This was posted 9 months 3 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Tesla Powerwall $15,495 ($13,995 after 5 years) (Includes Standard Installation) @ Origin Energy

1213

Save $2,300 off the 13.5 kW Tesla Powerwall.

Plus sign up to the Origin Loop virtual power plant (VPP) and stay connected for five years to save a further $1,500.

You may choose whichever Origin Energy plan you like, however, the 14c FIT is only applicable to Solar Boost Plus plans.

Interested in everyone's thoughts around VPP and if the discount is worth the intermittent power drain.

Interest free plans available.

Not available in all areas. Price for a standard installation within 50 km of the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wollongong and Gold Coast CBDs.

Mod 26/7: Edited title. The $1500 off after 5 years is included in the $13,995 price (thus why it says 'from $13,995'), it is $15,495 initially ($2,300 off).

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  • Which version of Tesla PowerWall it would be? Couldn't find that information

    • +1

      PW2

      • Will Origin let you charge it with Control Load? As solar does sweet FA in winter.

        • +54

          That winter sweet FA still allowed my household to be 53% self powered from solar last week.

          • +3

            @goingcheep: Ditto. I’ll second that.

          • +2

            @goingcheep: My self sufficiency sucked at 37% due to time of use and the electric heaters pumping well into the night.

            Generated 81kw and used 74kw in total though, so generated more than I used and it was a bloody cold week.

            • +2

              @johndoh89: there is enought charge to fully charge a tesla car in that battery, not bad. I think even having 2 of these with alot of solar panel might even get you off grid.

              • +4

                @kungfuman:

                I think even having 2 of these with alot of solar panel might even get you off grid.

                As long as it's sunny every all day every single day, which it isn't…

                • +1

                  @1st-Amendment: well I didn't say it woudl get you off grid indefinitely, but the more free electric you can generate the better.

                  • +4

                    @kungfuman:

                    but the more free electric you can generate the better.

                    But it's not free. Two Powerwalls will cost you $28k.
                    I can think of better uses for that money.

                    • +9

                      @1st-Amendment: The investment will pay off over time, the price of electricty isn't going to get any better any time soon. So paying for the infrastructure to generate your own electric is a good idea it will save you money over time, there are people here in queensland and consitantly get 0 dollar bills with setups like this or better. It pays for itself, the more people buy ev;s the more demand on the grid the higher the prices. Thats why a setup like this is a good idea for every home.

                      • +5

                        @kungfuman:

                        The investment will pay off over time,

                        The measure of a good investment is how it compares to other ways you could spend your money. Spending $28k to save a few hundred dollars in 15 years time is a terrible investment

                        • @1st-Amendment: if you spend less than 0 every year on electric and in some cases even make money from the electrical companies because you generated too much electricity and are able to sell some back, how much do you think that is over 15 years? average bill for people ranages from 400 to 600 per quarter depending on how many people live in the place, some even higher this is with out any kind of solar to offset. Say its the 400 a quarter over 15 years thats, $24000 saved or if you are able to generate and sell back excess electric that could be 28k or more over those 15 years. Also I don't know many people that stay in a house for that long, if you make a profit on a house sale you get that 28k back you spent, and if anyone has it the investment and cost of it is less and less. Your not seeing the big picture here.

                          • +5

                            @kungfuman:

                            $24000 saved or if you are able to generate and sell back excess electric that could be 28k or more over those 15 years

                            So according to your own numbers, you spend $28k to 'save' $24-28k? Can you see the issue here?

                            Your not seeing the big picture here.

                            Someone else already posted a better investment option. Put $28k in your offset account and will return $68k over 15 years.

                            • @1st-Amendment: I based it on a 400 dollar a quater figure this would be in a perfect world no one has the exact same bill every single quarter it varies I was just giving you an example but in realitiy that figure could be much higher, but if you continually get a 0 or less bill then forcasting this is hard. Thats all this is a forcasted figure, that could or not happen I was trying to fit your example into workable numbers. None of these figures are set in stone, they were just to try and give you context of what could happen over time. if you were to have a 0 dollar electric bill over 15 years or more. Yep the other guy explains it better than I ever could I probability should have just quoted that guy.

                              • +3

                                @kungfuman:

                                I was just giving you an example but in realitiy that figure could be much higher,

                                Or lower.

