My understanding:
Set PCS control at the 80% of the main breaker rating.
At 90% of this value PW energy is curtailed. At 95% of this value controlled PV energy is curtailed.
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Discussion: Powerwall 3 [Speculation / Discussion etc]
- Thread starter n.one.one
- Start date
Set PCS control at the 80% of the main breaker rating.
At 90% of this value PW energy is curtailed. At 95% of this value controlled PV energy is curtailed.
I agree there may be something on the table here. I cannot speak to why these decisions were made. I assume that the instructions also might include uncontrolled solar working in concert with the controlled sources.
So if the busbar would allow 40A of backfeed (typical 200A/200A) and the system had 40A of controlled solar, 40A of uncontrolled solar and 60A of ESS the busbar would not be overloaded in any case.
I think there is code and training development here and it might be possible to run things closer to the limit.
Nor do I expect you to speak for them, just having fun nerding out!
SteveO332
Member
The 2nd tier powerwall support team replied back that they did in fact bump me to 200A on PCS settings. I'll report back if I notice any differences (or if my house burns down).
With the PW3's low max current per MPPT (Imp) of 13A, I'm finding this rules out most high efficiency (440W) standard size (1722mm*1134mm) panels on the market today (at least in Australia) including Jinko, Longi, Canadian etc. Only panels I can find with required Imp rating (e.g. Trina) are in non-standard sizes (longer length) that doesn't fit my roof design.
I know you combine two MPPTs to increase max current but don't have this luxury as need all 6 MPPTs for different roof orientations/shade groupings.
Interested in thoughts.
I know you combine two MPPTs to increase max current but don't have this luxury as need all 6 MPPTs for different roof orientations/shade groupings.
Interested in thoughts.
13 Amp seems to line up well... The NOCT Imp rating (800W/m²) of Jinko 440W panel is <11A, though it is slightly under their STC value (<14A).
https://www.acsolarwarehouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/TR-JKM430-450M-6TL4-V-A1-EN.pdf
My understanding is the solar panels are usually somewhat oversized compared to the inverter.
You are correct that this will become a limitation for some modules. Even if you do jumper strings, this doesn't fix the issue at the MCI itself.
I'm reading this to mean that as the Imp STC value of a panel may be slightly above 13 amps this is unlikely to be an issue in reality as this is peak value under ideal lab conditions and unlikely to be achieved in reality?
I presume the inverter would be able to deal with slightly higher values than 13 amps anyway but just clip or slightly reduce efficiency if it goes over?
Yeah, at 25C and direct irradiance of 1000 W/m² the panel can produce 13Amps plus a little more. If warmer, off axis, or in an area with less sun it will not. A 37 degree tilt relative to the sun drops irradiance to 80%.
The inverter determines the string current and would not pull more than its rated value. Like how a car battery can source hundreds of amps, but a USB charger plugged into the 12V port only draws a fraction of that.
Those with a PW3, have you seen DC battery charging rates above 5kW?
Re. spec sheet "Maximum Continuous Charge Power 5kW AC" I'm reading this 5kW charging limitation to be for grid charging of the battery i.e. whatever excess power is made by the panels (up to 20kW) is able to be dumped into the battery without being throttled?
Re. spec sheet "Maximum Continuous Charge Power 5kW AC" I'm reading this 5kW charging limitation to be for grid charging of the battery i.e. whatever excess power is made by the panels (up to 20kW) is able to be dumped into the battery without being throttled?
I believe the spec means that 5 kW can be sent to the battery at any one time.
From what I understand it can send 11.5 kW to the grid while sending 5 kW to the battery. I have not measured this myself to confirm.
Tesla clearly does not want you to have access to that: it's behind the glass cover printed on a QR code. And the cover is not something you want to be removing yourself, because in addition to the safety and warranty risks, @Vines pointed out that the screws are single-use.
Your best bet is to take a picture of the QR code when it's getting installed or serviced and the cover is off. And even then, you won't be able to use the gateway web access if that's what you're hoping -- it only works when connecting to the wifi directly with Tesla One app or Netzero.
Does anyone think Tesla Powerwall support will know? My project advisor said to call 877 961 7652 Select option 2. I can try and report back haha
From what I've seen, in PW3 installations the gateway does not act as the "site controller". Instead, one of the PW3 is the site controller. You can confirm by listing the Wi-Fi networks when nearby. If a network name starts with TEG, it's the gateway. If it starts with TeslaPW, it's the PW3.
If the gateway is not the site controller, its network will not be accessible. You'd have to connect to the PW3, with all the complications mentioned above.
It did list an SSID beginning with TEG, but I was unable to see that so it must be hidden. I tried adding it manually to connect to it, but was unable to.
There are also 2 Wi-Fi networks, one for each powerwall, beginning with TeslaPW as you've said, but the password didn't work.
To clarify, I meant look at the Wi-Fi networks reachable by your phone. The gateway might have a label with a TEG SSID, but the network can be deactivated.
Right, the passwords for these are behind the glass covers.
Interesting, so the gateway SSID and password are useless.
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