Arizona Powerwall Installs

[JayClark]

So to your point @JayClark, pre-chilling is a valid method of shifting demand but it also wastes energy. A better way would be to partner with homeowners to use solar as a way to level demand (and maybe that's their plan). Their savings from infrastructure avoidance should be split more equally IMHO.

Agreed on all points really. The fact is, as Tesla (and hopefully other companies) continue to work toward more effective and lower priced battery/solar solutions, and if solar can continue to drop in price which it has been, and should continue to do - at some point the electric company business model starts to fall apart if enough of people keep installing these systems. And from what I can tell this really is ramping up again for the first time in years now that we have viable combined battery/solar options.

As it is, if I count a little "added" home equity for a "paid for" solar/battery solution on my home, including the extra savings for charging my electric cars off-peak at SRPs prices, I can break even after about 4-5 years even under the SRP price plans even after purchasing a 4 PW system. And while in my initial configuration I'll be using the Grid as a battery to some extent after the PW is full, it's a not too large a stretch for me to just 10-12kWhr more solar and be able to run my whole house off the grid if the electric companies continue to drag their feet, raise prices, or change the rules in ways that make it where they won't provide service without crazy conditions. This seemed impossibly far off just a few years ago - and suddenly it's seems it's almost here.

 

[SOULPEDL]

This thread is way more fun than the investment thread.
Oh, just got an upgrade... gotta go run my driving tests!
Minor improvements: Allows game controllers, dog temp safety, key card assignments, media volume changing, and chess.

 

[SOULPEDL]

They forgot to note the PWs in the garage on my contract. He was on the call with Engineering and that was the whole discussion and point of the meeting. OMG, their sales need a mini class on electrical. Another example was the explanation I received for why my A/C couldn't be backed up. The simple knowledge missing was that a motor pulls more amps when it starts up and exceeds PW supply, so we need SRP to help fire them up. How could sales not understand that concept?

It leaves me with no confidence that the design makes sense. I get we still have to inspect and things could change, but you should quote as closely as possible to avoid surprises. Tesla is claiming their "picture process" is saving mega $$$. Great, but better have someone knowledgeable putting together the contract.

There was another comment (this thread maybe) on hiding conduit vs not, and whether that was in the quote. This mismatch appears common.

Meanwhile, I signed on Fri and it's Thurs. I tried clarifying Wed but they'd "get back to me..." I'm gonna be pissed if they say they can't use my existing conduit to the garage, and requires an extra 75' run under the eaves... or something ridiculou$$$.

IMHO, sales is not understanding their domain or the product they sell. Tesla's solution is to give access to the Engineers (which are available 3/3 times so far), but if sales doesn't understand the discussion or conclusion, then it really doesn't help much. For 3+ weeks, I made it clear these are going in the garage and thought we had a decision long ago. This is what I get when I over-trust the brand.

 

[SOULPEDL]

And this was the response from Tesla Operations:

Thanks for this info. We heard back from our operations team and unfortunately your utility won’t allow us to run the Powerwall wires in conduit with other wires. We’ve had issues with this on other installations. We’ll need to run another conduit to the garage.​

I put in 1-1/4" conduit underground specifically to allow for more power in the future. My friend in Nevada actually recommended this and he's installed PWs as an independent Electrician. They had close-up pictures of the conduit into my garage too, but didn't know what they were looking is my guess.

I get Tesla's trying to save on costs for Solar... just not mine.

 

[Chancellor32]

They forgot to note the PWs in the garage on my contract. He was on the call with Engineering and that was the whole discussion and point of the meeting. OMG, their sales need a mini class on electrical. Another example was the explanation I received for why my A/C couldn't be backed up. The simple knowledge missing was that a motor pulls more amps when it starts up and exceeds PW supply, so we need SRP to help fire them up. How could sales not understand that concept?

It leaves me with no confidence that the design makes sense. I get we still have to inspect and things could change, but you should quote as closely as possible to avoid surprises. Tesla is claiming their "picture process" is saving mega $$$. Great, but better have someone knowledgeable putting together the contract.

There was another comment (this thread maybe) on hiding conduit vs not, and whether that was in the quote. This mismatch appears common.

Meanwhile, I signed on Fri and it's Thurs. I tried clarifying Wed but they'd "get back to me..." I'm gonna be pissed if they say they can't use my existing conduit to the garage, and requires an extra 75' run under the eaves... or something ridiculou$$$.

