Shygar
Member
When did you order yours? Is it powerwall only? I ordered a second powerwall in January and I'm still waiting to get past the initial step.
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Discussion: "Powerwall +"
- Thread starter willow_hiller
- Start date
I signed back in February. I'm doing a solar panel + powerwall install. Have you contacted your project advisor to see what's going on? I've heard sometimes things get dropped so you don't move along the process.
I have two quick questions:
- I'm looking at my design plan in the legend, it says conduits should be denoted by a green line but my plan doesn't have any green lines on it. Is the information just omitted?
- Is there maximum distance between the main utility panel and the powerwall, inverter and gateways?
Man, those first 15 pages were tough to get through 
.
Ordered a 4kW + 2 PW system a few days ago. Will be adding this to a home with an existing 4.2kw SunPower system (w/ in-panel micro-inverters). Existing SR MY +
triCT on order (2023??
).
No where in the order process could I enter information re. existing solar - will need to ping the PM.
Three questions
1. Will this setup work? I want whole house backup and for both solar arrays to feed into the PWs (for both with and without grid power situations).
2. Can a PW+ be used when combining existing + new solar? Is the default now a PW+ Unit?
3. Any reason to consider only 1 PW? Originally I chose two, mainly for the added continuous/surge power - would like to be able to run the a/c if needed. But now with PW+, 1 may be enough? Though the 13.5 kWh may be undersized for a 8.4kw PV (is there a golden ratio of PV kW to #PW folks use?) and or to make it through the night in the event of an outage.
Home is new construction, SDGE territory. 3200sqft. 200A main + sub panel upstairs.
And finally, without a more detailed design, not sure if I want to or need to cancel. Can one cancel further along in the process? I see paperwork that allows for a cancellation only with the first 5 days? (2 days to go for that). But as of now, I have 0 information to make a decision.
.Ordered a 4kW + 2 PW system a few days ago. Will be adding this to a home with an existing 4.2kw SunPower system (w/ in-panel micro-inverters). Existing SR MY +
triCT on order (2023??
).No where in the order process could I enter information re. existing solar - will need to ping the PM.
Three questions
1. Will this setup work? I want whole house backup and for both solar arrays to feed into the PWs (for both with and without grid power situations).
2. Can a PW+ be used when combining existing + new solar? Is the default now a PW+ Unit?
3. Any reason to consider only 1 PW? Originally I chose two, mainly for the added continuous/surge power - would like to be able to run the a/c if needed. But now with PW+, 1 may be enough? Though the 13.5 kWh may be undersized for a 8.4kw PV (is there a golden ratio of PV kW to #PW folks use?) and or to make it through the night in the event of an outage.
Home is new construction, SDGE territory. 3200sqft. 200A main + sub panel upstairs.
And finally, without a more detailed design, not sure if I want to or need to cancel. Can one cancel further along in the process? I see paperwork that allows for a cancellation only with the first 5 days? (2 days to go for that). But as of now, I have 0 information to make a decision.
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I have a very similar situation with existing SunPower system and adding new solar (roof) plus 3 PWs. I am much further along in the process so I have some insight. My new solar roof is already installed and I’m just waiting on a main panel upgrade because the current one can’t be connected to PWs. After that, all the conduit/batteries will be installed. For those wondering, I have two different roofs- one with panels and one without.Man, those first 15 pages were tough to get through
Ordered a 4kW + 2 PW system a few days ago. Will be adding this to a home with an existing 4.2kw SunPower system (w/ in-panel micro-inverters). Existing SR MY +
triCT on order (2023??
No where in the order process could I enter information re. existing solar - will need to ping the PM.
Three questions
1. Will this setup work? I want whole house backup and for both solar arrays to feed into the PWs (for both with and without grid power situations).
2. Can a PW+ be used when combining existing + new solar? Is the default now a PW+ Unit?
3. Any reason to consider only 1 PW? Originally I chose two, mainly for the added continuous/surge power - would like to be able to run the a/c if needed. But now with PW+, 1 may be enough? Though the 13.5 kWh may be undersized for a 8.4kw PV (is there a golden ratio of PV kW to #PW folks use?) and or to make it through the night in the event of an outage.
