Arizona Powerwall Installs

[blueice89]

Interesting, looks like you have two inverters?

I do actually, i started with a small system 3.7 KW with Sun Valley Solar in 2018, before Tesla sold to SRP.
Then in 2019 I added 2 Powerwalls
and just recently 2020, I added another 4KW with Tesla.

Tesla wishes to create completely separate systems and hence 2 inverters.

 

[viperscorpio]

Yeah I can run a list of accounts. I do 3 accounts on my own currently internet pretty reliable . I also was able to run the code on aws ec2 instance t2 tiny instance and that also worked .

I actually just got it working up in AWS Lambda, and use eventbridge to cron it. Still running it 6 times a day (3 on, 3 off) 7 days a week, because eventbridge & cloudwatch run in UTC, so there could be a situation where on season changes (i.e. 5/1 and 11/1) it doesn't change properly, because 8pm and 9pm are the following day in UTC. I don't have multi-account functionality though.

I'm adding the lambda zip file package to github. just upload to AWS Lambda, add environment variables for your credentials, and set the eventbridge schedule

 

[teasla]

Has anyone placed powerwalls inside their homes? Per Tesla if these are installed in environment where average temps are higher than 86 degrees then it could affect longevity and performance. Problem is that since these are relatively new, we still won’t have data wrt longevity while placed outdoors in AZ heat.

 

[viperscorpio]

Has anyone placed powerwalls inside their homes? Per Tesla if these are installed in environment where average temps are higher than 86 degrees then it could affect longevity and performance. Problem is that since these are relatively new, we still won’t have data wrt longevity while placed outdoors in AZ heat.

I don't have a source handy but I recall reading that they won't install in living areas.

 

[blueice89]

For holidays you time of use folks what do you guys do just set system to back up mode ? We got our Api to just charge batteries and export on Holidays used by our power company.

How do you set your system on holidays ?

Here is what Christmas Day looked like here using holiday programming!

 

[viperscorpio]

For holidays you time of use folks what do you guys do just set system to back up mode ? We got our Api to just charge batteries and export on Holidays used by our power company.

How do you set your system on holidays ?

Here is what Christmas Day looked like here using holiday programming!

View attachment 622164 View attachment 622165

I didn't implement holidays in my automation (yet), but did manually set backup only which results in charging if necessary, and then exporting.

 

[mikkle]

Last week Tesla installed solar panels and three PowerWalls in our Phoenix home. The installers placed the batteries in the garage and stacked them to limit their footprint; they still have plenty of airflow. The entire installation takes up quite a bit of wall space, but it's manageable.

After the battery guys left on the second day, one of the solar installers remarked that they would likely need to come back to reinstall the Powerwalls. He said that stacking batteries is against code in Phoenix and that the installation would fail inspection.

Since all the electrical panels were positioned based on the assumption that the batteries would be stacked, relocating the batteries around the garage is going to be challenging. When the installers come back, they're likely going to expand the installation footprint to two or three walls, and run conduit all over the garage. This is all incredibly frustrating. At this point I'm considering dropping the Powerwalls altogether.

Has anyone else in Phoenix run into a similar issue with their Powerwall installation?

I've also asked if the batteries could be relocated outside the garage. I'm waiting to hear back.

So to follow up on this... A different installer came by a week later to install new meters. He had no idea what the condition of the site was prior to getting here. He called his supervisor to figure out what he should do, and left 15 minutes later. It didn't make sense for him to install the meters when the batteries still needed to be relocated.

A few days later, another installer team came by to relocate the batteries. These guys were also surprised by the state of things, and they too needed to call their supervisor. While they were on site they took measurements and drew up a plan to relocate the electrical panels higher up on the wall, so that we could fit the Powerwalls below them. I was ecstatic -- although the installation footprint would still be much larger than originally expected, at least it could be contained to a single garage wall. The installers told me they'd have to come back on a different day with additional help, because this was a job for more than two people. They took a picture of the plan they had drawn up on paper, sent it to their supervisor, and left the paper with me.

On our next appointment, only two installers showed up and once again, a different group of guys than the last. They walked me through how they were going to relocate the batteries, asking which additional walls they should use for the Powerwalls, where to run additional conduit, etc. Once more, these installers came in to the job site completely blind: they had heard nothing of the updated installation plan. Thankfully the previous guys left me with a hard copy. I shared it with the new team and they objected at first, which is understable since they were completely blindsided by it. That being said, the alternative they proposed was not acceptable to me and I was considering canceling the project. After spending some time on the phone with their supervisor, they relented. They let me know this would now become a two day job and that we'd be without power for the first day. My partner and I had planned for neither of these things, but we dealt with the inconveniences in order to see the project finally completed.

