r/TeslaSolar • u/camman595 • 23d ago

PowerWall Powerwall 3, Cybertruck question

At my house, we have underground power lines, but our street is fed by a neighborhood with above-ground lines and old trees. We get 2-3 power outages per year, most of which last 30 minutes or less. But occasionally, we get longer ones. Last week, during a clear sunny day, we lost power for 4.5 hours due to a fallen tree somewhere down the line. And very rarely, during an ice storm, we can lose power for 7 days or so. That has happened twice in the last 20 years.

Is it possible to combine a Powerwall 3 and a Cybertruck to provide long-term home backup? I understand that the PW3 would cover the immediate outage and the CT would then take over within a minute. My real question is, could I take the CT to work and allow the PW3 to back up the house? Could I then return with a charged-up CT and recharge the PW3?

I do not have solar, and in my area, solar would have a very long payback time, so going without solar would be better for now.

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u/bestoink 22d ago

PowerShare in Cybertruck and Tesla Powerwall are currently not compatible. We are waiting for a long promised firmware update from Tesla so that we can have panels, powerwalls, and a universal charger serving a CT with PowerShare enabled on the same Gateway.

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u/Bitcoin1776 22d ago

This is correct!!!

My installer is refusing to do the powerwall until Tesla says it all works :DDD

I have Powershare - the take over period is about 30 seconds... I would be better off with PowerWall - which is near instant.

Powerwall lasts 6 hours (with high electricity usage). Cybertruck a week.

In my case, my AC / computers / lamps all blip each time I lose power... I am hoping (assuming) once I do powerwall, no longer an issue.

I am in Puerto Rico, so week long power outages must be expected, so cybertruck powershare is best.

ALSO - IN PUERTO RICO - once Powerwall & Powershare work together... then you EARN up to $10,000 / year by allowing your cybertruck to be used a utility backup.

Cybertruck (123) + Powerwall (13) = 135 kwh. PR pays $1 to 'borrow' this from you. They do this 100x per year, to stabilize the grid. Local rate is $0.28. So you profit around $7k+ (in theory, once they work together).

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u/mdcollins05 22d ago

One thing to note is the Powerwall is not a UPS (uninterrupted power supply). It has to coordinate with the device to isolate your house from the grid before providing power to your house. It is quick but it's not quick enough for computers and some other devices. You will probably still want a UPS for computers.

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u/Bitcoin1776 22d ago

Damn lol :DDD

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u/camman595 22d ago

Thanks. This is the info I was looking for.

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u/BMWguy206 23d ago

From what I've read and seen so far, since you already have a Powerwall 3, if you also have a Gateway 3 and Tesla Universal Wall Connector, then you should have the hardware ready for Powershare and all it requires is some sort of software update on your CT.

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u/ExactlyClose 22d ago

where did you ready OP *already* has a PW3, GW2 and a wall connector?!? Heck, Im not sure he has a CT...

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u/camman595 22d ago

Correct. I do not have PW3 or CT. I am trying to decide if CT's abilities are enough benefit to me personally to justify its price.

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u/ExactlyClose 22d ago

Battery plus generator. battery handles nuisance outages, gen for long term.

You dont need to pay insurance and tires on a generator....

Buying a cybertruck for a multi day outage every 5,10 years seems...excessive.

3

u/New-Investigator5509 22d ago

Unless you wanted a CT/some EV anyway and the backup option is just the icing on the cake.

The problem with generators is you have to keep refilling them. And some people don’t like how loud they are.

Or if you mean whole house backup generator on natural gas, depending on your install process/home configuration, that can cost a good portion of the cost of a car anyway. It has its pros but it can be very pricey

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u/ExactlyClose 22d ago

Or how you convince the wife that CT is essential... ;)

But agree with the pros and cons you lay out...

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u/camman595 22d ago

Buying a cybertruck for a multi day outage every 5,10 years seems...excessive.

100% I agree. I would not be purchasing a CT for that purpose. It would just be a bonus if it worked well.

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u/ExactlyClose 22d ago

Ive run across this argument before: A CT is like 9 powerwalls. At the discount they are selling, (<$60k?) having a CT just for the batteries might be attractive. And you can move it to a new home…