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Can you put PowerWall on a Masonry wall away from structure? Utility Pole --> overhead wire --> garage wall --> main box , possibly change to Utility

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I am concerned about lithium batteries burning down the house over 50 years (not in short term).

I don't really want to park my future electric cars in the driveway.

Current set up in a different house from last post:

Utility pole --> overhead wire --> attached garage --> main box --> subpanel near back door.

I want to build a masonry wall fence along property line with a slanted roof to protect the masonry and the possible outdoor powerwalls and charging areas. Think old british masonry wall with lime mortar.

I heard the power walls have to be between the utility and the main panel.

So can you change the power from utility pole to run underground to masonry wall where powerwalls will be and charging station.
Maybe put an outdoor main panel there.

Then run back underground under the driveway to the house / attached garage?
 
I heard the power walls have to be between the utility and the main panel.
For whole house backup, the Gateway has to be electrically between the meter and the main panel. Or you need to use Tesla's new Backup Switch Meter Adapter.

The Powerwalls themselves can be wherever you want, within the length limitations of the communications cable between the Powerwalls and the Gateway. So you could put the Powerwalls on your masonry walls, likely with a local subpanel for disconnection, and then run a feeder and communications (possibly two separate conduits) underground to the Gateway location.

Or with PW+ (where the Gateway functionality less grid disconnect is incorporated into the solar inverter above the PW) and the Backup Switch Meter Adapter, I think you'd just need a feeder from the PW+ to the main panel or a large junction box near the main panel.

The upshot is that it's not required to move your service conductors, and is almost certainly not worth moving them.

Cheers, Wayne
 
My powerwalls are mounted on a steel reinforced block wall - conduit simply runs along the wall to the gateway and power main. No big deal. No disconnect between the PW and the gateway. The wall also provides a nice thermal mass to moderate temperature changes in the powerwall environment.
 
My powerwalls are mounted on a steel reinforced block wall - conduit simply runs along the wall to the gateway and power main. No big deal. No disconnect between the PW and the gateway. The wall also provides a nice thermal mass to moderate temperature changes in the powerwall environment.
You are so lucky. I have 5 disconnects between my batteries and GW
 
My powerwalls are mounted on a steel reinforced block wall - conduit simply runs along the wall to the gateway and power main. No big deal. No disconnect between the PW and the gateway. The wall also provides a nice thermal mass to moderate temperature changes in the powerwall environment.
Hi,
I am waiting for an installation. Is it possible to upload a photo of your PW installation?
 
I was just part of a presentation by Tesla that showed a UL 9540A test in process and it was quite impressive to see how the Powerwall unit didn't go into thermal runaway even with almost a dozen cells heated to the point of individual thermal runaway.

Unless your powerwall has a simultaneous failure of a dozen cells or more, or you empty a 9mm into it, or hit it with your car, I think its pretty safe.

With the above fire test condition observed, the adjacent Powerwall temperature was raised a maximum of 73C when the adjacent ESS was subject to partial thermal runaway. The wall behind it rose about 48C, not nearly enough to be in danger of combustion.
 
Hi,
I am waiting for an installation. Is it possible to upload a photo of your PW installation?

The first image shows the setup prior to install - the meter and existing main breaker box on the left. The smaller boxes to the right of the main box are for prior solar (10kW) cutoff and a sub for AC.
The second image shows two new panels in between - a new main breaker box (on top) and the TEG on the bottom. The powerwalls are mounted on brackets attached with cement anchor bolts to the basalite wall and a single conduit from that pair leading to the TEG and main breaker panel. The physical install of the powerwalls (anchor bolts, brakes, hang unit) took about 30 minutes. Rerouting all of my breakers into the new panel and doing all of the connections was the rest of the day. The entire process took a bit under 9 hours, including the basic introductions at the beginning and cleanup at the end. Two guys. The quality of the work was superb - my setup and appearance for this utility area was actually better when they were done - they actually revised and improved some of the existing flex conduit as a byproduct.


before.jpeg
after.jpeg
 
G Jones, Appreciate it. Nice install. I want to put a masonry wall by the fence and have the PW there. My fence is wooden, so will have to build a masonry wall just inside, running along the fence, and will need to trench for the conduit. Let us see how it pans out. Very difficult to have a conversation with the Project advisor, every thing I mention, he just submits to the design team for a redesign, and then I need to make alterations, and then another round of submission happens. All via email only, not been able to talk to the team.