To their credit, the installers did a good job and I'm happy with the final result. But this has been the worst installation experience I have ever had. I'm frankly embarrassed for Tesla Energy that this is how they conduct their business, and how they treat their installer teams.

The system was turned on yesterday and so far, so good. It's just been a long 6+ months to get here

 

[viperscorpio]

So to follow up on this... A different installer came by a week later to install new meters. He had no idea what the condition of the site was prior to getting here. He called his supervisor to figure out what he should do, and left 15 minutes later. It didn't make sense for him to install the meters when the batteries still needed to be relocated.

A few days later, another installer team came by to relocate the batteries. These guys were also surprised by the state of things, and they too needed to call their supervisor. While they were on site they took measurements and drew up a plan to relocate the electrical panels higher up on the wall, so that we could fit the Powerwalls below them. I was ecstatic -- although the installation footprint would still be much larger than originally expected, at least it could be contained to a single garage wall. The installers told me they'd have to come back on a different day with additional help, because this was a job for more than two people. They took a picture of the plan they had drawn up on paper, sent it to their supervisor, and left the paper with me.

On our next appointment, only two installers showed up and once again, a different group of guys than the last. They walked me through how they were going to relocate the batteries, asking which additional walls they should use for the Powerwalls, where to run additional conduit, etc. Once more, these installers came in to the job site completely blind: they had heard nothing of the updated installation plan. Thankfully the previous guys left me with a hard copy. I shared it with the new team and they objected at first, which is understable since they were completely blindsided by it. That being said, the alternative they proposed was not acceptable to me and I was considering canceling the project. After spending some time on the phone with their supervisor, they relented. They let me know this would now become a two day job and that we'd be without power for the first day. My partner and I had planned for neither of these things, but we dealt with the inconveniences in order to see the project finally completed.

To their credit, the installers did a good job and I'm happy with the final result. But this has been the worst installation experience I have ever had. I'm frankly embarrassed for Tesla Energy that this is how they conduct their business, and how they treat their installer teams.

The system was turned on yesterday and so far, so good. It's just been a long 6+ months to get here

Wow, by comparison my install and complete lack of communication I got doesn't sound as bad, though it was still awful!

 

[ArizonaJon]

Fortunately for me, in Pima County Arizona (just outside the Tucson city limits) I was able to have my 2 batteries stacked. I have space to stack up to the maximum of 4 batteries.
I have read this entire thread, but I do not remember seeing a reference to the NEC code for stacking batteries. Does this exist?
How about stacking batteries in other areas of Maricopa county and cities such as Scottsdale?

 

[Squeezit]

Hey guys,

I had 2 power walls installed today (they're still installing the panels).

One of the installers told me the power walls should last me about 6 hours total between the two during the summer time with both my upstairs and downstairs ac units running. Is that true? Does that mean that every night I'm going to be relying on grid power a little bit?

 

[KyleDay]

Hey guys,

I had 2 power walls installed today (they're still installing the panels).

One of the installers told me the power walls should last me about 6 hours total between the two during the summer time with both my upstairs and downstairs ac units running. Is that true? Does that mean that every night I'm going to be relying on grid power a little bit?

Yes

 

[nickw252]

Hey guys,

I had 2 power walls installed today (they're still installing the panels).

One of the installers told me the power walls should last me about 6 hours total between the two during the summer time with both my upstairs and downstairs ac units running. Is that true? Does that mean that every night I'm going to be relying on grid power a little bit?

but at least it will get you past the peak energy rate hours (and keep your demand low if you’re on a customer generation plan)

 

[Squeezit]

Thanks, with that in mind which solar plan do you guys recommend with srp for a household that uses a lot of power in the summertime?

Looks like they set me up with something called ez 15 or something like that, but they never spoke to me prior to doing so

 

[Squeezit]

Thanks, with that in mind which solar plan do you guys recommend with srp for a household that uses a lot of power in the summertime?

Looks like they set me up with something called ez 15 or something like that, but they never spoke to me prior to doing so

Sorry for the double post, for some reason I'm unable to edit my previous post.

Anyways the price plan they have me on is E27 customer generation demand
With a $33 monthly fee, and ridiculously high rates that seem kinda unfair if I ever need to be on grid for any reason. I'll have to be careful with how I set up the batteries

 

[viperscorpio]

Sorry for the double post, for some reason I'm unable to edit my previous post.

