Tesla Powerwall batteries in short supply from solar panel installers

Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Attendees take pictures of the new Tesla Energy Powerwall Home Battery during an event at Tesla Motors in Hawthorne, California April 30, 2015.

A new study published by EnergySage and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners on Tuesday said just 12 percent of solar panel installers in the U.S. have Tesla Powerwall in-home batteries to install.

This isn’t due to lack of demand. Instead, the study suggested over 55 percent of solar installers reported that customers looking for in-home batteries are specifically requesting a Powerwall, which stores energy from solar panels and allows a home to operate entirely off of the grid, even if the power goes down.

Tesla recommends a 2,200 square-foot home have at least two Powerwalls, which costs about $14,500 before installation costs. Customers can place reservations on Tesla’s website for $500, but that means the Powerwalls need to be ordered separate from the companies doing solar panel installations.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained during the company’s Q4 earnings call in January that Tesla was “cell-starved for vehicle production” and had to switch its Powerwall production lines to vehicle battery lines.

CNBC reported last January that Tesla was still manually assembling batteries, at times borrowing employees from Panasonic and causing delays for the company’s Model 3 vehicle.

A Tesla spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.