Existing Powerwall 2s to get 50% power capacity increase with SW update?

[sorka]

Did anyone see Tesla's announcement that existing PW2s will get a capacity increase of up to 50% depending on production date?

Tesla is increasing Powerwall power capacity by up to 50%

Elon Musk announced that Tesla has increased the power capacity of the latest Powerwall 2 units by up to 50%...

electrek.co

Anyone have any idea what "recent" means? How can you tell when your powerwalls were made? Also for ones the 50% increase, I guess that means the current SOC debth of use at 100% is only 66.6% with the rest hidden either at the top or bottom.

 

[ucmndd]

Be aware he was talking about "capacity" in the sense of sustained and peak current output (kilowatts), not energy storage (kilowatt-hours).

 

[sorka]

Be aware he was talking about "capacity" in the sense of sustained and peak current output (kilowatts), not energy storage (kilowatt-hours).

Very misleading article then. The title is "Tesla is increasing Powerwall power capacity by up to 50%".

 

[h2ofun]

Be aware he was talking about "capacity" in the sense of sustained and peak current output (kilowatts), not energy storage (kilowatt-hours).

still, what does it mean and does anyone have yet?

 

[ucmndd]

Very misleading article then. The title is "Tesla is increasing Powerwall power capacity by up to 50%".

Agree, Electrek shat the bed on this one. Between you and me, it's because Fred Lambert doesn't actually understand the difference.

 

[sorka]

This one is even more misleading:

Elon Musk: Tesla Powerwall 2 Capacity To Be 50% More, Widens Lead Over Competitors Further

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced Powerwall 2 will get more than a 50% power increase. This further increases Tesla's lead over its competitors LG Chem and Sonnen.

www.torquenews.com

"Elon Musk: Tesla Powerwall 2 Capacity To Be 50% More, Widens Lead Over Competitors Further" ....although the contents of the article make it more clear.

 

[Vines]

I saw and am tracking this but still confused.

Existing Powerwall 2 AC systems already max out the 30A breaker, I do not understand how more power is allowed unless its from EDIT apparent power.

Currently the units can sustain 5000w (20.8A at 240V), however they are determined to have a maximum apparent output of 5800w (24A at 240V)

Multiply this 24A by the NEC required 1.25 and you have a 30A breaker and wire requirement.

It might be this really applies only to Powerwall 2.1. That seems most likely.

Otherwise there is some intention to raise output to 5800w, or they are thinking replacing breakers. I suspect the former.

 

[ucmndd]

still, what does it mean and does anyone have yet?

A current Powerwall 2 is rated to provide 5kw continuous and 7kw peak power.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/powerwall/Powerwall%202_AC_Datasheet_en_northamerica.pdf

If Elon is to be believed, Tesla believes they can increase one or both of these numbers by up to 50% without having a significant negative effect on the lifetime of the batteries. Basically this means you can power "more stuff" from a single Powerwall, but the overall amount of energy is still the same (so they will drain faster).

 

[sorka]

The way the articles are written say 50% increase from software update. That would be 7500 continuous which would require moving from a 30 amp to 40 amp breaker and increasing the wire sizing from the PWs to the breakers.

This is is why when I glossed over it originally I thought it meant 50% capacity increase as storage capacity and just figured they were unlocking the stormwatch capacity to be visible and usable without storm watch engaged.

 

[daveh85]

I wonder if this is why they put 40amp breakers on the 6 PW2.1s I just had installed?

 

[Vines]

I wonder if this is why they put 40amp breakers on the 6 PW2.1s I just had installed?

Seriously? Big news if so and I know Mass has cutting edge codes. The fact you have 6 units installed is also impressive!

 

[h2ofun]

I wonder if this is why they put 40amp breakers on the 6 PW2.1s I just had installed?

Since my 5 were installed a few weeks ago, hope this is not true since they only wired with 30 amp breakers

 

[daveh85]

I’m pretty confident but will check, I actually pointed it out as the breaker size was different to the “as design” but the local inspector didn’t care. They used copper #8 THWN which is good for 50amp.

 

[jakestgermain]

My breakers were 30A breakers done at the end of 2019

 

[Dave EV]

I’m pretty confident but will check, I actually pointed it out as the breaker size was different to the “as design” but the local inspector didn’t care. They used copper #8 THWN which is good for 50amp.

It's been 50 minutes and you haven't come back from checking yet. Are you OK? Do we need to send out a rescue crew? People are waiting!

 

[holeydonut]

Very misleading article then. The title is "Tesla is increasing Powerwall power capacity by up to 50%".

FWIW, PG&E also views battery capacity as kW export size rather than kWh storage. It's a weird thing that confused me during the SGIP process. The thing that SGIP and these fancy battery folks use that most closely approximates to what you're talking about is the "duration" of peak discharge the batteries are capable of.

So my 3x Powerwalls have 39.6 kWh max storage and can export 15 kW at max (before the software update). SGIP considers this battery to be a 2.64 hour battery system and "sized" the SGIP to 2.64.

Weirdly, if the export per PW goes up to 7 kW, then the same battery system would become a sub-2-hour system because the total export is 21 kW.

And per SGIP rules, the incentive for the sub-2-hour system is actually higher than the 2.64 hour system. Because to PG&E, the size of the battery has "increased".

 

[CrazyRabbit]

I doubt engineering will approve this, would require your panels to be rewired!

 

[gpez]

Maybe not if they can configure peak max and steady max separately. I have a single Powerwall on a 30a breaker, could easily go to 6kw steady and not risk anything.

 

[zanary]

Some of the most recent Powerwall 2.1 installs are being setup with a 50amp breaker instead of the 30 amp for Powerwall 2.0. A few people online are inferring that his tweet is for the new Powerwall 2.1 where it is being setup with the new 50 amp...

 

[skepticcyclist]

So does this mean that those of us with existing PW 2 will get an increase power?