IMHO, sales is not understanding their domain or the product they sell. Tesla's solution is to give access to the Engineers (which are available 3/3 times so far), but if sales doesn't understand the discussion or conclusion, then it really doesn't help much. For 3+ weeks, I made it clear these are going in the garage and thought we had a decision long ago. This is what I get when I over-trust the brand.

I didnt hide the conduit because I didnt want them messing up my walls lol. It actually came out pretty nice all things considered. Not worth paying the extra $1,000 in my opinion.

 

[SOULPEDL]

I didnt hide the conduit because I didnt want them messing up my walls lol. It actually came out pretty nice all things considered. Not worth paying the extra $1,000 in my opinion.

But is your garage near your service box?

Mine is on the opposite side of the house. So putting powerwalls there would have direct sunlight afternoon.
My rafters are actually too tight for humans on the west half, so the best route is underground... where I have them. Or follow the eaves which would be super hard. This is nuts.

 

[Chancellor32]

But is your garage near your service box?

Mine is on the opposite side of the house. So putting powerwalls there would have direct sunlight afternoon.
My rafters are actually too tight for humans on the west half, so the best route is underground... where I have them. Or follow the eaves which would be super hard. This is nuts.

Yep it’s on the other side of the wall.

 

[SOULPEDL]

Thx for sharing. I think they want to put my inverter and gateway outside (directly facing west). I'm guessing that's where they wanted the batteries without any extra costs TBD. Powerwall One I had overheating problems... alrighty then.

So I've been debating putting the PWs in my front room and could poke straight through the shared wall. Have not discussed it with wife (nice band room/cave anyway), but batteries in A/C environment could be nice. Home resale maybe not so much unless this was art-like. What a statement, right? Paint a Teslaquilla logo on it with some multi-colored LEDs that double as a room light?

There is longer term consideration: When we get more Tesla's in the garage, I may need my whole pipe for the car power only. I just wish I knew how they plan to run it. Over my front entrance to the home is the only way that I see other than underground. No crawl space, but maybe... somehow...Or they'll look at all the options and put another pipe next to mine underground. That was not easy the first time I dug it $$$.

I shared a link to my posts above for Tesla feedback (to sales and engineering). Not sure why they're not calling me, lol. It's all good, I think decided too quickly without all the data, maybe they'll figure it out. This has everything to do with their saving $ in solar by not having the inspection up front (per the news recently). Unfortunately, I have a garage in a weird place and my wall (and roof) is west facing, slightly north. Nothing's ordinary here, including me.

 

[Chancellor32]

Thx for sharing. I think they want to put my inverter and gateway outside (directly facing west). I'm guessing that's where they wanted the batteries without any extra costs TBD. Powerwall One I had overheating problems... alrighty then.

So I've been debating putting the PWs in my front room and could poke straight through the shared wall. Have not discussed it with wife (nice band room/cave anyway), but batteries in A/C environment could be nice. Home resale maybe not so much unless this was art-like. What a statement, right? Paint a Teslaquilla logo on it with some multi-colored LEDs that double as a room light?

There is longer term consideration: When we get more Tesla's in the garage, I may need my whole pipe for the car power only. I just wish I knew how they plan to run it. Over my front entrance to the home is the only way that I see other than underground. No crawl space, but maybe... somehow...Or they'll look at all the options and put another pipe next to mine underground. That was not easy the first time I dug it $$$.

I shared a link to my posts above for Tesla feedback (to sales and engineering). Not sure why they're not calling me, lol. It's all good, I think decided too quickly without all the data, maybe they'll figure it out. This has everything to do with their saving $ in solar by not having the inspection up front (per the news recently). Unfortunately, I have a garage in a weird place and my wall (and roof) is west facing, slightly north. Nothing's ordinary here, including me.

You can request for someone from the PW team to come out and go over designs and where they plan to put it. My buddy did that to make sure it would work with his set up.

 

[SOULPEDL]

Yup, my next call. (The wife doesn't like the PWs in the living room, lol. Maybe with some lipstick? I could make this look cool.)

Here's my garage on right, Service Box left. Inverter/Gateway behind gate is what they wanted... in direct sunlight. We'll have to see what they come up with.

 

[miimura]

Last I heard, Tesla will not install Powerwalls in conditioned space. Garage or basement are acceptable "indoor" locations.