                                I have solar and Powerwall and keep actual daily figures in a spreadsheet so I know that in my case the battery is a poor investment. I only bought it for the tech value of playing with a new toy…

                                • @1st-Amendment: I'm interested in you thinking here. Perhaps you don't have the best plan for your powerwall? I have a time of use plan input into the tesla app, and I'm using the AGL solar EV night saver plan which has 8c electricity between midnight and 6am. I charge my batteries for the car and the house overnight. This covers the electricity use in the morning when we all get ready. The batteries recharge from solar typically before 11am on a sunny day. then its all Feed in. The batteries cover the use in the evening. they then charge again at 8c. So i'm essentially paying 8c for my electricity use and selling the solar back during the day. 2xPowerwall 2, price was locked in at 10k each. This setup was implemented last month. Tesla App "impact" shows the savings based on the energy used, times, feed back, and battery use. So middle of winter it saved me $220 that month. The lowest solar, highest heating/energy use produced a saving of over $200 for that month. I'll be very interested to see how this performs over a 12 month period, but having batteries that return energy bought at 8cents replacing the off peak and peak costs of use, and selling solar during the day seems like a very effective use of batteries.

                                  Maybe its your setup and plan that makes it a poor investment?

                                  • +1

                                    @drjamie:

                                    2xPowerwall 2, price was locked in at 10k each

                                    Your situation appears to be based on a purchase price which is not available to anyone else.

                                    @$15k per PW2 you're talking $30k outlay on day one for 2 PW's. I've lived in my house for 20 years and still haven't used $30k worth of electricity (I keep records), so it's not economic for me at these prices. If I put $30k into an index fund @8% return for 20 years it'd be worth $147k. That seems like a much better investment to me than paying $30k for possibly $30k of electricity.

                                    Maybe its your setup and plan that makes it a poor investment?

                                    See above. There's much better returns to be had on your money than a home battery.

                                    and selling solar during the day seems like a very effective use of batteries.

                                    While FITs exist, but they will be going away soon as supply far outstrips demand.

                    • +9

                      @1st-Amendment: $14k kept in offset account for 6% interest rate home loan would save $54k in interest over the life of the loan (30 years), and you would still have $14k saved up in your offset account.

                  • @kungfuman: Is it legal to go off grid and have a generator if I can't get enough panels and batteries?

                    I was reading that there is an attitude that the poor without solar panels are paying for the grid, and the rich exporting power aren't contributing. They reckon the solution is to pay electricity subsidies, but I reckon they'll ended up bumping up the daily connection fee.
                    There was also talk on making solar panels compulsory on rental properties.

                    I was hoping they'd do another subsidy on getting panels, and hopefully batteries.

                    • @SlickMick: They go off grid in the country where there is no infrastructure, it would be something u would have to look into for your state and council. Different places have different rules

                  • +2

                    @kungfuman: Its not free. Nearly 27k for two batteries. How long to break even on that cost

                    • +3

                      @Geoff01: …and there's the limited battery warranty.

                    • @Geoff01: At current electricity prices? About 15 years for my house.

                      At the prices electricity will actually be over the next 15 years? A lot sooner.

                    • +1

                      @Geoff01: As i already explained u can have zero bills and even sell back electricity that u generate back to the grid that 27k pays for itself over time which results as a return on investment. Which is free electric. I don’t know why this is the issue? Unless your bill for electric is less than 400 a quarter then I understand why this doesn’t work for u but for alot of people this is a good return over time.

                      • +1

                        @kungfuman: Have you accounted for the decrease in battery capacity and battery health over time? The battery will still work in 15 years, sure, but it isn't going to be performing anywhere near as well as it was in year 5 or even year 10.

                        Basically with battery storage at the moment it seems that it will pay itself off it it works at 100% optimum conditions all year round (which it won't) for 10+ years (which it won't). As someone else said, as an investment it's a terrible idea. You will get far better returns on even putting it in a high savings bank account.

                        I'd love to get this deal, but it maybe paying itself off in 15 years isn't filling me with confidence. Within 15 years I'm hoping we'll have a nuclear power plant in Australia to solve all of our energy issues anyway.

                        • +1

                          @MrFunSocks: Youre dreamin'

                          • -1

                            @Dslrfirst: Probably, but you never know. I think we're going to hit a point where it's (nuclear) the only viable option.

                      • +2

                        @kungfuman: The issue is you clearly don’t understand the word “free”. Spending money to get $0 bills doesn’t make it free electricity.

                        People have clearly pointed out the opportunity cost makes this a terrible decision, unless seeing $0 on your electricity bill is all you want in life. The reality is most people would be a lot better off investing it, even with your $400 a month bill. That it might pay for itself over 15 years is not a good investment. Or even over 5 years - not when $27k can earn $1,200 a year.

                        Best option for near everyone is wait until electricity prices are higher and battery prices are cheaper. With V2H cars coming, likely one of those will make even more sense.

              • @kungfuman: what's the max rate of charging?

                • @Poor Ass: this should give you all the specs you need on this https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/powerwall/Pow…

                  • @kungfuman: can you plug straight from the battery to use?

                    • +1

                      @Poor Ass: Worth running your own numbers but a battery at their current prices is a terrible idea if you're looking to save money. Even in an ideal case where you fully discharge it every night and fully charge it during the day using excess solar energy you can't sell back to the grid as your feed in is capped you're lucky to break even in 10 years. After those 10 years or typically 3650 cycles your warranty is worthless and your battery won't last much longer than that, but with winter existing there's no chance your battery is ever going to see a perfect life for profitability. They may be running ads with astute looking people talking about the merits of a home battery but in reality you're spending a heap of money on an investment you'll be lucky to see any return on over a long period of time.

                      I wouldn't expect prices to come down for a long time either, EV demand is sure to keep lithium in high demand and prices need to drop a long long way to become worthwhile.

                      • @Ricktheroller: I'll break even earlier as I have 50c solar feed in tariff

                        • @Poor Ass: I have the 5, just not the 0 afterwards! Is that an old solar installation? If so curious to know what happens if you add a battery, if that FiT is still valid or is it similar to replacing an existing solar system where you lose the FiT?

                      • @Ricktheroller: Running your own numbers is the go. It's working for me, but the capped feed in and maintaining optimisation will be problematic for most.

              • +1

                @kungfuman: Only 13.5kWh in the battery, Tesla model Y is about 60 so not enough to charge the car up.

              • @kungfuman: I could get close with one, if I upgraded my insulation and went to a temperature where I had to wear a jumper inside. But by then I'd have spent $75k on avoiding my power bills, which after the solar ($10k) is about $1000 a year. Also my wife would probably die or leave me, since she is already wearing a full warm tracksuit and uses a blanket, laying under the heater (set to 24) shivering. Although I don't think the heater is working fully, the other living area which is set to 18 is warmer, think the temp sensor in the lounge is at fault though.

                Stupid massive windows giving great natural light and views. The living rooms each have 2 1.8x2.5m and 1 1.8x5m. The dining room and laundry have big glass sliding doors with a glass panel. The master bed has a 1.8x4m window and the others all have 1.5x2m windows at least at guestimates because I can't remember the exact figures I sent in for a quote.

                Buying curtain bots and presence sensor to automatically close and open the thermal curtains would probably be a better return on investment. I've seriously considered it, since I seem to be in a never ending battle of closing them because other people like the sun, but don't close curtains when they leave the room.

                Inside is currently 22 degrees, between the curtains and the glass is 10 and outside is 1. If the curtain is open you can feel the heat being stripped out of you from over a metre back. After the ac goes off at 11pm the internal reading will drop to 13, 3 between the curtain and -2 outside by around 5am.

                Roof is apparently decent insulation, but I've thought of improving it, underfloor and wall is non-existent, floor might be worth a self install, but walls are pointless with the windows.

                • @johndoh89: Thanks for the write-up!
                  I'm in a similar situation with similar single glazed walls. We have the split system in the livingroom and master bedroom (simple heater in the kids room).
                  The problem with the ac in the bedroom is the air gets very dry. Humidity in the house is below 25%. Around 20% in the bedroom if ac running but could be lower, I think 20 is the lower end of what the senso shows. -quite uncomfortable. I now have a small humidifier, it gets the Humidity up to 35-40%. And we also dry our laundry inside to keep the Humidity up.

                  The plan is to change windows to double glazed, (maybe triple but then the paper walls would be the absolute weakpoint) but the energy prices are not qute there yet to justify the reno.
                  Imho, ppl complain about the energy prices, but energy is still relatively cheap in Australia. Takes a bit more for the big country-wide insulation reno boom to start.

            • @johndoh89: Heaters are the biggest killer. Have to say split systems A/C are very energy efficient if you are considering.

              • @uetecu: I have split system ac, reasonably recent with decent efficiency.

                Just nothing in bedrooms is my issue.

          • @goingcheep: But will the PW2 and Origin let you recharge it with OffPeak controlled Load?

    • PW1 visually looks different with curved edges.

  • +52

    Good deal from an ideological perspective. ROI prob not so great…

    • +3

      Even with increased electricity price?

