Final Days to PTO

[shinebox]

Here's a brief timeline.

1/28/21 - Project finished on
1/28/21 - Permit Re-submission due to redesign and inverter change
.
.
.
3/31/2 - Tesla & City Final Inspection
4/1/21 - Permit Finalized
4/2/21 - New meter installation scheduled & pending

After 2 months of waiting we are close to PTO. Tesla just sent me the invoice for remaining balance, do I already pay this or should I wait for the city to install the new meter? Also, when does Tesla provide me the solar gateway box?

 

[SMAlset]

Is your job a solar roof? PV and PWs here.

We got our little black solar gateway box early on. Maybe when the solar team first came out?

I’d let them know if they didn’t leave you one.

With our contract we didn’t have to pay until we received PTO. Think things might have been worded differently for some depending on contract time. We also had to remit half payment at time they first showed up so already had a good chunk of our money although we had all their installed equipment before paying. Our meter was already updated to a smartmeter about a year or do ago so we were just waiting for approval from PG&E with inspections already completed.

Congrats on being at the finishing line! Changes your life in how you use and think of electricity especially if you added PWs.

 

[shinebox]

Is your job a solar roof? PV and PWs here.

We got our little black solar gateway box early on. Maybe when the solar team first came out?

I’d let them know if they didn’t leave you one.

With our contract we didn’t have to pay until we received PTO. Think things might have been worded differently for some depending on contract time. We also had to remit half payment at time they first showed up so already had a good chunk of our money although we had all their installed equipment before paying. Our meter was already updated to a smartmeter about a year or do ago so we were just waiting for approval from PG&E with inspections already completed.

Congrats on being at the finishing line! Changes your life in how you use and think of electricity especially if you added PWs.

Thanks! We got the solar roof installed, actually ordered back on October 2019 but the pandemic hit and decided to just delay it. We definitely cannot wait to get it working, already wasted 2 months of sun and counting. I just read up on the contract and its due within 5 days of inspection, looks like I'll have to pay up. It just makes me nervous since Tesla's communication is abysmal when something comes up. Hopefully all is good once its up and running with no more delays.

 

[trautmane2]

Also, when does Tesla provide me the solar gateway box?

I received my gateway box on the first day the electricians came, but I have a Delta inverter for my solar roof. Do you have a Tesla inverter? If so, I don't think you need/get a separate gateway box.

 

[trautmane2]

This post has a diagram of the setup with the new Tesla inverter:

Tesla Inverter + Neurio

Hello everyone! I tried searching through the forums first but could not find anything that seemed to directly relate to what I was looking for. If this has already been discussed I am very sorry.... Hopefully my first post doesn't get buried, but I was hoping to find out some information...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[jboy210]

Here's a brief timeline.

1/28/21 - Project finished on
1/28/21 - Permit Re-submission due to redesign and inverter change
.
.
.
3/31/2 - Tesla & City Final Inspection
4/1/21 - Permit Finalized
4/2/21 - New meter installation scheduled & pending

After 2 months of waiting we are close to PTO. Tesla just sent me the invoice for remaining balance, do I already pay this or should I wait for the city to install the new meter? Also, when does Tesla provide me the solar gateway box?

Pay it soon since Tesla will not send the PTO request until you pay even if everything is ready to go.

Regarding the gateway do you have Tesla inverters or Delta? I believe only the Delta inverters need a dedicated gateway since Tesla inverters have Wifi built-in. Inverter connectivity is separate from the Tesla Energy Gateway that gets installed as part of a Powerwall installation.

 

[jboy210]

Thanks! We got the solar roof installed, actually ordered back on October 2019 but the pandemic hit and decided to just delay it. We definitely cannot wait to get it working, already wasted 2 months of sun and counting. I just read up on the contract and its due within 5 days of inspection, looks like I'll have to pay up. It just makes me nervous since Tesla's communication is abysmal when something comes up. Hopefully all is good once its up and running with no more delays.

Could be worse. We had an operational roof in April and got PTO in late August.

 

[shinebox]

@trautmane2 @jboy210
I have the Delta inverters, so I do need the gateway box. My installation was like this, during the whole process I always had to chase down tesla for things, just like when they came back to install the powerblaster, the person who did it did not connect my AC breaker so days later when it was hot, turned on my AC it was only warm air, I troubleshooted, opened up the electrical panel and there it is... however, they do a great job once they are here and are very nice, but I do realize its a minor annoyance as some people have it worse. I actually preferred to have the Tesla inverters but that was announced the day they were tearing off my roof, my project advisor said can't be done so I had to stick with the Delta.

