St. Augustine, Florida · Tesla solar + Powerwall
Real solar numbers from a real Florida home.
I’m Rick, a homeowner in St. Augustine with a 24.65 kW Tesla solar system and two Powerwalls. This site shares what it actually produces, what it actually cost, and what my FPL bills actually look like — no sales pitch.
Payback
Savings ticker
Savings ticker · my solar (estimate)
33.54% paid back as of Oct 23, 2026
Data through Oct 23, 2026, updated monthly. Savings are estimated month by month as my FPL bill without solar minus my bill with solar, from my measured home use and solar (car excluded) at FPL’s October 2026 rates. Without solar my house would be over 1,000 kWh every month, so most of the savings are valued in FPL’s over-1,000 kWh tier. Banked credits roll forward, the minimum bill is counted, and only solar used in the house counts until net metering was approved on January 16, 2024. The forecast extends that at the average of my last 12 full months ($4,286/yr). Bill-based cross-check: about $8,509 saved so far and break-even around Aug 2035. Loan interest and the Powerwalls are not included. How I worked it out →
The two Powerwalls ($18,700, about $13,090 after the credit*) aren’t in this count. On FPL’s 1:1 net metering they don’t lower my bill; I think of them like a whole-home generator. Are Powerwalls worth it?
* Includes the 30% federal tax credit I received for my 2023 install. That credit isn’t available for systems installed after 2025 — see break-even without it.
If you bought this today (no tax credit)
Without the 30% credit (buyers today): $51,018.50 solar-only, break-even ~12 years (kWh method), ~11 with 3%/yr FPL rate rises and ~10 with 5%/yr. Bill method: ~17 / 14 / 13 years.
Same panels, same roof, same savings as mine, at my 2023 price. The federal credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025 (IRS). Today’s prices may be different. Full table →
Real numbers
What actually happened on my FPL bills
Every figure below is copied from my own paperwork. Nothing is an industry average.
Totals for the 12 bills ending Nov 2025 through Oct 2026, main house meter.
Delivered vs. received, bill by bill
Source: my FPL bills, main house meter, billing periods ending on the month shown. The EV charger is billed on a separate meter (below).
Show the numbers
| Bill period ending | Delivered by FPL (kWh) | Received by FPL (kWh) | Net (kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-14 | 865 | 373 | 492 |
| 2025-11-12 | 718 | 624 | 94 |
| 2025-12-11 | 748 | 284 | 464 |
| 2026-01-12 | 1,576 | 668 | 908 |
| 2026-02-12 | 1,749 | 913 | 836 |
| 2026-03-13 | 1,296 | 1,236 | 60 |
| 2026-04-13 | 701 | 1,070 | -369 |
| 2026-05-13 | 1,052 | 1,504 | -452 |
| 2026-06-12 | 1,488 | 1,676 | -188 |
| 2026-07-14 | 2,051 | 1,134 | 917 |
| 2026-08-13 | 1,960 | 955 | 1,005 |
| 2026-09-14 | 1,771 | 1,020 | 751 |
| 2026-10-13 | 1,502 | 799 | 703 |
Tesla’s estimate vs. what I actually made
kWh per season, two full years
Measured: Tesla app monthly totals (2 significant figures). Estimate: Tesla’s pre-install estimate for this system. Year totals: 31,100 kWh (Nov 2024–Oct 2025, +15%) and 30,200 kWh (Nov 2025–Oct 23, 2026, partial, +12%) vs. Tesla’s 26,992 kWh. Nov 2023–Oct 2024 is left out: December 2023 was a partial first month and one of my three inverters was effectively offline in January–February 2024. More in my production vs. estimate write-up.
Where October’s power went
The car has its own FPL meter
On the October 2026 bill, the Model X charger used 903 of 1,606 kWh — more than the whole house (703).
Source: my October 2026 FPL bill (FPL EVolution, separate EV meter).
The system
How the system is set up
East-facing (85°): 19 panelsWest-facing (265°): 23North-facing (355°): 12South-facing (MP7): 4
| Array | Faces | Azimuth | Panels | Inverter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MP1 | East | 85° | 14 | E |
| MP2 | North | 355° | 12 | D |
| MP3 | West | 265° | 21 | F |
| MP4 | East (garage) | 85° | 3 | D |
| MP5 | East (porch gable) | 85° | 2 | E |
| MP6 | West (porch gable) | 265° | 2 | E |
| MP7 | South (front slope) | ≈180° (not in plan’s table) | 4 | D |
The real roof
Why trust this site
Real data
Numbers come from my own system monitoring, my Tesla paperwork, and my own FPL bills — not industry averages.
No Tesla sponsorship
Tesla doesn’t pay me or review anything here. I paid for my system like anyone else.
The good and the bad
If something underperforms or costs more than expected, I’ll say so. See the disclosure for how the site may earn money.
Articles
What I’ve learned so far
- ReadProduction
What my 24.65 kW Tesla solar system really makes vs. Tesla’s estimate
Two full years of measured output, season by season, against the 26,992 kWh Tesla promised.
- ReadCost & payback
What my Tesla solar + 2 Powerwalls really cost, and when the solar breaks even
The full contract, my bills before and after, a savings ticker updated monthly (after the 30% credit I got), and the no-credit math for buyers today.
- ReadBatteries
Are two Powerwalls worth it in Florida? What mine actually do
On FPL’s 1:1 net metering they don’t save money. Here’s why I’d still think of them like a generator.
- ReadFPL bills
FPL net metering explained with my real bills
What I buy from FPL, what I send back, and every line of a real October 2026 bill.
- ReadEV charging
Charging a Model X on FPL EVolution with solar at home
A separate meter, flat monthly fees, and roughly 4¢ per kWh for about 920 kWh a month.
- ReadMaintenance
Does cleaning solar panels in Florida pay off? My before-and-after data
I cleaned my panels myself on April 7, 2026. Here’s production against a weather model, before and after.
- ReadRoof direction
Solar on a mostly east, west and north roof: only 4 of my 58 panels face south
Only four of my 58 panels face south. What east, west and even north-facing panels really produce in St. Augustine.
- ReadFPL rates
What a solar kWh is really worth on FPL: fuel, non-fuel and the 1,000 kWh tier
Fuel, non-fuel, and the 2¢ jump above 1,000 kWh that makes most of my solar worth about 14.6¢ a kWh.
- ReadClipping
Inverter clipping on my Tesla solar: what per-string data shows about DC/AC ratio
About 10 kWh a year on my roof. Why direction matters as much as DC/AC ratio, and what 18 kW on one Powerwall 3 could lose.
Latest monthly update: September 2026 solar update · All monthly updates
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