      • +11

        Yep, even then

        • +20

          Previously, break even was 15 years, which was too long as warranty was only 10 years. But with electricity prices doubling in my area, it's now worth it as breakeven is 7.5 years.

          • +2

            @Sleepycat3:

            break even was 15 years

            Does it include the oppotinity cost? (aka interest on origin money)

          • @Sleepycat3: You're crystal ball is lying to you !

            • +3

              @Murkymerv: Went from fixed rates in June 2022 to variable in July 2023, $0.16/kWh to $0.38/kWh. Yup, my crystal ball was lying, it was not a 100% increase, but a 137% increase.

              • @Sleepycat3: some bills I've found in my emails:
                2014 Origin (incl)
                General - 25.38
                Controlled - 18.45
                Supply - 83

                AGL 2016
                General - 27 incl
                Controlled - 21.9 incl
                Supply /day - 98.53 incl

                June 2023 (incl)
                General - 21.9
                Controlled - 16.98
                Supply /day - 105.5

                July 2023 (incl)
                General - 30.5
                Controlled - 22.85
                Supply - 126.68

                Based on the above, the only significant increase is for Supply charge
                20% inflation 2014-2022 according to RBA

                • @VQLD: In SA electricity prices increased 320% from 1994 to 2019 or so

                  • +1

                    @S92WTB: yeah, agree. Location to be taken into account..
                    SA's 100% rates increase in 2016-2018 just because of the Alinta's coal plant closure..

          • @Sleepycat3: Doubling? Mine went up a couple of cents

            • @MikeKulls: Mine went up 38%

            • +1

              @MikeKulls: Mine went up 25% really depends on your area. The lucky bastards in Canberra who are almost completely renewable didn't see big increases.

              What's worse about that 25% is it's the different between me paying 0 dollars a year and probably now paying close to 300.. I really like not getting bills with my modest solar array.

              • @811b11e8: SA is full of renewables and we still had large increases

      • +22

        I think Powerball battery can only store 13.5kw max if I remember correctly and you need to have a min 6KW+ unit to has this installed. 14c is not locked for a year or 2 and they can change anytime after that so expect 5c-8c afterwards. if you are using 20kw a day for 350 days @ 30c/kw then $2100 + daily charge a year, if you can store 10Kw everyday (depends which state you live as well) , then your saving would be 10kw x 350 days x 30c/kw = $1050. You will need 12+ years to get your money back assuming electricity price remains unchanged (impossible) and you battery/solar panel/inverter will last beyond 10 years without losing any efficiency.

        • +5

          It also is cloudy and rains … so u will not charge the battery everyday….

          • @zerog101: will not charge…as much every day

            • @poohduck: or at all, i have one mate.

              • +1

                @zerog101: I've got a grid connect battery. Any reason you don't charge during off-peak/shoulder on cloudy days?

                If you've got flat rate then it wouldn't make sense but for me with a 20c difference between shoulder and peak if I charge to 60% it usually takes a good chunk off my peak. Although the battery is much smaller at 5kWh

        • +21

          Sounds like a bit of a lottery…

          • +8

            @BargainKen: Sounds like a great way for companies and installers to make a profit.

        • +3

          Not quite accurate. My battery activates/kicks in during the day too eg, gets overcast in the middle of the day then the battery kicks in; when peak load is higher than solar being generated at any specific time….

        • +2

          There is another variable that makes the ROI on batteries more attractive: when you join a VPP your energy prices will be significantly cheaper off-peak and that is when you will use the grid, if ever, due to load optimization. So not only will you consume less energy from the grid, your energy prices will be much cheaper when you do use the grid.

          • @biogenesis: Unless you have a full electric car to charge, otherwise to get 10kw stored in the battery everyday means you will have to switch on all the electrical appliances to use up all the energy stored.

        • -5

          Labor have promised power prices will be going down soon too right?!?

          So the payback figures are set to get even worse… Unless of course, that was a lie.

          • -3

            @Binchicken22:

            Unless of course, that was a lie.

            Spoiler alert!

            It was a lie.

            • +8

              @1st-Amendment: Spoiler alert!

              Labour didn't promise power prices will be going down "soon".

              The policy was aimed at a reduction by 2025.

              It was undoubtably a dumb promise to make. Nonetheless, the LNP line that you are either falling for, or spinning, which is that Labor promised price reductions immediately, is the real lie.

              • -1

                @Astronaut Joe: In the context of a 10+ year payback period that we are talking about, pay attention, then yes, 2025 is "soon".

                But yeah, keep simping for the government lies, you do it well.

