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Best Practices During Power Outages

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My favorite practice is curl up with my sweetie (shared body heat), have some fun and then fall asleep. Usually when I wake up, the power is back on, so we know that works... 80% of the time. For the remaining 20%, get in your Tesla, put it in Dog mode or Camp mode and that will give you more time. Besides the Cat Quest game and Beach Buggy are FUN to play and can entertain me for a couple of hours. I think Backgammon cheats.
At least there is no CO (carbon monoxide, not Colorado) danger.
 
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First email I’ve received directly from Tesla in a long time and it only included a link to the subject guide:

https://www.tesla.com/support/energy/powerwall/own/best-practices-during-power-outages

Guess they’re getting lots of calls from Texas.

Thanks for sharing. This should be a printed sheet given to all new Powerwall owners :)

For me, with a medium sized PV system up pretty far north but only 1 Powerwall, conservation is key. If there is an outage with no clear restoration time (for example weather related) I'll shut down everything that's not essential. Luckily we have mostly LED lighting so all of that is low wattage. I also have the inverter harness for my EV to help power things like the garage freezer or tankless gas hot water heater if the Powerwall needs a hand.
 
First email I’ve received directly from Tesla in a long time and it only included a link to the subject guide:

https://www.tesla.com/support/energy/powerwall/own/best-practices-during-power-outages

Guess they’re getting lots of calls from Texas.


Looks like utility ineptitude in Texas and California is the best source of new business for Tesla Energy.

They're starting to recommend Texan's to set their ACs to 78F as well. California did it first! hah.
 
I like the recommendation not to use larger appliances until Friday(!). All due to "unplanned outages" at generation facilities...

Reminds me of how there always seem to be unplanned refinery maintenance just as the switch from summer / winter fuel is going on. Not that I am a conspiracy theorist, it just seems to happen more often than chance. The kind interpretation is that bringing equipment back into use uncovers unknown/unforeseen issues. The less kind would suggest a lack of competence at idling equipment and restarting it, and the conspiracy theorist would go for it is all planned to be able to create high prices and an emergency to justify further fund to power generators.

I just read a report that suggested that something like five times as much transmission line capacity would be needed by 2050 to support an enlarged EV fleet and renewable energy and provide improved grid reliability. (Lots of buried assumptions, but probably does highlight the magnitude of electrical infrastructure improvement needed as we transition away from internal combustion engines and carbon based fuels.)

All the best,

BG
 
I find this hilarious from the VP of Planning


“We will be conducting a thorough analysis with generation owners to determine why so many units are out of service,” Woody Rickerson, Ercot’s vice president of grid planning and operations, said in the statement. “This is unusual for this early in the summer season.”
 
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I still can't believe that the February snap-freeze in Texas has killed more people than the Paradise/Camp fire in California. And people wanted criminal charges pressed against PG&E...

But I get the feeling nobody really cares about the deaths caused by the utility operator's decisions in Texas.
 
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i discovered that my Mitsubishi air handler turns off compressors completely and when in heat mode uses backup source of heat, when moisture sensor is activated. This can be easily used to shed load automatically by Tesla GW, since there is relay output there.
 
I have mine set to 40%. If we loose power because of heat I suspect it will be in the later afternoon when I can still add a few hours of solar back on so I think I will leave it alone or maybe jump it to 60% just in case.

Now if I start to see failures I will probably jump it to 80%.
 
Flex alerts don't trigger then as they are not part of the NOAA warning system. Only weather warnings that could result in a power outage do, such as high wind warning, red flag warnings, hurricane warnings, winter storm warnings, etc..
thanks
I'm going to do my part today. I'll set PWs to backup only until 5pm and then change to cost savings to make sure I'm not pulling from the grid during peak demand