Got call yesterday asking if I wanted to get my 4kW PV and Powerwall install tomorrow (today). I said yes and they just finished and here are some things I learned.
Background (existing systems)
19 year old system
128 BP-585 modules (85 watt STC rating)
3 Outback GVFX-3648 (3.6kW)
12 year old system
12 Kyocera KD205GX-LP (205 watt STC, 180 watt PTC)
1 Xantrex GT2.8-NA 240/208 (2.8kW)
3 year old system
2 Tesla Powerwall 2
Gateway 1
Whole house backup
Dedicated generation panel
Things I learned
Powerwall installs:
The new restrictions in Santa Clara county CA and what many of the cities (Cupertino in my case) have adopted are annoying. I forgot to take a picture of the sheet that the installers showed me. All of these I've heard about ins some form or another. Here the ones I could remember:
Can't stack (double deep), e.g. my existing system would not be allowed
Can't be within 5' of property line
Can't be with 3' of window or that leads to house
Can't install inside of garage
I had hoped that would have been a small matter of putting a 3rd one on the existing stack, also no joy. So my new powerwall is on outside wall of my garage about 6' from my front door. I now have Powerwalls on two outside walls of my garage. I also will need some forgiveness from my wife for taking out a plant to get access to the space where the Powerwall #3 went. I'm planning on planting a replacement.
Tesla Inverter:
Minimum string length apparently 5.
Rapid shutdown is achieved with an active part in the modules (
@nwdiver , I think you were wondering about this) that is present in every 3rd module. The installer called it a "mick" (MIC?).
The inverter has a fan.
Commissioning is how others have described it, from an app connecting to a local WiFi network shortly after power up.
There is a hardwired Ethernet port but I wasn't prepared with a cable.
Apparently an external disconnect is still required in my area. I thought this was no longer the case but I might have fallen into the line of site rules. The new inverter is on the other side of the fence from my main panel.
PV panels:
They look real good (from the ground). Skirts installed I think all around (can't see the top), definitely side and bottom.
Scheduling and Install
As I mentioned, my install was originally for May 28th. I assumed when they called me yesterday that it was because of a cancellation. That doesn't appear to be the case. The two teams (PV and storage) are from Southern CA and were called up to assist here. It looks like they work about a week before going home.
I think they caught a break with my install. I was able to figure out some options that made the install go smoother. There were a couple of things that I would have had had them do differently had I been able to spend all my attention on them (I was doing work at the same time). I wish I had a more detailed plan before they came so I could have been better prepared to make suggestions on things like conduit routing.
They move fast. I think there 3 people on solar crew and 2 on the storage crew.
In the Tesla app I could see the 3rd Powerwall as soon as they "commissioned" it. Not surprising. I also can't see the new solar in the app yet, I'm told that will come after PTO, also not surprising.
They painted the conduit. If you have matching paint be ready, I didn't have any. Someone on the install team did an eyeball match with a paint kit they apparently travel with, it looks pretty good to me.
They generate a punch of small things for the inspection person to handle. For example, they were missing a nut to bond the inverter door.
Photo Album:
53 new items added to shared album
photos.app.goo.gl
Note I know that some of the photos show the password for the solar inverter used during setup. If you are physically close enough to the inverter for that information to be useful then you are physically close enough to get it.
Sharp eyed viewers might also not an incorrectly sized breaker, that's on the punch list, they didn't have one on the truck.