 

[trautmane2]

I have the Delta inverters, so I do need the gateway box

Ok - if you have Delta inverters, then the electrician should have brought you a solar gateway box too. I had the most success dealing with my install project advisor (as opposed to the sales team in Vegas), so if you have that person's contact information I would recommend trying to get the gateway through them. If that fails, I would try the Tesla Customer Care group (725-867-6182) who is responsible for support post-install. I found the sales folks to be least helpful/responsive.

 

[jboy210]

@trautmane2 @jboy210
I have the Delta inverters, so I do need the gateway box. My installation was like this, during the whole process I always had to chase down tesla for things, just like when they came back to install the powerblaster, the person who did it did not connect my AC breaker so days later when it was hot, turned on my AC it was only warm air, I troubleshooted, opened up the electrical panel and there it is... however, they do a great job once they are here and are very nice, but I do realize its a minor annoyance as some people have it worse. I actually preferred to have the Tesla inverters but that was announced the day they were tearing off my roof, my project advisor said can't be done so I had to stick with the Delta.

Then your system is like ours. Just have them send you or drop off the inverter gateway. It is an owner-installed black box (5"X5").

They gave it to me and I connected it to a Cat 6 cable from my router. You will also need AC power for the unit. Ours is installed inside the garage and on the outside of the same wall are the inverters. The box has a relatively short range so you need to get it close to your inverter. They told me 100 feet with no wall was about maximum. With a wall, they suggested keeping it within 25 feet. People have gotten away with further, but I wanted to ensure a good signal and ours is within 1-2 feet of my inverters since the inverters are on the outside of the wall and gateway is on the inside, and they stucco walls have wire that makes them like a Faraday cage

FWIW, we also have Powerwalls and I don't think we can see any of the data the inverter gateway provides. The Tesla app data comes from the Tesla Energy Gateway (TEG) they install as part of the Powerwall and is an aggregate of the outputs from our inverters. We don't see any readouts from a specific inverter. If I want Delta inverter-specific information I use the Delta phone app and stand very close to the inverter.

 

[wjgjr]

FWIW, we also have Powerwalls and I don't think we can see any of the data the inverter gateway provides. The Tesla app data comes from the Tesla Energy Gateway (TEG) they install as part of the Powerwall and is an aggregate of the outputs from our inverters. We don't see any readouts from a specific inverter. If I want Delta inverter-specific information I use the Delta phone app and stand very close to the inverter.

That is my understanding as well - the solar gateway's purpose for PW customers is to handle inverter firmware upgrades. All of the production data comes from the Tesla Energy Gateway (and it appears Tesla is now calling this the "Tesla Backup Gateway".) If you have PWs, your system should generally operate normally even if the solar gateway is not hooked up.

In our case, the one thing our electrician did not tell us about was the existence of the solar (non-backup) gateway. I found it several days later on a shelf in our basement and asked the crew lead (who was still on site) about it and was instructed on what to do with it. So it might just have been misplaced or lost by Tesla during the install process.

 

[shinebox]

After a long wait to get a project advisor on the phone I was told that nothing is standing in the way on why my account has not been updated. I will get an update later since there is a specialized team that looks into this. So just an update regarding this process. Two days ago the city finally installed the new net meter. Couple of hours later, I got PTO from the city then the next day I got my Tesla solar gateway. I followed the instructions contained inside the gateway box to turn on my system. Pretty sure it is on but I have no information on the Tesla app, maybe because Tesla has not updated my account that the city already gave me PTO?

Continuation of timeline from OP:
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.
.
4/7/21 - Solar roof paid off
4/8/21 - Received an email from Tesla: "Your Solar Roof installation passed inspection. We are now preparing to submit for utility approval to power on your system. Check your project status or learn more in your Tesla Account."
4/20/21 - City installed the net meter and hours later city granted PTO
4/21/21 - Tesla dropped off the gateway and inspected the inverters again. I set up the gateway and turned on my system
4/22/21 - Tesla mobile app still has no information, Solar roof status online is at "Utility Approval: We will request permission from your utility provider to turn on your system. Once permission is granted, you may turn on your system." stage.

TESLA! LET ME JUST USE MY SOLAR ALREADY