Battery storage
Tesla Powerwall installation across Southern California.
As a qualified Tesla Powerwall installer serving Southern California and the greater Los Angeles area, we design storage for what actually matters here: peak-rate savings under NEM 3.0 and reliable backup when PSPS or fire-season takes the grid down. We also install Enphase IQ and FranklinWH — so the recommendation you get is the right battery for your home, not the only one we sell.
Why a Powerwall makes sense under NEM 3.0.
California’s net-metering rules changed the math on storage. Here’s what a battery actually does for a SoCal home today.
Beat the 4–9 PM peak
Under NEM 3.0, exporting your midday solar earns you very little. A Powerwall stores that production and discharges it during the 4–9 PM peak-rate window, when SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E charge the most. That time-shift is the single biggest reason batteries pencil out in SoCal now.
Ride out PSPS and fire-zone outages
Public Safety Power Shutoffs and wildfire-season outages are a fact of life across SoCal's foothills and canyons. A Powerwall keeps your essentials — or your whole home — running when the grid goes dark, automatically and silently.
Whole-home or critical-loads backup
You don't have to back up everything. Critical-loads backup protects the essentials (fridge, internet, lights, well or sump pump) on a smaller battery footprint. Whole-home backup covers the entire panel but usually needs more capacity. We design to what you actually want to keep on.
The hardware
Powerwall 3, by the numbers.
The Powerwall 3 is Tesla’s current home battery, and it’s a genuine upgrade over the Powerwall 2 — most notably because it has a solar inverter built in, which simplifies new solar-plus-storage installs and cuts hardware on the wall.
A single unit covers most homes. Larger homes, High Fire Threat District addresses, or houses with heat pumps and EV charging usually justify two — and Powerwalls stack, so you can scale capacity without changing the architecture.
13.5 kWh
Usable capacity per unit
Integrated
Solar inverter built in
~11.5 kW
Continuous power output
Stackable
Add units for bigger homes
A single Powerwall 3 install typically runs about $13,500–$17,500 before incentives. Larger homes that need two units should budget roughly double. See full solar and battery pricing for context.
How long it actually lasts.
Runtime is about what you choose to back up, not just battery size. One Powerwall holds 13.5 kWh — here’s roughly what that buys in a real outage.
| What you back up | Includes | Per Powerwall |
|---|---|---|
| Critical loads only | Fridge, internet, lights, phones, a well or sump pump | ~2–3 days |
| Critical loads + heavy items | Add central AC, an electric range, or EV charging | Hours per unit |
| Whole-home, larger house | Full panel backup with AC and high baseline draw | Often needs 2 units |
Runtime estimates assume your solar is recharging the battery during daylight. Air conditioning is the biggest variable — adding it to a backup plan is the most common reason a home needs a second Powerwall. We model your specific loads before quoting any runtime figure.
Why Helios
A qualified installer that won’t just sell you a logo.
We install Tesla Powerwall across Southern California — but we’re not a Tesla-only shop. We also install Enphase IQ and FranklinWH, which means when we recommend a Powerwall, it’s because it fits your home, not because it’s the only battery on our truck.
Tim, the owner, personally signs off on every battery design before install. We handle the parts homeowners dread — permitting, the SGIP eligibility check, and utility interconnection — and back the work with a 25-year panel and 10-year workmanship warranty.
- Permitting and city plan-check, start to finish
- An SGIP eligibility check for your address and tier
- Utility interconnection paperwork and approval
- Owner Tim signs off on every battery design before install
- 25-year panel and 10-year workmanship warranty coverage
- Honest equipment fit — Powerwall, Enphase IQ, or FranklinWH
SGIP, for fire-zone and medically vulnerable homes.
The Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) once offered broad battery rebates, but the general-market tiers have largely wound down. The meaningful rebates today sit in the larger resiliency tiers — reserved for homeowners in a High Fire Threat District (HFTD) and for medically vulnerable customers who rely on powered equipment.
If you live in one of SoCal’s foothill or canyon fire zones, this can meaningfully lower the cost of a Powerwall. We check your address and tier as part of every battery quote — and if you don’t qualify, we tell you straight and budget without it.
Powerwall installs across the region.
We install Tesla Powerwall throughout Southern California and the greater LA area. A few of our battery markets:
Powerwall questions, answered.
The questions we hear most when homeowners are weighing a Powerwall.
- How much does a Tesla Powerwall cost to install in Southern California?
- A single Tesla Powerwall 3 install in SoCal typically runs about $13,500–$17,500 before incentives, including the unit, the Backup Gateway, electrical work, and permitting. Larger homes — or homes that want to back up AC, a heat pump, or EV charging — often need two units, which roughly doubles that. The SGIP rebate that used to offset battery cost is now limited to income-qualified households and fire-zone resiliency tiers, so most homeowners should budget without assuming a rebate. We quote every line so you can see exactly what you're paying for.
- How long will a Powerwall power my home during an outage?
- It depends on what you back up. A Powerwall 3 holds 13.5 kWh of usable energy. Running critical loads only — fridge, internet, lights, and a well or sump pump — one unit commonly lasts about 2–3 days, and longer if your solar is recharging it each day. The moment you add central air conditioning, an electric range, or EV charging, draw climbs and runtime drops to hours per unit. That's exactly why larger or all-electric homes usually go with two Powerwalls. We model your real loads and show you the runtime before you buy.
- Can I add a Powerwall to my existing solar system?
- Yes — retrofitting a Powerwall onto an existing solar array is one of the most common things we do, especially for homeowners who installed under NEM 2.0 and now want backup or peak-shaving. The Powerwall 3 has an integrated solar inverter, which is ideal for new solar-plus-storage; on an existing system we'll assess your current inverter and panel setup and recommend the cleanest configuration — sometimes a Powerwall 3, sometimes an AC-coupled approach or a different battery. We'll tell you honestly which path makes sense for your equipment.
- Do I qualify for the SGIP battery rebate?
- Possibly, but the program has narrowed. The general-market SGIP tiers have largely wound down; the meaningful rebates today are the larger resiliency tiers reserved for homeowners in a High Fire Threat District (HFTD) and for medically vulnerable customers who depend on powered equipment. If you're in a fire-zone or qualify on medical grounds, the rebate can be substantial — and we'll check your specific address and tier as part of your quote. If you don't qualify, we'll tell you straight and budget without it.
- Powerwall vs. a backup generator — which is better?
- They solve the problem differently. A generator needs fuel, runs loudly, requires maintenance, and only helps during an outage. A Powerwall is silent, needs no fuel, starts instantly and automatically, requires essentially no maintenance, and earns its keep every single day by shifting your solar into the 4–9 PM peak — not just during outages. The trade-off is runtime: a generator with fuel can run indefinitely, while a battery is capped by its capacity. For most SoCal homes — especially solar homes under NEM 3.0 — a Powerwall is the better fit. Some homeowners with very long outage risk and high loads pair both.
Ready for backup that pays its way?
We’ll model your loads, check your SGIP tier, and quote a Powerwall (or the battery that actually fits your home) — every line shown, owner-reviewed before it’s sent.