Home is new construction, SDGE territory. 3200sqft. 200A main + sub panel upstairs.
And finally, without a more detailed design, not sure if I want to or need to cancel. Can one cancel further along in the process? I see paperwork that allows for a cancellation only with the first 5 days? (2 days to go for that). But as of now, I have 0 information to make a decision.
First of all, there’s no need to cancel because you can always do so later if you don’t like the design or for any reason. Despite what the contract says, they’ll return your deposit. I had a deposit returned previously for another project and that was even after they had pulled permits.
Ive been told by several of the installers/reps that integrating PWs with the SunPower system is no problem technically but the first thing they asked is whether I own it. If you have a lease or PPA, then they won’t touch it.
I don’t know if PW+ can integrate with another system but I assume not because of the built in inverter. My basement apparently can’t accommodate the + model because of vertical height clearances. I’m not personally concerned because I have 3 PWs so plenty of power output anyway. Whether the + model will become default I don’t know, but based on my setup (i have no where else to put PWs besides basement) I assume not because it will limit who can get PWs if they don’t continue offering PW2.
Great stuff thanks. It does seem that the benefit of PW+ fades after one has 2+ PWs in the system? Who would need >15kW continuous ... the PWs would be empty lickidy split. I mainly just want to be able to temporarily run 1 or even both A/C units in a grid-outage situation. Each is 79 LRA.
We own the existing system, so hopefully no issue there. And agreed, after some reading it does seem as if I will be forced to use the 'older' PW2 system to connect to my existing PV array. Will ask the PM.
Large A/C compressors need more than 10kW in order to start, which is why typically need 3 PWs for a full home backup.
I think the Powerwall+ will be the default from now on because if you go to the order page, that's the Powerwall version that they have advertised.
I'm install is this Monday and it's 12.24kw and two powerwall +.
So it's available and are being installed.
Do you know if they will stack the two PWs? or will it be side-by-side with one having the gateway above?
I just had 2 Powerwall+ batteries installed with a 12.24 kW Solar and they are having issues pairing the 2 Powerwalls. The second Poewerwall isnt going into "follow mode" and I heard the phone support say it needed newer software. Current firmware is 21.20.0
Question, will my solar system be able to use the entire array to charge both batteries? The solar installed lead tech didn't know and said the system was split 50/50 so each array of panels would charge and be paired to a Powerwall. That seems odd to me as I thought all power went to the gateway and then charged the Powerwalls from there.
Question, will my solar system be able to use the entire array to charge both batteries? The solar installed lead tech didn't know and said the system was split 50/50 so each array of panels would charge and be paired to a Powerwall. That seems odd to me as I thought all power went to the gateway and then charged the Powerwalls from there.
That seems like a strange way to setup the system no? What would be the benefit? If the PV strings are not balanced (sun exposure), then it could lead to more wasted PV energy once one of the PW fills up? Ideal would be to have all strings fill a pool of PWs.
pdx_m3s
Active Member
I guess it’s just a side effect of having two inverters without a Gateway. Tesla is trading utility/functionality for simplification/cost. Similar to how they are cheapening-out by combining strings with a jumper in the inverter instead of running an extra pair of wires to the array.
But I also have a gateway, black box with a white glass Tesla cover named "Backup Gateway 2" on the inside. I guess that is what is confusing me a little... I have 3 gateways? Standalone and 1 with each Powerwall+ ?
Enginerd
Member
The Powerwall+ manual says:
"Every system contains at least one Powerwall+, with additional Powerwalls installed depending on your home’s energy consumption."
That would imply that you could have the head unit (gateway + inverter) of the PW+ which also uses energy from a second PW2. Maybe having 2x PW+ doubles the current capacity of the system, since each PW+ has a continuous off-grid output capability of 9.6 kW (divided by 240V = 40A), with overcurrent protection at 50A. So with 2 independent systems, you could get 2*40A = 80A, whereas with two PW2 and one gateway you'd not be able to get more than 50A continuous.
Now I'm really confused... are you sure your installer knew what he was doing?
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