Tesla’s Home Battery Powerwall On Display in Tiny House Tour

A tiny house completely powered by renewable energy and towed by an all-electric car hit the road for a two-month Australian tour—and Tesla is behind the wheel.

Tesla is featuring its Powerwall, an at-home rechargeable lithium-ion battery, in the Tesla Tiny House. The compact and stackable 14 kWh wall-mounted battery is a back-up energy source that can be used during utility outages, natural disasters and “even the Zombie Apocalypse,” according to Tesla.

Powerwall can also be integrated with rooftop solar panels to generate and store enough energy from the daytime sun to power a home at night—and that is what’s primarily on display in the cross-country tour. Australians will see firsthand how the solar-energy system can power an entire home 24/7, cutting the cost of electricity bills.

The two-tonne tiny house is powered by six solar panels and one Tesla Powerwall.
The two-tonne tiny house is powered by six solar panels and one Tesla Powerwall.

The goal of the Tesla Tiny House and its tour is to educate Australians one-on-one about how Tesla’s energy products can curb energy consumption and protect a home during power outages, according to a press release. Last September, South Australia was hit by a violent storm that wrecked havoc on the region’s power grid, causing a widespread blackout that left 1.7 million residents without electricity.

Australia was the first country to have access to Tesla’s Powerwall. The second generation of the battery, the Powerwall 2, is now being installed for residential customers across Australia, although it comes with a steep price tag. The battery and hardware run for a combined $6,200 and installation costs range from $800 to $2,000 (all prices US). Several Powerwalls many be required to fully power a home.

Last month, Tesla was awarded a government contract to use Powerpack—the company’s massive commercial battery—to build a sustainable energy storage system in South Australia. Expected to be completed by the end of the year, the giant batteries will store energy generated by Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm.