Tesla Solar & Powerwall 4 Years Later.. I Wish I Knew This Before

Initial Tesla Solar Investment & Current Regrets

the number one search on Google for solar is how much solar do I need to charge a Tesla in 2020 we purchased Tesla solar before getting our first Tesla we got a 4 kilowatt system and I thought you know it's plenty to charge your car run a few things around the home so we don't need to pay so much for electricity but now in 2024 our electricity bill cost so much does solar even work and do I regret getting it and there's one huge factor I didn't even even consider that nobody talks about now at the time in 2020 the most expensive cost for electricity through our provider was 32 cents from 4 to 900 p.m. and I thought 4 Kow would be plenty for us without any issues and after searching around I found that test of solar was the cheapest for solar panels at the time and a power wall for the price of a power wall I could upgrade my system another 4 KW why would anyone need a power wall getting a power Southern California is D well it's now 2024 and I officially regret my life decisions as I'm about to drop maybe like $55,000 on more panels and yes power walls let me walk you through my process and why I'm adding all these panels as well as my regrets you see a 4 kilowatt system at the time was so cheap after tax credits we only paid like $6,000 for a whole system however now the cost of a 4 K system has gone up to $111,000 but they did slightly increase the tax credit so total after the tax credit would be around $88,000 but let's get the slap out of your face I didn't even realize it was under my nose the whole time out of the way the rising cost of electricity who thinks about this I mean I live in Southern California the place with abundance of sunshine and yet the rates of my utility provider Southern California Edison have skyrocketed this is bad because reproduce energy during the day and any excess energy goes back to sece under their net energy metering plan and that energy gives us credit but now with their new NM 3.0 plan that was put into place in 2022 even though you're generating more than you're using instead of a one toone rate where for example if it costs 24 cents to use electricity and if we generate more we would get 24 cents back they now give up to 75% less credit it and now between 4: to 900 p.m. when the Sun is setting and we're still using electricity our rates are a whopping 61 cents a kilowatt during summer months which is the most expensive rate so in only 4 years the cost of electricity has increased by almost 100% so imagine in another four years we could potentially be paying over a dollar for electricity according to se I mean it's all due to the cost of purchasing power repairs California fires and all that stuff and another huge thing I didn't realize that caused my bill in Orange counter to be so expensive was this new partnership with a local provider called Orange County Power Authority pretty much SE delivers electricity but ocpa would generate cleaner electricity for us but it costs us more as well in our bill in January of 2023 it was the most confusing Bill I've ever seen for some reason we had three different payments owed but we are built for each section on different months luckily I was able to opt out and go back to sece for everything and a few months later our bill was a lot cheaper and made a little bit more sense but there's just so many factors that affect the cost of your bill and I always just thought it was so black and white but just like a new iPhone even with solar panels you have to consider future proofing since 2020 we got an ice chest feezer a ton of security cameras new air purifiers a new Tesla to charge a mini pool with the filter stronger routers I mean the list is endless and because we have all those things our energy consumption has also increased and I'm still not done I didn't even think about other factors like winter vers Summer Sun and how there's not that much sun in the winter as well as the location of my home and how much total energy my home can actually produce and even the fact that with age and time the solar panels become less effective so here I am now adding more panels as well as power walls to my system now don't get me wrong in the four years we had Tesla solar I've had zero problems with it but our bill has been over $200 since then and here's the crazy part we haven't even been charging our tesas at home in months we've actually been going to Tesla superchargers to charge since we still have a bunch of free supercharging miles and that's insane

Reassessing Solar Needs: Future-Proofing and Rising Consumption

Now before we do anything we need to know how much we actually consume currently SC is always changing their website I mean they used to have a yearly kilowatt hour Fe feature but now I have to manually calculate it so for 2023 I consumed 10,116 K of energy then we go to this website I found out and this shows you the maximum kilowatts your area produces with sun monthly and yearly based on the system you have so a 4 kwatt system would only produce me a little over 6,000 K hours of energy a year which means I'm over 4,000 K short now if you want to be super technical you can look at your monthly consumption as well as break it all down to see what months you really suffer with no solar but if that's too annoying on Tesla's website they make it easy for you with your address as well as the cost of your monthly utility bill currently just make sure your roofing square foot is correct as it keeps thinking my roof is really small but it actually limits the amount of solar panels I could put on but it's really not it's not that small at all so I had to manually change it on myself also make sure to switch it from potential incentives to purchase price so you're not shocked with the amount you actually have to pay it also breaks it down it tells you for an 8 Kil system I'll generate 12,000 KW hours which would allow me to finally generate more than I consume by just a little but that's not enough remember we're future proofing and I also have to get a power wall in order to get a test of solar adding another $110,000 to that total and I'll talk about why I've changed my mind all about the power walls in a second you also have the ability to spify and futureproof the system for instance I added two electric vehicle charging as well as adding another member to our family and they recommend a 15 kilowatt system with an annual production of 23,000 KW hours and this is super important you guys can't forget that back in 2021 my yearly consumption was only 7,900 and in 2023 it jumped to over 10,000 so never ever buy just enough for what you're currently producing always consider the future because let's face it the cost of literally everything is always going up right now we're considering the largest system our roof can hold which is around 17 Kow considering how I already have 4 Kow I'm adding 13 more and a total for just the panels is $38,000 which is still expensive