          • +1

            @Binchicken22: ? That is the opposite to what I'm hearing. They don't have a solution for high power prices and it's only going to get worse.

            Even our politicians don't lie that blatantly??

        • +1

          You need a very specific usage pattern to take advantage of a battery, basically low daytime usage and highish night time usage. You might have a bright sunny day to charge the battery but if you go out for the night then you won't use the power. If you go on holidays for 10% of the year that's 10% less you'll use the battery. Then there's days when you use all the power during the day, like hot overcast days on the weekend running the aircon. End of the day thinking you'll charge and discharge 10kW every day is a false narrative. It would lucky to end up being 60% of the time.

        • Thanks for the breakdown 👌

        • +1

          And you should also take compond interest into consideration, 12 years+ can lead to ~50% intrest which bring the payback time even further

    • +14

      I used the calculator here and it said I'd have it paid off in 8 years.

      • +17

        Does it factor in further increases in electricity prices? Might be sooner than 8 years if not.

        • +3

          Yes, and you can adjust the inflation figure.

        • +6

          Will it last 8 years? I’d imagine the capacity would be heavily reduced by then

          • +5

            @NuttyGoodness: Factor in possible advances in battery/solar technology in that 8 years.

            • -2

              @dickiee: Then you are paying more money to replace your solar.

          • +29

            @NuttyGoodness: I've had it for 5 years now. No problems whatsoever so far. No noticeable capacity degradation either. Questionable ROI back then, but now it makes more sense to have it installed.

            • +1

              @areustillpretty: May I ask how much did you get it for? How much is the capacity? Does it allow you to turn AC for X hours. Like how much you find it valuable?

              • +17

                @amsaini15: That's exactly the same one as what Origin is advertising, Tesla PW II 13.5kw. In summer, we can run our two split systems (both over 7kw) until we feel cold, and it still have reserve to cover idle appliances. Note that this will depend on your solar panel orientation - ideally you should have some panels to the west. Winter is a bit meh in Melbourne.

                Can't tell you the cost as my builder bundled it in the building price. Like I said, back then the ROI wasn't good but not having to pay a cent during summer is a winner. Also at a pitch-dark night during a blackout, seeing only my house standing proudly brightly lit is quite a feeling haha. All in all I find it quite valuable, but everyone is different.

                • -2

                  @areustillpretty: So I should buy this for the 'feeling' I get watching my neighbours suffer as I smugly bask in my good fortune?

                  • @mike6969: That feeling is 'complimentary' and of course it's something I didn't anticipate at all. Just having a battery doesn't make me a millionaire though :)

            • @areustillpretty: What percent of capacity is left after the 5 years?

              • +16

                @booboo: About 12.7-8kw left, so 94-95 percent.

                • +1

                  @areustillpretty: Thanks! Pretty impressive.

                  Would you say you cycle it every day? So let it discharge completely overnight?

                  • +1

                    @booboo: No, I set it to reserve 5 percent for blackouts/storms etc. Set and forget. I haven't touched anything else in the last 5 years.

          • +16

            @NuttyGoodness: If it has less than 70% at the 10 year mark, it'll be replaced/repaired under warranty supposedly. Source: https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/powerwall/Pow…

            • -2

              @ChillBro: You trust tesla ? in 10 years …. Like the spare seats they have for their cars

          • +10

            @NuttyGoodness: Longer than that. I've had some lithium battery solar storage for 4 years and the capacity is 99% of what it was when installed. The expected lifetime is around 25 years to 80% capacity. The batteries have improved a lot and solar storage is a low intensity use case so isn't very hard on the cells.

            • +1

              @Dsiee: Some of those tests are done under laboratory conditions. They don't translate well to real-world conditions. With that said, you can always setup the system to be used and have low deterioration.

              I am all for Home Batteries. If not all, but a majority of homes had a battery, and not a large unit but a decent sized one… that would go a LONG way to balance the grid. We could actually make the system more efficient, and be more resilient in times of storms/blackouts. Australia's network generally doesn't need it, since most of the populous are concentrated in major towns and cities.

              Personally?
              I would like to own my own home, have my own solar system, have my own battery, have an electric car, and regulate my household energy. I think I could find a better balance of using the car and battery to store excess power, giving back to the grid during demand on-peak, and taking out from the grid during slow off-peak times. It would help balance the grid, generate income, reduce expenses, and do it all with renewable energy source. If it pays for itself off in 5 years great, if it takes 20 years also great…. I just don't like being at the whims of the Big Oil Tycoons, especially after their shenanigans in 2022, with more to likely come in the future.

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