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Has anyone experienced any problems with their PowerWalls going to 0% charge and not able to recover?
The Gateway should stop pulling power from the PowerWalls when the charge level gets low (5%?). That should leave enough power for the PowerWalls to stay charged for a very long time.
Several times this past winter, my PW dropped to 0% (0% from Web UI, so no built in 5% buffer), even though I set it to 3% reserve. But each time it would recharge the next day.Isn't there a built in 5% buffer. I seem to remember seeing this when people were comparing API values from app values.
(I’ll make a separate posting about the technical feedback.)
Thanks for the warnings:
1. Tesla does not support configurations with a generator feeding into a Powerwall microgrid (even if cleanly powered and controlled through a grid-tied inverter). Doing something like this may void the Tesla Powerwall warranty.
2. US Federal tax credits may be conditioned on charging only from batteries.
A little background on my situation:
I recently added a Powerwall system. The configuration includes a pre-existing automatic load transfer switch to a backup generator that is triggered now when the Powerwall battery fails. My backup generator powers an isolated set of essential circuits (the purple box in my earlier diagram). This seems to be the same setup that shs1 has.
I am exploring how I might be able to use my pre-existing backup generator to extend the backup power in my Powerwall batteries, in those not-rare-enough cases that the grid is down for 24+ hours. After 24 hours I expect that I can usually revert to using my solar panels to power the house and charge the batteries.
The financial equation is simple: is it better to add 2 more Powerwall batteries for the unusual case where I need 24 hours of power, or to add a load-transfer switch and a grid-tie inverter for my existing generator? (This is the green box in my earlier diagram.)
My generator can charge a Powerwall in about 1 hour, using expensive-but-available propane. The only use case this is interesting to me is when the grid is down, for my own private “Stormwatch”-ish behavior to periodically extend my battery capacity until the grid or solar can take over.
Of course, I don’t “need” this. But it would be handy half a dozen times a year.
I have been checking my Tesla app a lot lately hoping to see 1.46 appear, but I am still on 1.45.2. What I noticed yesterday for the first time is a new icon on the Energy Usage page that looked like a ICE with a lightning bolt in the middle. If you click on it, it says "From Generator". I don't think I have any CTs that would capture this info, but this seems to suggest increased support for generator integration into the PW2/Gateway system. Anyone else seen this?
View attachment 537096
I'm on 1.46 and don't have a generator icon like you. Made a query to my Powerwall's api/meters/aggregates endpoint and only got the usual 4: battery, load, site, and solar.
Interesting to see you have a 5th icon! Could you query your Powerwall APIs and see if you have a 5th aggregates section for Generator?
curl -k https://<local powerwall address>/api/meters/aggregates