Do I need little black box if I run ethernet direct to SolarEdge?

[sorka]

First, is that little black box how the SolarEdge communicates to the internet via that inverted antenna on the left side of the inverter? Is that needed if I just run ethernet directly to the inverter?

Second, my system isn't activated or inspected yet (that's tuesday). If I plug the black box in and connect it to the internet should I see any status at all in the tesla app? Currently, when I run the tesla app, I just see "vehicle connection error" because my Tesla is still on V8 and is no longer on Tesla's system. Should I see any solar/pw status at all with that black box connected even if it's just the status is it can't get a signal from the inverter?

Does the black box also talk wireless to the powerwalls? Do they have have ethernet connections?

 

[BrettS]

First, is that little black box how the SolarEdge communicates to the internet via that inverted antenna on the left side of the inverter? Is that needed if I just run ethernet directly to the inverter?

The little black zigbee gateway is how tesla communicates with the inverter (and it does connect through the antenna on the side of the inverter). If you connect the inverter directly to ethernet then tesla will no longer be able to communicate with the inverter. If you have a solar only install this means that your tesla app will no longer see your solar production. If you have powerwalls this has less impact because the TEG (tesla energy gateway) will provide your solar production to the tesla app.

Second, my system isn't activated or inspected yet (that's tuesday). If I plug the black box in and connect it to the internet should I see any status at all in the tesla app? Currently, when I run the tesla app, I just see "vehicle connection error" because my Tesla is still on V8 and is no longer on Tesla's system. Should I see any solar/pw status at all with that black box connected even if it's just the status is it can't get a signal from the inverter?

This depends. With a solar only install the app isn’t activated until after PTO. For powerwalls, with a third party install it seems that often the app is also not activated until PTO. However, with a tesla installed powerwall system the app should be activated as soon as the system is commissioned during the install. In fact the installer should work with you to make sure that your app sees your powerwall system. (In the tesla app, when your car is on the screen swipe left and it should bring up your solar/powerwall system, assuming it is available in your app. You also may need to log out of the app and log back in before you see it, assuming that it has been activated)

Does the black box also talk wireless to the powerwalls? Do they have have ethernet connections?

The black box only talks to the inverter and the powerblaster (if you have a solar only system). The powerwalls have a proprietary wired connection to the TEG and the TEG can connect with it’s own cellular modem, to a wired ethernet connection, or to a wifi network (or to two or three of those simultaneously). As I said above, for a powerwall system the TEG is what will communicate your solar production, powerwall status, grid usage, and house usage to the tesla app.

 

[sorka]

It's a solar + PW install. So if I run ethernet to the powerwall directly and to the inverter, does this mean I can use solar edge's app for inverter stats and the tesla app as well via the GW2?

Also, if I power on just the inverter, leaving the PV and storage system breakers on, should I expect the red "no signal" light to go away on the black box? Is there some sort of pairing that is needed that isn't mentioned in the quick start guide?

 

[sorka]

So I signed out of the tesla app and back in. Swiped left to get to solar energy and got the "request a quote page" in the app. So it appears my system is not provisioned yet

The county inspection is scheduled for Tuesday. It will fail inspection anyways because the electrician missed connecting the neutral on one of the 3 wire loads to the new load center and that circuit is non functional currently.

Also, the electrician left two soft start kits for my two AC units sitting on top of the GW2. He said they needed to be installed. I was about to ask him if I'm supposed to do it but then got distracted by the non working circuit because he turned on the main breaker at that moment. He said everything was hooked up correctly that the issue must be with the house wiring. After he left, I figured out the neutral for that circuit was hanging unstripped and un attached. I could easily fix it but I don't want to mess with anything between install and inspection. The only reason I finally took the distribution panel cover off is that I ohmed out the suspect neutral with a neutral from another circuit to confirm no continuity. I then took the distribution panel cover off and found the uninstalled neutral.

 

[BrettS]

It's a solar + PW install. So if I run ethernet to the powerwall directly and to the inverter, does this mean I can use solar edge's app for inverter stats and the tesla app as well via the GW2?

You can’t run ethernet to the powerwalls. They only connect to the TEG. You can run ethernet to the TEG, but it will also work through its cellular connection and/or over wifi. Letting it connect through cellular or wifi won’t affect the Tesla app functionality, but some people prefer an ethernet connection because it can be more reliable if you have a marginal cellular or wifi signal at your TEG.

As far as getting data to solaredge, connecting the inverter to ethernet was the only way to do it. However it seems that as of very recently tesla is allowing the inverters to transmit their data to solaredge through the black box gateway now. @GHTech said that Tesla told him that a recent firmware upgrade for the black box gateway would allow this as it seems to be working. I disconnected my inverter’s ethernet connections yesterday and allowed them to connect through the black box gateway and I have been getting data in the solaredge app since then.

Also, if I power on just the inverter, leaving the PV and storage system breakers on, should I expect the red "no signal" light to go away on the black box? Is there some sort of pairing that is needed that isn't mentioned in the quick start guide?

The black box is kind of a mystery and there’s not a lot of good documentation on how it works. I believe that the no signal light can indicate no connection to the inverters, but also no connection to tesla. I believe that your system will need to be provisioned at Tesla before that no signal light will go away. But it will also require the inverter to be on.