 

[BOBTHEJOCKEY]

Yup, my next call. (The wife doesn't like the PWs in the living room, lol. Maybe with some lipstick? I could make this look cool.)

Here's my garage on right, Service Box left. Inverter/Gateway behind gate is what they wanted... in direct sunlight. We'll have to see what they come up with.

View attachment 445568

Oh darn she won't let you put it in the living room. What does she say about their choice : the ugly way? I have never heard of a power wall in the living room.

 

[SOULPEDL]

Oh darn she won't let you put it in the living room. What does she say about their choice : the ugly way? I have never heard of a power wall in the living room.

They are looking into their options. They claim SRP won't allow sharing my conduit. It's possible SRP needs dedicated feeds because they hook up their monitoring equipment as part of their survey program. But that's a wild guess.

 

[Chancellor32]

They are looking into their options. They claim SRP won't allow sharing my conduit. It's possible SRP needs dedicated feeds because they hook up their monitoring equipment as part of their survey program. But that's a wild guess.

They do, SRP needs separate meters for the PV system, battery and grid to be able to monitor the usage/production of each.

 

[SOULPEDL]

They do, SRP needs separate meters for the PV system, battery and grid to be able to monitor the usage/production of each.

All that work... why doesn't SRP use Tesla data, just agree to share our app data instead of a bunch of wires and sensors. Maybe they need more detail, who knows.

I can see it now, another trench, right next to mine. I could offer that Tesla use my pipe dedicated and I'll run another one myself. A 70' ditch 15" deep should lose me about 5 lbs off the gut, and I know what's down there already. I could pull out my wires in 5 min. Have to see if there's a charge first but it's a day's labor anyway.

... I think I'll talk to SRP on their requirements first.

 

[themakermann]

New to this solar thing.....decided to pursue an install through Tesla, so went to their website and chose the "Medium" purchase option. Filled in my personal info and CC info for $100 initial charge. I didn't go through with the purchase because the fine print says I am signing a contract with Tesla for $20K and I have 3 days to cancel or else I owe them the money. Maybe I don't understand something here, but shouldn't someone come to my house for the $100 payment and explain my specific install with me before being on the hook for $20K. What am I missing here.

 

[Chancellor32]

New to this solar thing.....decided to pursue an install through Tesla, so went to their website and chose the "Medium" purchase option. Filled in my personal info and CC info for $100 initial charge. I didn't go through with the purchase because the fine print says I am signing a contract with Tesla for $20K and I have 3 days to cancel or else I owe them the money. Maybe I don't understand something here, but shouldn't someone come to my house for the $100 payment and explain my specific install with me before being on the hook for $20K. What am I missing here.

They don’t do that anymore. If you need help figuring out if it makes sense here let me know and I would be glad to help! They don’t really know what’s best here depending on APS or SRP.

 

[themakermann]

They don’t do that anymore. If you need help figuring out if it makes sense here let me know and I would be glad to help! They don’t really know what’s best here depending on APS or SRP.

Thanks Chancellor....this sign up process is on their website so not sure whats going on there. I would like a Tesla system but I don't want to commit to spending $20K without some person coming to my home and explaining everything first. Does Tesla actually get people to sign up with them with a commitment (signed contract) with 3 days to cancel all on their website with no actual contact with the person?

 

[Chancellor32]

Thanks Chancellor....this sign up process is on their website so not sure whats going on there. I would like a Tesla system but I don't want to commit to spending $20K without some person coming to my home and explaining everything first. Does Tesla actually get people to sign up with them with a commitment (signed contract) with 3 days to cancel all on their website with no actual contact with the person?

Yep I just did this and my system has been active for a month now. Here is the process right or wrong.
1. Order system
2. Take tons of photos and send them
3. Site survey if needed( this dude knows nothing about what system you should get)
4. Approve designs/contract
5. Sign contract
6. Permits and everything else

So this order presents some huge problems, first most people don’t know what they need and they need an expert/salesman to tell them. Tesla will tell you what you need based on your usage or size of home and it will be entirely wrong because they aren’t familiar with aps or SRP rates. 2nd thing to note is that you can actually cancel up to 30 days after install, despite the contract saying 3 days to cancel. I was about a 50/50 of cancelling up until two days before install.

 

[MP3Mike]

I was about a 50/50 of cancelling up until two days before install.

Why? And what changed your mind?