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It also depends on how bad the storm is and where you live. People around me ran out of propane after a couple of weeks but between local shortages and road conditions propane trucks couldn't make it in to refill their tanks last winter. But solar doesn't help much either when there is a lot...

That makes sense although I seem to remember some seesawing back and forth between charging and discharging the Powerwalls. My main concern with self consumption is during the winter I would hit my reserve during peak or partial peak hours and draw a lot of power from the grid during those...

Well, I've tried your settings for over a week now and am not getting the same results you do. During partial peak and peak hours all solar power is being sent to the grid and my house is running off the Powerwalls like it did with my original settings. However, during off peak my house...

I agree with what you are saying, I just don't want to risk a big bill at true-up because I didn't track what the self-consumption mode was doing close enough. Plus my experience with it was erratic and I didn't understand what it was doing. I'm trying @BGbreeder's TBC settings to see how...

No, it is a valid point that I don't know if using self-consumption mode would knock me below the rate threshold and cause me to owe money at true-up. In fact I don't know if prioritizing solar for self-consumption wouldn't knock me over the threshold. The problem is the calculations are so...

I used to have my reserve at 50% but I would often wind up drawing from the grid during partial peak. Drawing from the grid during partial peak may not hurt me at true up but I would have to monitor it and make adjustments to make sure. I'd prefer to have a setting that I can set and forget...

^^^ I want to maximize my savings while also maximizing my SOC for outages. I don't think self powered will do that.

I'm a net producer so I only get compensated at ~$0.07/kWh at true-up. So sending power back to the grid during peak hours vs non-peak hours is less important as long as I have enough credit in dollars so I don't wind up negative at true-up. So round trip efficiency and NBCs become more...

I left my sell prices 20% lower than my buy prices for well over a week in the hopes that it would work again. It never did.

I'm surprised Tesla doesn't have an option to prioritize solar self consumption over export during peak hours. Instead we have to try to trick it. Once people in California start getting transitioned to NEM3 it will be even more important to be able to prioritize solar self consumption during...

^^^ Thanks, I'll give those price settings a try. I have my reserve set at 40% and I want to leave it there.

I tried self powered a while ago and it didn't work as I wanted. It would draw from the grid during peak hours. I never want to draw from the grid during peak hours unless my Powerwalls are at their reserve limit.

I have solar and Powerwalls and I've been TBC for a while now. I'm on PG&E EV2A and have set the times and buy rates to match EV2A. I set the sell rate rate at $0.03 less to account for NBCs. When recharging the Powerwalls in the mornings it works the way I want. It prioritizes my solar...

If you are on a TOU plan (Time of Use - different rates for different times of the day) then it likely isn't accomplishing the same thing. You want to use the Powerwalls to get you through the peak rates (and have the solar sent to the utilities during peak rates) and then recharge them during...

No joy. Still doesn't prioritize solar to my house during peak. However yesterday was cooler so I was still above my reserve at midnight.

I changed my peak sell to $0.49 (buy is at $0.58) to give it a try. Last time I played around with these settings I wound up running from the grid during peak hours...

I was on TBC with a $0.03 buy/sell offset last summer and never say solar prioritized to my house during peak hours.

I haven't lately. However I've previously tried playing around with settings which had unintended results. Right now I have a $0.03 differential between the buy and sell prices to account to account for NBCs. It works good during off peak to ensure the Poweralls get charged before 3pm but...

I wish there was an option on TBC to prioritize solar to my home with the excess going to the grid during peak hours. I keep my reserve at 50% because I live in an area of frequent outages and my batteries hit my reserve before midnight on hot days.

Your friend will get some free Powerwalls per your generosity...

My 2020 installation of 2 Powerwalls by Tesla was supposed to back up my AC but didn't because my compressor wasn't compatible with the soft start device Tesla uses and I would up getting a 3rd Powerwall. However if the initial 2 Powerwalls had been the ones currently available there would have...

I installed solar in 2009 and took the ITC. I installed a more solar in 2019 and took the ITC again. I installed a 3rd Powerwall last year and got the ITC again.

I'm on 23.12.2 now.

