Nice. That really should put you within the 20 business days of PTO - 5 days for NEM and 15 more for PTO. Especially since installing the NEM is virtual, the whole thing really should not take even that long (still not clear what they do in the 15 days between NEM and PTO) so maybe with luck they will move faster for a change.
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Considering solar panels, looking for sizing/financing advice
- Thread starter willow_hiller
- Start date
Interesting. Has anyone ever had Tesla perform a quality audit? Just received an email from a Tesla "Installation Quality Specialist" who asked permission to stop by and inspect the installation.
woferry
Member
I had one after my Solar Roof was installed last year.
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As did I. I did not actually even get a notice - somebody just showed up a couple days after install (with a Tesla truck) and asked to look around. I figured they may be more common with solar roof installs as it is a newer product - with the first v3 installs on the east coast happening this year, so makes sense to check the crews' work more carefully.
I contacted my project adviser this morning and he assured me that a powerblaster will be installed in the electrical panel box (even though it is not shown in the design drawings) to enable energy consumption monitoring. He indicated it is one of the last items installed and that every solar only install includes (or should include) the powerblaster to allow the Tesla app to operate. So if your your system is solar only (that is, there are no powerwalls in your system) you should ensure that a powerblaster is installed.
pdx_m3s
Active Member
What started off as a great experience with Tesla Solar, I'm beginning to lose my patience. My project lead has been completely unreachable for weeks now across phone, text, and email. Tesla needs to invest some of the capital they just raised in customer service, both on the vehicle and energy sides.
Have you tried the 877-571-7652 solar support line? You get connected to a random advisor, but they were really helpful before I got assigned a project advisor.
pdx_m3s
Active Member
Yes. Little help there. Essentially, my utility is waiting on Tesla. I know because I’ve spoken with my utility (great customer service on that end).
I think part of the problem is that there is a lot of stuff going on in the background and it’s frustrating (for me at least) to not know exactly what is currently happening and what still needs to be done. For example, it was 8 weeks from the time my system was installed until my city inspection was scheduled.
I know that during that time Tesla needed to file changes for the permit and I know that my city requires signed and sealed drawings for the permit and the changes. but it still took more than 6 weeks before the permit changes were filed. Does it take 6 weeks to get those drawings? Was there a 6 week delay because the engineer was backlogged? Was it because someone forgot about my project and nothing was happening? Was there something else going on that I didn’t even know needed to be done before the changes could be filed?
The city only took a couple of days to approve the changes and then it was another week and a half before tesla actually scheduled the inspection. Why did this take so long? Was it because there simply was a backlog? Or because there were other things that had to happen first that I don’t know about? Or was it just because no one bothered to check to see if the permit changes had been approved?
Luckily I was in contact with my project manager every few days during that time, so I didn’t feel completely abandoned, but she still wasn’t really able to give me any good information about exactly what was happening, what we were waiting for, or how long the wait would be.
I think that better communication would be key here, just to be able to get in touch with someone who can say “OK, your project is in the hands of the engineer who should take two weeks to complete the drawings, then it will go to the permitting people who will take a week to process the paperwork for your permit changes” or whatever, but just knowing where things stand and knowing that at least something is happening with the project would be very helpful.
I know that during that time Tesla needed to file changes for the permit and I know that my city requires signed and sealed drawings for the permit and the changes. but it still took more than 6 weeks before the permit changes were filed. Does it take 6 weeks to get those drawings? Was there a 6 week delay because the engineer was backlogged? Was it because someone forgot about my project and nothing was happening? Was there something else going on that I didn’t even know needed to be done before the changes could be filed?
The city only took a couple of days to approve the changes and then it was another week and a half before tesla actually scheduled the inspection. Why did this take so long? Was it because there simply was a backlog? Or because there were other things that had to happen first that I don’t know about? Or was it just because no one bothered to check to see if the permit changes had been approved?
Luckily I was in contact with my project manager every few days during that time, so I didn’t feel completely abandoned, but she still wasn’t really able to give me any good information about exactly what was happening, what we were waiting for, or how long the wait would be.
I think that better communication would be key here, just to be able to get in touch with someone who can say “OK, your project is in the hands of the engineer who should take two weeks to complete the drawings, then it will go to the permitting people who will take a week to process the paperwork for your permit changes” or whatever, but just knowing where things stand and knowing that at least something is happening with the project would be very helpful.
"There has been the following activity on your Solar PV project. Your project is in the Meter Install Completed status."
So close I can almost taste those electrons...
So close I can almost taste those electrons...
Was this from your utility or Tesla?
Either way, it is good to see things are progressing!
For what it's worth, mine still flashes between the "04" screen and the "XXX" test screen. I figured as long as everything seems to be working properly (including meter going backwards when it should) I wasn't going to ask PEPCO about it.
We do actually get physical meter readers occasionally, so if it is a problem I'll find out the next time they come out to read the meter!
Our bills have all been accurate since the meter reset, including the month with the reset and the first bill since PTO. So I'm not worried about it - just an odd behavior.
TL ; DR version -- you will be forced onto a TOU rate by SCE when you get solar. You need enough solar to cover your peak usage, and its not a "kWh in = kWh out" 1:1 situation.
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If you are in SCE territory, you will be forced to sign up for one of the time of use rates, if you get solar. I dont quite understand what you are talking about by saying "each panel is worth less". I am not understanding how you get to that conclusion.
Since you will be generating power during off peak time frame, you need to put in more energy into the grid than you are taking out, because you will be billed at peak rates when you take it out. That would make each panel be worth more, at least until you produce enough energy to fully offset the peak rate charges.
Your off peak rate will be somewhere between 15-22 cents a kWh while your on Peak rate will be somewhere between 35-50 cents a kWh. Its at least double, so you will need to put in twice the amount of energy that you take out during peak time to completely eliminate peak charges (or buy a powerwall, which doesnt make sense if you KNOW you are moving in 5-7 years).
I havent done the math on how it works out if you are renting the panels, but in general, you need it to end up being less paying both the solar system rent, AND the non bypassable charges, as it is right now for you. In order for that to happen, you need to make sure you get enough solar to offset most, if not all of your usage, and thats harder with TOU net metering because of the point above.
Hmm, well the Quality Auditor checked out the roof and left without saying a word. Hopefully no news is good news!
Thanks for the Home Energy Report, Pepco...
I've got a really nice solution to this problem bolted to my roof right now... Just give me the word and I'll turn it on
I've got a really nice solution to this problem bolted to my roof right now... Just give me the word and I'll turn it on
I hated it when Xcel kept shaming us for using so much electricity to power our three daily driver Teslas. Now that we have solar, we power our house and many of the other houses in the neighborhood.Thanks for the Home Energy Report, Pepco...
View attachment 589488
I've got a really nice solution to this problem bolted to my roof right now... Just give me the word and I'll turn it on
If only gas companies would send out notifications showing how much gasoline people are using compared to their neighbors...
At least PEPCO just provides these silly charts (which seem not to take into account a lot of things, including gas vs. electric appliance use, number of people, EVs, house size) and doesn't call and harass you like folks in CA reported PG&E doing.Thanks for the Home Energy Report, Pepco...
View attachment 589488
I've got a really nice solution to this problem bolted to my roof right now... Just give me the word and I'll turn it on
