One option for South Africans looking to power their home or office appliances during load-shedding is the Tesla Powerwall.

The second generation of the acclaimed backup battery system is highly popular in the US, Europe, and Australia.

Alongside the Tesla Wall Connector, it is one of two Tesla products sold in South Africa by the official local distributor Rubicon Group.

According to Eskom, South African households consume around 30kWh per day, or 2.5kWh per hour.

With the Powerwall 2 packing 13.5kWh of battery storage, it could theoretically feed power into a home for a 5-hour outage.

It also comes with an inverter that offers 5kW continuous discharge or charge, and 7kW peak power.

Therefore, the Powerwall can support several appliances running simultaneously and will only need around two to three hours to charge back to full.

These factors make it suitable for providing backup power, even in the event of stage 8 load-shedding.

It can also easily be paired with solar panels, for those looking to generate their own power.

However, many South Africans have questioned whether the Tesla Powerwall’s features justify its hefty price tag when pitted against competitors.

The Powerwall 2 currently retails for R170,300, excluding installation.

MyBroadband found several backup energy providers sell similarly-sized battery-inverter systems with supporting hardware for around R100,000 to R120,000.

We asked Rubicon chief product officer Nick Roche why consumers should opt for the Powerwall over other products in the market.

Roche explained the Powerwall was a polished and premium product, with a design that is aesthetically and technically ahead of many of its competitors, offering an attractive and highly-capable product with excellent functionality.

The Powerwall also comes with several integrated features that justify the price. Roche said when everything is taken into account, it compares well with rivals.

“On a cost-per-kilowatt hour basis, the Powerwall is actually not that much more than its competition, especially when you consider that it includes an integrated 5kW inverter and various metering accessories, which are often additional costs in other brands,” Roche said.

Another one of its standout features is a robust design, allowing for safe installation inside or outside a building.

The Powerwall 2 is fully waterproof, meaning it can handle rain. It is also dust-proof, ensuring protection from particles without the need to install a protective enclosure.

An integrated cooling system allows it to operate within temperatures ranging from -20°C to 50°C.

Its stackable design allows users to combine multiple units and increase capacity and output linearly. This also makes it appropriate for large residential applications and medium-sized office and commercial setups.

Roche added that the Tesla mobile app offers a host of features, including electric vehicle charging integration and off-grid working modes.

Tesla offers a 10-year product warranty guaranteeing that the Powerwall will retain 80% of its capacity over this period, more than that provided by “many of its competitors,” he said.

According to Roche, general demand for backup power and the Powerwall in South Africa has been good.

“Many users look for the Tesla brand, and their high profile as a company helps maintain the demand.”

Roche said that solar power was also seeing increased uptake.

“Recent prolonged outages in various regions, as well as steeply rising energy costs, are encouraging users to seriously explore solar for their homes and businesses,” he stated.

“Residential solar in South Africa is showing positive signs, and we expect that trend to continue for the foreseeable future.”

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