At what point do you stop obsessively checking your solar production throughout the day?

[BrettS]

So my system was installed back in June and I ran off grid for about 10 months until I finally got PTO. While I was running off grid I would check on the system production and powerwall battery level multiple times during the day to make sure that the powerwalls were getting enough charge to make it through the night.

But now that I have PTO and I’m no longer relying on the powerwalls to power my house through the night I find that I’m still checking my system production every few hours. I love to see the daily solar generation numbers adding up. I even got a couple of Apple Watch apps so I can monitor my system from my watch.

It’s gotten to the point where I tend to watch the weather and clouds out the window and based on that I can predict with reasonable accuracy how much power has been generated.

When will I just relax and let the system do it’s thing? Do I need professional help?

 

[jjrandorin]

I was like that for a few months in 2015 when I had solar installed, but I did not have consumption, and after a while I had a good handle on what would be produced by simply keeping an eye on the weather, as you mentioned.

I got powerwalls in January of this year though, and check several times a day still, here in september, and dont see any sign of stopping (lol). I have said this in a few different threads, but, seeing the batteries fill up, and what that means for me and my power at home (that I will have it) is somehow extremely comforting..... especially with as much WFH as I am doing now.

TL ; DR ... probably wont change much, you will be eyeballing it for quite a while yet...

 

[gpez]

Have had my system for 18 months, still pretty much check daily.

I can recommend someone if you're looking for professional help

 

[wjgjr]

If it really seems like you've been running for 10 months since June, you definitely need help. (Guessing you were going for weeks, even if it felt like months.)

Since PTO, I don't check as often as don't need to monitor the batteries, but I am still checking it at least a few times daily. I'm still interested in seeing how it responds as seasons change and also continuing to track to the Tesla and PVWatts estimates to confirm it is performing as expected. I really need to get finished automating a lot of these calculations instead of relying on spreadsheets.

 

[BrettS]

If it really seems like you've been running for 10 months since June, you definitely need help. (Guessing you were going for weeks, even if it felt like months.)

Weeks... months... I knew it was one of those words. Given everything that’s been going on this year time is all starting to run together anyway.

 

[getakey]

Have had solar for 2 years, battery for 9 months
I check almost every day still. I track monthly production against what installer predicted as well as monthly savings in spreadsheet

 

[zƬesla]

When will I just relax and let the system do it’s thing? Do I need professional help?

About the time you stop visiting the forums every waking hour

 

[miimura]

What? People stop obsessing about their generation and usage? Ever?

 

[Raechris]

I check several times a day and have had solar for 2+ years. It is quick and easy, helps me understand my consumption better and make me more aware of conservation. More people should have environmental awareness, e.g. plastic all over, flooring cars from every light.

 

[k-mal_808]

I'm in the pre-PTO-running off grid situation and have the app open basically all day. It's hypnotic watching the flows. Which Apple Watch apps are you using?

 

[BrettS]

I'm in the pre-PTO-running off grid situation and have the app open basically all day. It's hypnotic watching the flows. Which Apple Watch apps are you using?

The one I really like is Powerwall Monitor by Fantastic Sprinkles:

‎Powerwall Monitor

This one replicates the power flow screen in tiny form on the watch and they recently added a second screen that shows the accumulated daily kWh values for the house, the solar generation, and power sent to and from the grid.

The second one I have is Sunwatch for SolarEdge by Oebele Beetstra:

‎SunWatch for SolarEdge

This one connects to your SolarEdge account and shows the the current power being generated as well as the accumulated power so far today. It is also supposed to have a graph of the daily solar output, but for some reason the graph has never worked for me. This one is much less polished than the first one and is probably unnecessary now. Originally when I got it the first app didn’t display the accumulated power screen. This one also requires you to have your inverters reporting their data to SolarEdge as well as a SolarEdge account.

 

[k-mal_808]

Nice, just got the Powerwall monitor running on my watch. Good looking out.

 

[BrettS]

Nice, just got the Powerwall monitor running on watch. Good looking out.

Yeah, that’s a great app and definitely worth a couple of dollars.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

It's been two years and I still check constantly throughout the day. I can actually tell with a high degree of accuracy how much solar production I'm getting just by looking out the window. Usually I'm within 10% of actual production. I noticed on Sunday and again today that production wasn't as high as it should've been. I found one of our four inverters was throwing an error so I reset it both times. Next time it happens, I'll be calling Tesla.

 

[Electrph]

I dont think you will stop its just the nature of people that are curious and want to learn more .. when is it obsessive .. thats a matter for the shrinks

 

[darhall993]

I've had Solar+Powerwalls for just over 2 years and I check several times daily and track Production and Usage with an elaborate spreadsheet. There is something special about producing your own energy and driving your car on sunshine power!

 

[charlesj]

So my system was installed back in June and I ran off grid for about 10 months until I finally got PTO. While I was running off grid I would check on the system production and powerwall battery level multiple times during the day to make sure that the powerwalls were getting enough charge to make it through the night.

But now that I have PTO and I’m no longer relying on the powerwalls to power my house through the night I find that I’m still checking my system production every few hours. I love to see the daily solar generation numbers adding up. I even got a couple of Apple Watch apps so I can monitor my system from my watch.

It’s gotten to the point where I tend to watch the weather and clouds out the window and based on that I can predict with reasonable accuracy how much power has been generated.

When will I just relax and let the system do it’s thing? Do I need professional help?

Yes, we all need such help but it is not free.

So, I will forego on that.

 

[SMAlset]

OMG a watch app showing the flow of energy. Do I even dare mention to my husband? He has been focused a lot on team exercise challenges and then closing his rings every day on his app as it is. Not sure if he needs a handier way to check the home power situation. I'm kind of oblivious to this as currently the status is only viewable on his account on his phone whereas I swipe and get the do you want to buy solar. Now if Tesla upgrades the energy portion of the app to allow multiple Tesla email accounts, I might be adding it to my watch too. He definitely does check the app now a couple of times a day and it is interesting to see how it spikes and to what level when the A/C kicks on or has you wondering what's drawing power in your house now that is showing up on the display. Over all I think it's good to be aware of it but can see it becoming an obsession LOL. Had to laugh when I saw the thread title.

 

[strykeroz]

For me it was mostly daily for years, and more than a decade later I still read the summary report (I get emailed) every week

 

[SoCal Dave]

I've been paying a lot of attention as we don't seem to be generating as much power as forecasted. The system was 143% over capacity, however most days since we went active in the past month we consumed more than we use. I know AC and the smoke has been a driving factor for this, but keeping an eye on it. I don't want a big bill at the end of a year when this was supposed to save money.