From a purely financial standpoint you are better off going for a backup generator. However, there is a lot to be said for the convenience of PV plus battery backup. A single battery will allow your solar to continue solar production while the sun is shining when the grid goes down. The...

AB-1346 bans the sale of small off-road engines (including gasoline powered portable generators in 2028) in California: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1346 They make an exception for diesel and propane powered generators.

I'm on 23.12.0. Wonder what the .1 is.

Or put a lien on your house...

Basically, whole home backup is where you don't have any circuits excluded from being backed up. Whether or not the Powerwalls can actually provide enough power for everything doesn't matter with regards to the nomenclature.

From what I understand, the main impediment for disconnection from the grid (other than local building codes and ordinances) was Title 24 that inferred that you needed to be connected to a metered connection. I've seen articles stating that Title 24 wording was changed and no longer "requires"...

I guess income based fixed fees is a real thing. I thought it was just a proposal by the utilities but it was incorporated as part of AB 205...

Right now PG&E is making money through fuel reduction and tree trimming programs in my area. And the more inefficient their subcontractors are the more money they make. At least it appear that way.

Is Stormwatch activated?

Something like this could work if the generator and solar breakers could be placed adjacent to or across from each other (or an additional breaker for the solar). But I don't know if something like this already exists for interlocking two like breakers. You could easily make your own or modify...

I use a generator interlock similar to this to make sure I don't inadvertantly turn the generator breaker on when the grid is still connected...

I'm on 23.4.2 now (Powerwall 2's).

As far I I know Title 24 only applies to new conctruction or remodeling. I don't see how it stops someone from disconnecting once the permit has been finaled. And I didn't see anything in there addressing when someone bulids where utilities aren't available. It would be interesting if it...

They'll probably just charge you at the highest income rate until you prove otherwise. They'll be fine with you not wanting to prove it...

It is (was) in the Tesla specifications. Tesla says the current Powerwalls (they don't call them Powerwall 2's anymore - the technical department refers to them as Series 3 Powerwalls) support 106 LRA each. The earlier Powerwall 2's (which I currently have 2 of) was a lot less. I have a long...

It also depends on the version of the Powerwalls the OP has. Earlier Powerwall 2's had less surge capacity than later Powerwall 2's.

I don't have a problem with a flat fee but it should be the same for everyone or based on actual costs for being connected. If the fee is determined to too much of a burden for lower income households then that subsidy should come from somewhere else, not directly from ratepayers.

Inverter based variable speed compressors don't need the soft start device (which was probably installed on your outside unit by your PW installer). Find out the LRA rating of the new unit (a variable speed compressor may not have a LRA rating) to determine if a soft start device is required...

For me what is more frustrating was the effort I had to go through to convince Tesla there was a problem. The Level 2 Tech should have been able to figure that out instead of telling me it was normal operation.

This particular junction probably isn't common in most installations. I have 4 Tesla CTs in my 400 amp entrance panel and the wires needed to be extended to run through the conduit to the Gateway so they bundled the excess CT wire in the main panel and used a zip tire to hold the wires in a...

Tesla came out yesterday and corrected the problem. There was a loose connection at one of the CT wire junctions. So far the information when grid charging appears to be correct.

I wish I had any hardwired options...

Mine's more complicated than average. 1 4 kW string system, 1 6 kW Enphase system, 2 Powerwalls plus a 3rd Powerhall installed later. I'll try to open all the panels some day but it may be a while.

The only time I use grid charging is when Stormwatch doesn't activate but there is a possibility of my power going out due to weather. So right now the easiest thing to do is manually activate grid charging when needed. But it would be nice if Tesla would recognize this on its own and keep a...

I went through the rigmarole of calling Tesla a couple of days ago since they hadn't responded to my emails. They actually called me back when a left a callback number this time. I've been burnt before where I got a "this mailbox is full" message when I selected the callback option and there...

I priced in NBCs for my buy/sell but it still grid charged to nearly 100% during off-peak even though I'm a net producer instead of waiting until the the sun came up the next morning. I'm hoping for an algorithm that recognizes that incurs unnecessary NBCs.