Anyways the price plan they have me on is E27 customer generation demand
With a $33 monthly fee, and ridiculously high rates that seem kinda unfair if I ever need to be on grid for any reason. I'll have to be careful with how I set up the batteries

The demand charge is only for using demand during peak hours. The e15 plan is probably better. While the per kw demand charge is higher, it is averaged over the peak days of the period. So, for example, in summer, when it's $20/kw of demand, if you have a day where you run out of battery and suck up 5kw, but the rest of the billing cycle is 0 peak demand, then it averages to roughly 0.4kw * $20, so about a $1 demand charge.

Whereas on the e27 plan, the summer demand charge would be something like $8 for the 1st 3 kw of demand, and then $13 for each kw from 3-10, and $25 or something for 10+, so on e27, that same single day of 5kw demand would come to a $50 demand charge.

Tldr;
- Use e-27 if you have consistent demand a majority of peak days.
- use e-15 is your demand is mostly 0, but you might have a spike a couple days a month.
- use e-15 if you have demand above around 13kw

 

[teasla]

Hey guys,

I had 2 power walls installed today (they're still installing the panels).

One of the installers told me the power walls should last me about 6 hours total between the two during the summer time with both my upstairs and downstairs ac units running. Is that true? Does that mean that every night I'm going to be relying on grid power a little bit?

How many tons are the two ACs and what are their seer ratings? How many kw is your solar panel?
Assuming your total tonnage is about 7 and you have a relatively modern AC, when the AC runs you may consume about 8KW of power. If you pre cool the home before peak hours and bump the temperature up by a couple of degrees during peak, the ACs may only run 50% of the duration of the peak period. That mean 24 KWh which will drain your two powerwalls. But then your solar panel will also be charging the battery during the peak period so I think you should have some battery remaining on a sunny day.

 

[Kcarver]

Another big thank you to @Darwin for the Hubitat version of Powerwall Manager. Along with my mode changes at 3 and 8pm, I am also toggling Storm Watch to avoid charging from the grid during peak periods and ruining my goal to zero out my demand. This worked perfectly yesterday...nothing used during peak even though Storm Watch was active all day, and as soon as Hubitat switched the PWs back to Backup Only mode at 8pm and toggled Storm Watch back on, the batteries charged back up from grid power. Perfection.

View attachment 586338

Thanks to @Darwin also and others who shared their experience. I’ve installed his scripts on Hubitat and it’s handling the 2 on peak times. Just received my PTO yesterday three months after install. Going on the E-15 Average Demand plan and looking forward to using Hubitat and keeping demand to 0.

 

[Kcarver]

You need two sets of these in order to test without the meters installed. I don't think the city or utility would look too kindly on things if they showed up for inspection and/or meter install and saw these in place, so keep that in mind.

https://www.amazon.com/Talon-ECJS-Branded-Product/dp/B07G9MP9X7

Thanks for providing info. I bought a set and they worked great. Ran system for 2 months while waiting for PTO that I just received yesterday. Lesson learned is SRP will allow you to put the solar and power wall meters behind a gate if they are within 10 feet of main meter. I failed first SRP inspection because installers put both in front of gate but did leave the 4 inch clearance between the two because didn’t have enough room. Took 2 weeks for Tesla to rework and another 2 to schedule SRP reinspection.

 

[CrazyRabbit]

Sorry for the double post, for some reason I'm unable to edit my previous post.

Anyways the price plan they have me on is E27 customer generation demand
With a $33 monthly fee, and ridiculously high rates that seem kinda unfair if I ever need to be on grid for any reason. I'll have to be careful with how I set up the batteries

With a plan like that you should be allowed to export a few times a year when the wholesale price is 9 dollars per kWh to try and recoup some of that 30 bucks

 

[Squeezit]

How many tons are the two ACs and what are their seer ratings? How many kw is your solar panel?
Assuming your total tonnage is about 7 and you have a relatively modern AC, when the AC runs you may consume about 8KW of power. If you pre cool the home before peak hours and bump the temperature up by a couple of degrees during peak, the ACs may only run 50% of the duration of the peak period. That mean 24 KWh which will drain your two powerwalls. But then your solar panel will also be charging the battery during the peak period so I think you should have some battery remaining on a sunny day.

I'm not sure how to see what the usage of the ac's is, but I was spending between 11-$12 a day in August for my whole house. Was trying to get the kwh but the app won't tell me that, I'll have to log into the website probably.

Hopefully these solar panels are plenty to power need through the hours I need to stay off grid, then immediately after those ends its dark already and I have to start relying on the power walls.