Tesla Powerwall: What you need to know.

This past weekend, Tesla Motors [NASDAQ: TSLA] held events across the country in order to introduce Tesla Powerwall 2.0. It's part of Tesla's "Weekend Social Events" at their stores and galleries nationwide. So, I decided to trek over to the local Tesla store (in Boca Raton, FL) on Sunday to check out the event and learn more about Powerwall 2.0. My father accompanied me. He already has solar panels on the roof charging both his Tesla Model S and Model X. So it was something that was definitely worth learning more about — and sure enough, he put down a deposit down for two Powerwalls that day.

Above: Two Tesla Powerwalls and an HPWC (Image: Teslarati via Dennis Pascual)

The event was packed. The Tesla store had about 80 people in attendance and we saw a lot of local owners we're friendly with through the Florida Tesla Enthusiasts club. After breakfast and coffee were served, a representative formerly from SolarCity (now working at Tesla) did a fantastic slide presentation introducing the Powerwall to the crowd. In addition, Tesla staff noted that the Powerwall has just been delivered for display in the store about two weeks ago — and, wow... it looked stunning in person.

Above: The Tesla Store in Boca Raton, FL hosted a fantastic Powerwall event this past weekend and had all-new Tesla Energy graphics and a demo unit mounted on one of the store's walls (Images: Author)

So what should you know about the Tesla Powerwall? It turns out that Business Insider* recently wrote an excellent piece that summarized, "everything you need to know about Tesla's home battery." It's reported that, "Panasonic makes the cells for the Powerwall, while Tesla builds the battery module and pack... [and] the Powerwall can store electricity generated by solar panels and draw electricity from the utility grid when rates are low to store for later use. It also provides homeowners with backup power in the event of an outage. All Powerwall installations must done by a trained electrician."

Above: Tesla Powerwall 2.0 can power the house when the sun goes down (or during a power outage) while the energy from solar panels can be stored during the day into the home battery (Images: Tesla / SolarCity)

Furthermore, "The Powerwall is also modular, so you can install up to nine batteries side by side to store more power. When it was introduced, Tesla received 38,000 preorders for the Powerwall, selling out through the first half of 2016... [and now] Tesla's Powerwall 2.0, which will cost $5,500, [also] comes with the inverter included. [Elon] Musk said it can store 13.5 kWh of energy and provide 5 kWh of continuous power, but will improve to 7 kWh at peak. This means that the Powerwall 2.0 has twice the energy and twice the storage as the previous 6.4 kWh Powerwall."

Above: Tesla Powerwall 2.0 (Image: Business Insider*)

And there are more updates from the first version of the Powerwall: "The new battery also comes with a design update. Powerwall 2.0 is more rectangular and flatter than the previous generation. It weighs 269 pounds and is 6.1 inches deep. Tesla estimates it will cost $1,000 to install Powerwall 2.0. The first units are expected to ship in December, with installations beginning January 2017." As noted, we put in a deposit for two Powerwalls and we'll be sure to update you further on it once we take delivery.

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*Source: Business Insider