When my partner and I moved into our house in Vermont, the previous owner was quick to point out the generator backup that would provide power to the property in case the power went out. However, during our first power outage we realized that the little genny out front was not only incredibly noisy — it was directly outside of the kids bedroom window — but it also was only connected to one section of the house. That meant that while the fridge and the furnace still had power, our television and living room lights did not.
Getting and installing the Powerwall batteries
In search of a better solution, it didn’t take me long to find out that the state offered a subsidized deal on Powerwall batteries. We already had solar panels on the roof that tied into the utility grid, so we were hoping that in case of a power outage, the Powerwall batteries could act in place of solar batteries to provide us with power for a prolonged period of time without the noise, smell and limitations of our generator.
I signed up for the program and put it on the back burner; several weeks later when I’d nearly forgotten about it, I got a contract to sign, and several weeks after that I got a site visit. There was some initial confusion about who was responsible for the install that had to be cleared up, after that, things proceeded quite quickly.
On the scheduled date, two trucks worth of people arrived to perform the installation which took roughly 6-7 hours. During that time, we were without power for most of the day, which was boring at worst. Despite the many activities I'd set aside for the kids, it was a long, long day. It was hard to figure out a good place to place the Powerwall batteries, of which there are two, since they’re almost as tall as I am and roughly as wide as my armspan.
They wound up in the basement, which required the installers to chisel out some of the spray foam that exists from the previous owners projects, but we were glad to find out that they don’t really make any noise at all. The other portion of the installation happened next to our outdoor power meter, and the lead installer gave me a thorough explanation of how it tied into our existing power box – including the emergency shut off.
What it's like during a storm or outage
And that was it – they packed up and left and then we had a Powerwall set up. I downloaded the app, set it up and after a few days didn’t think about it much. However, every time a storm blows into the area, the app sends me a notification to let me know that the Powerwall system is preparing itself.
This last Monday, we prepared for a significant storm – with winds that exceeded 50 mph. And sure enough, at about 10 a.m., we lost grid power. However, we only noticed the slightest blip as our system automatically switched over to the Powerwall batteries. We still had internet, our phones were still up, our lights were on, our fridge kept our food cold, we had running water, and most importantly, our furnace kept running.
While our closest neighbor used an outdoor outhouse in 12-degree weather, we battened down and kept the kids amused with YouTube videos of their favorite shows. The Powerwall app kept us updated on how many kWh of electricity we were using at any given moment and how long the batteries would last us. And because we had internet access and phone lines, we were able to stay updated with the power utility on how long the outage would last and report when we had seen downed lines in the neighborhood.
Best of all? We were able to do all of that without the constant drone of the old generator going constantly in the front yard. All because I had filled out a form. We had expected to have to pay something for solar batteries or pay to upgrade the generator, or even take out a loan to do something to upgrade the system – at our last property, we were entirely off-grid and our solar set up there was expensive and absolutely worth every penny, so we were prepared to repeat the process.
But getting involved in a program that made the installation so effortless, and the price so reasonable (by adding a small monthly fee to our utility), it’s well worth it. There’s very little reason to not use a similar program if there’s one available in your area – especially if you’re facing dangerously cold temperatures, weather conditions, or health conditions that mean it’s essential to have a power back up.
English (US) ·