Exploring Solar Provider Options: Tesla vs. Energy Sage

so I wanted to make sure before I went with Tesla you know you have to check out the other solar companies in the area to see what they're offering before I would cold call these people however I found out about a website called Energy Sage to see the best Apples to Apples solar comparison it's like a One-stop shop for finding the best solar prices in the area as well as learning a ton of stuff about solar it's all free there's no strings attached you don't have to provide a phone number if you don't want to either so while I'm still hoping Tesla solar does offer the cheapest prices around I just wanted to be sure so let's take a look at energy stage cuz I got a few quotes and what's great about it is I mean they ask you all these detail questions they have you upload your utility bill as well as competitive quotes like from Tesla so you can get matched with the best quote possible and usually they can get you the quotes back within hours but sometimes it may take around 24 to 48 hours to receive quotes from multiple solar companies they do all the work for you I even had a dedicated adviser Maria who reached out to me after I submitted my info and wanted to know more details of my current system so she can speak out to the other solar companies on my behalf to give me the most your quote and I was actually able to get some really good quotes and I was really surprised and you can see the full breakdown of the quote one company said it would come in at $66,000 cheaper than Tesla overall if you guys are getting or interested in Tesla solar try energy says just to see what's out there if you guys are interested in checking out energy S I have a link in the description below but for us though because we have the Cy truck Powers share it makes sense to go through Tesla to do everything since I already have a Gateway installed and I heard it could be very complicating to do this third party installation with the power wall if you have the Tesla Gateway for your cyber Tru also Tesa does price match if you find cheaper rates out there however you still have to order the system first so we'll see if they can price match the quote I got from another company but it's Mighty Morphin Power wall time now it's more expensive than solar panels it's a battery so it degrades over time I just didn't see the reason for it back then however now I'm all about the power walls and here's why first off you don't get sun the whole day around 400 p.m. the Sun starts setting so you don't produce that much energy this means during that most expensive rate Time 4 to9 p.m. you're using the grid power and again the rising cost of electricity rates using electricity during that time is a huge waste of money and it kind of negates having solar dose because of that new net energy metering again when you produce more than you consume during the day for instance because not a lot of people are home during the day your credit from the grid is way less than what you're using so again you're wasting money and three because you don't produce more energy during winter months some days we may not even see the Sun at all if you have a power wall you save that energy with whatever energy you gather throughout the day to power your home during that Peak expensive time only and lastly of course if there are blackouts it keeps your important appliances up and running and with the Tesla app it shows you all this detail about how much power you're consuming and generating which is super cool they even let you test the app out on the website to see what it looks like one power wash should last you about 1 and 1/2 days of power on cloudy days but two power wash could last you a solid 3 days and now if you're considering Tesa solar on Tesla's website you're pretty pissed because they bundled the expensive power wall together but Tesla does explain why and this only applies to people who live in California per Tesla solar bundled with power wall provides the best best value under net billing tariff that's the NM 3.0 plan I was talking to you guys about over 10 years a 7 KW plus 1 power wall solar system has a net Savings of $14,999 greater than a 7 kwatt system only system remember that with a net Savings of only $885 despite the higher upfront cost and they really ain't capping it's real look at me I'm the prime example so overall really hope this video opened up your eyes I think the one question everyone asked me is why get solar if it's going to cost so much biggest thing is you won't break even for 10 years minimum but again with the rising cost of electricity it can be technically sooner and luckily with the 30% federal tax credit my 12.9 Kow system and two power walls will cost around $37,000 but I better be living here for at least 20 years anyways guys thanks so much for watching comment down below if you guys have soar and how much you guys are paying for electricity every month thanks so much for watching guys and I'll see you guys next time

Technical Specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the initial cost of Tesla solar panels for the author in 2020, and how has it changed?

In 2020, a 4-kilowatt Tesla solar system cost about $6,000 after tax credits. By 2024, the cost for a similar 4-kilowatt system had risen to $11,000, or about $8,000 after the slightly increased tax credit.

Why did the author's electricity bill increase significantly despite having solar panels, especially after 2020?

The electricity bill increased due to several factors: the skyrocketing rates from the utility provider (Southern California Edison), the introduction of the less favorable Net Energy Metering (NEM 3.0) plan which gives significantly less credit for excess energy, and increased household energy consumption from new appliances and a second Tesla.

Why are Powerwalls now considered essential, even though the author initially didn't see their value?

Powerwalls became essential because they store energy produced during the day to use during expensive peak hours (4-9 PM when the sun is setting) and during winter months when solar production is lower. They also mitigate the negative impact of NEM 3.0 by allowing self-consumption rather than sending excess energy back to the grid for reduced credit, and provide backup power during blackouts.