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HomeOnTheMountain_ t1_j7vlybw wrote

If anyone tries to sell you on a tesla power wall, tell them to get fucked. They're trying to sell you the lexus equivalent of a battery. It stores power and sits in a room. You don't need the lexus model to do that.

Edit: Catamount did our install and they were great.

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Human802 t1_j7vsxkc wrote

What others do you recommend? Does the State have a deal with Tesla?

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Specific_General_334 t1_j7wv1kn wrote

As someone who installs Tesla batteries I generally agree with u/homeonthemountain. Though I don’t think it’s so black and white. To answer your question though. It’s not the state it’s GMP and VEC. And not actually a deal with Tesla as far as I understand. Both of those utilities have leasing programs that allow people to get batteries at relatively low upfront cost and a low monthly fee. The utilities get to use the batteries as small peaking generators while primarily maintaining them in reserve for use as home backup. They used to only offer the program with tesla batteries more recently they’ve also started allowing Enphase systems as well. Another alternative, though not necessarily as simple, would be a custom system with lead acid or maybe lithium. Those come likely with higher upfront cost and potentially more challenging financing and insurance implications. Not to mention a somewhat more complex system that might need periodic maintenance. Though cost over time could be lower. No doubt though installers push the low upfront cost that is essentially just an installation fee to get people to buy batteries they don’t necessarily need and pay the higher cost over time. All that said there’s plenty more to consider on what kind of battery you get or if you even need one.

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HomeOnTheMountain_ t1_j7zencq wrote

Why lead acid? We're off grid with Storz Lithium and they're great with zero issues on installation, insurance, power level usage, or maintenance. Lead acid meanwhile, we used to have to balance them and you'd muck them up if you ran them down too low too often.

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