Tesla Powerwall 2 Best Price & Is VPP Participation Worth It (NSW)

brad1-8tsi on 29/08/2024 - 09:43
Last edited 31/08/2024 - 06:54

I've been quoted $10,750 for a Tesla Powerwall 2 fully installed in November after the NSW government subsidies kick in.
Has anyone heard of / had a better deal in Sydney?

Up to now I've thought the payback on batteries was a bit long but I assume FITS will drop and electricity prices will rise.
I have a 5.4 panel / 5.0 inverter System. I sell ~250kWh to the grid in winter; ~700kWh in Summer. My FIT is 11c uncapped, which is above average.
I pay 90c(inc GST) supply charge, 49c peak, 30c shoulder/offpeak. Which isn't great but I'm a low usage consumer and the solar FIT more than offsets it.
My partner & I are usually home during the peak period from (2.00pm-8.00pm) so the battery will offset that 49c tariff period.
I'll be selling the property in 3 years before the payback (8 years?) is attained but know that in an area of buyers who are generally "thinkers" rather than "doers" it will sell quicker and recoup the outlay.

VPP:
If I join a VPP I get an additional $250 government rebate.
Can anyone recommend a decent one with either no contract or a 1 year commitment?
I see Engie offer a $500 sign-on incentive but reading the fine print it's pro-rata over 5 years and I believe they are not great to deal with these days.

Home & Garden Solar Battery Tesla Inc

Comments

  • freefall101 on 29/08/2024 - 11:49

    I assume that 250kwh/700kwh is per month that you sell back to the grid? Otherwise your payback period is way off.

    Did your quote include any costs specific to your install? It seems a pretty reasonable price considering the cost of the hardware, but without knowing the specifics of what you were costed any comparison won't mean much.

  • JimB on 29/08/2024 - 14:26
    +3

    "I'll be selling the property in 3 years before the payback (8 years?) is attained but know that in an area of buyers who are generally "thinkers" rather than "doers" it will sell quicker and recoup the outlay." Unlikely.

    Worth it? No.

  • Seraphin7 on 29/08/2024 - 14:42
    +2

    I'll be selling the property in 3 years before the payback (8 years?) is attained but know that in an area of buyers who are generally "thinkers" rather than "doers" it will sell quicker and recoup the outlay.

    Yeah, nah. Your place will sell and the price it will achieve will be based on its fundamental merits, not whether or not a battery has been installed.

    I bought a place a couple of years back with a solar/battery system already there. Nice to have? Yeah, I guess. Did it make me buy the property/be prepared to pay extra? Absolutely not.

  • KevinL on 30/08/2024 - 12:37

    Who was the quote with? We're looking to add a battery to an existing system too and the price seems pretty sharp

  • shrewdster on 14/09/2024 - 17:02

    I've requested quotes for the Tesla PW2 from a couple of installers for Nov rebate time, all of them have said they haven't received pricing on the rebate scheme yet. I guess Natural Solar is taking a punt to try lock in some customers now.

    I've been quoted 14.5k installed, before rebate as prices aren't known yet, from Penrith Solar Centre for a PW2.

    • brad1-8tsi on 16/09/2024 - 19:40

      I had a couple of places say "this is what we think it will be. If it's more we pass it on to you, if it's less we will wear it."

      One of the suppliers appears to have increased their prices in response to the anticipated rebates (wow, didn't see that coming /eye roll)

  • Amoeba Natural on 22/11/2024 - 16:02

    Hi There,

    I've been quote $11k AUD for the tesla powerwall 2 + energy gateway (after rebates and including installation). If you install 2 PW2, it's $16.5k.

    The $11k outlay reduces to $10k net after you get a $500 VPP rebate and then $500 Grid credit after installation - which you can only get if you join VPP.

    This was from NaturalSolar as well.

  • brad1-8tsi on 22/11/2024 - 17:34

    If you install 2 PW2, it's $16.5k.

    Can you PM me. I'd like to see your quote from NS. I finished up going with 2x PW2 but their "absolute rock bottom" price was $18k.

    • Amoeba Natural on 24/11/2024 - 14:20

      I went back to them and that deal isn't available it seems. Requoted on Monday $19750 after rebates. $18k seems like a good deal - can you email me your quote instead 😁

      • brad1-8tsi on 07/12/2024 - 14:58
        +1

        The 2x PW2 were installed yesterday.
        I'm happy with the installation given that NatSol uses a sub-contractor who then sub-contracts. The installers did a very neat job on a very hot day.

        NatSols business model appears to be to quote a very low price and get your deposit. They also require full payment prior to installation.

        NatSol will manage your expectations prior to installation by warning you of potential extra costs and then they try and claw back or maintain profit by charging (sometimes excessively) for variations or not abiding by verbal undertakings.

        Potential cost #1 was a piggyback bracket to mount the PW2s together. $525. This was avoided by placing the batteries on different walls but I did have to construct a shade cloth cover to keep the batteries out of direct sunlight which "will decrease efficiency and total lifespan and possibly cause the PW to slow down or totally shut off charging or discharging"

        Actual cost #2 was placing the batteries in an unused alcove in my courtyard an additional 2.3 metres from the inverter and Gateway. This was $250 which was reasonable given the conduit, cable and workmanship required to make the conduit look professional in a highly visible place.

        Actual cost #3 was 0.5m extra of 16 sq mm cable from the Gateway to the sub-board. This was because they wanted to mount the Gateway on my internal kitchen wall like a painting for all to see (WTF?). I convinced them to mount it in the same position on the external wall. The cable run was the same length but they added another 0.5m. The cable costs $30/m (or $7m wholesale in 50m spools). They wanted $450. There was no extra labour required to installed.
        I managed to negotiate them down to $650 for both variations. With the installation well underway and already being $20k in the hole there's not a lot of bargaining power available.

        Their other clawback was only passing on $2000 per PW of the installation rebate. PW2 should be $2400 per unit and currently the 1075 Peak Reduction Certificates of the PW2 are worth $2580, so a $580/unit claw back there.

        It was a somewhat stressful experience and I would not recommend them as a vendor. I have no idea how they manage almost 5 stars on Google and SolarQuotes.

        On the upside I managed to get the battery from 20% to 25% from 2.30pm to sunset yesterday and drew down 10% overnight. Back to 25% today on a fairly dismal day where panel output hasn't exceeded 1kW. No power used from the grid in 24 hours.

  • robinstam on 07/12/2024 - 09:22

    I've used 28Watt to crunch the cost-benefit numbers for me and get me a quick online quote. That's an easy way to get some insights into cost and benefits. Cost for a PW2 is around $12.5k and they work with different installers in NSW including better call solar. If you can get it installed for $10.5k I would go for it. Haven't heard anyone with such a good deal.

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