall worth it for the superior technology alone.

The average payback period of a Powerwall is around 11 years. However, the specifics depend on your monthly energy usage, the price you pay for electricity, and other details about your solar power system.

Are Tesla Powerwalls More Expensive Than Other Batteries?

Tesla Powerwalls aren’t more expensive than other solar batteries. The Powerwall is one of the most affordable residential solar batteries available, especially when you compare them to batteries with a similar capacity. Powerwalls have a higher energy capacity than most solar batteries, so they give you more bang for your buck and are more affordable on a cost-per-kWh basis.

Are There Any Tax Credits or Incentives for the Tesla Powerwall?

Tesla Powerwalls are eligible for the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC), which lets you claim 30% of the total value of your solar system as a federal income tax credit. It’s important to realize that this is not a tax rebate, so you’ll only get a benefit if you owe federal taxes. If your credit amount exceeds your tax burden, you can roll the credit over to the following years.

Are There Additional Costs Associated With Maintaining the Powerwall?

No, there aren’t really any added costs associated with maintaining the Tesla Powerwall. The Powerwall is a low-maintenance battery system, so you probably won’t have to do anything to it over its life span. Of course, any hardware malfunctions or failures outside of the 10-year warranty period could require an expensive repair or replacement, but current Tesla Powerwall customers report virtually no maintenance issues.