Grid charging update

[h2ofun]

Since I just got my new batteries installed yesterday, and my heaters are now turned on, with the less solar this time of the year, they are not getting charged
back to 100%. And since my grid charging did not seem to work, I have been calling for a while.

So I called again this morning, and got new info. First was told out of storm mode, grid charging is limited to 1.6kw per powerwall.
I am in self powered mode. She had me change the backup to 100%, and then grid charging started to work. YEA!!!

 

[holeydonut]

Nice! The next step is to grid defect entirely lol.

Did you ever hear back from that dude about Dcbel? That'd be cool if the system could "grid charge" but instead pull suds out of an EV battery.

 

[h2ofun]

Nice! The next step is to grid defect entirely lol.

Did you ever hear back from that dude about Dcbel? That'd be cool if the system could "grid charge" but instead pull suds out of an EV battery.

Nah, impossible to get 100% off the grid, if one is 99% electric like me, without batteries that I know of no one who has the money to do.
The info from Dcbel, for their product, is does not work with powerwalls and gateway, so no go.

 

[holeydonut]

Nah, impossible to get 100% off the grid, if one is 99% electric like me, without batteries that I know of no one who has the money to do.
The info from Dcbel, for their product, is does not work with powerwalls and gateway, so no go.

Damn did you hear that from Curt or from Dcbel?

I think you could grid-defect if your Powerwall system could think it's "grid charging"... but it ends up really just pulling power from an EV battery. Even if you only got 10 kW, I think it'd be enough to keep you going in the Winter without having to deal with PG&E's BS since you could just get your energy somewhere else and drive it home.

But on the plus side, since you're NEM 2.0 you have a decade or so before you lose grandfathering and need to consider this.

 

[h2ofun]

Damn did you hear that from Curt or from Dcbel?

I think you could grid-defect if your Powerwall system could think it's "grid charging"... but it ends up really just pulling power from an EV battery. Even if you only got 10 kW, I think it'd be enough to keep you going in the Winter without having to deal with PG&E's BS since you could just get your energy somewhere else and drive it home.

But on the plus side, since you're NEM 2.0 you have a decade or so before you lose grandfathering and need to consider this.

I will respond to each relevant question/comment you raised below.



Self Installation:



While dcbel is designed to be simple to operate, installing the unit requires a licensed electrician. That’s why we partner with Smart Home Integration Partners (SHIPs) who are local experts in smart home energy for the installation. You will, however, work closely with the SHIP and have full visibility over the installation.



Tesla Powerwall:



dcbel does not currently support integration with the Tesla Powerwall. dcbel performs the DC to AC conversion using our patented PUC5 multi-level converter technology and thus, requires a DC input.



Tesla Compatibility:



dcbel r16 can currently fast-charge and solar-charge a Tesla through the use of an adapter. However, Tesla vehicles are not compatible with two-way power flow. Employing bidirectional charging would void Tesla’s warranty and cause technical issues with the vehicle.



Nissan Leaf:



You can charge and solar charge Nissan Leaf with dcbel r16. In terms of blackout power, currently, only EVs built to the CHAdeMO standard are compatible and with the most popular model being the Nissan Leaf (2013 model or later). It is a perfect match!



Connector Combination:



You can outfit a dcbel r16 with one of two connector combinations: AC J1772 and CHAdeMO, or AC J1772 and CCS. In other words, one AC connector and one DC connector are required. Bear in mind, however, that CCS vehicles can still be charged via a Level 2 AC J1772 connector.



Breaker:



dcbel r16 should be connected to a 120-volt main breaker panel and a breaker panel with enough room for the required breakers (ideally 200A or more). For more technical details and wiring diagrams, we encourage you to read our spec sheet and a more detailed user manual will be published soon. Stay tuned!







Wiring Diagram:





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We are currently taking reservations for installations for Q2-2023. We encourage you to reserve your unit here.



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Best regards,



The dcbel Team

 

[holeydonut]

Damn... so the all-electric-eco-dream would be if Tesla allows generator-charging of Powerwalls.

But instead of burning dino-farts, you could somehow slap a V2H EV on your "generator input", and have that EV churn out 10 kW to charge the Powerwalls.

Then you could set up an off-grid EV charging thing to fill the EV up with panels that don't get hit with PG&E's future fixed costs fee.

 

[cwied]

So I called again this morning, and got new info. First was told out of storm mode, grid charging is limited to 1.6kw per powerwall.
I am in self powered mode. She had me change the backup to 100%, and then grid charging started to work. YEA!!!

In my experience, the 1.6 kW limit only applies when you're under the backup reserve. When you're in time-based control and above the reserve, grid charging can go up to the full charging rate. Here is an experiment I did in September (2 Powerwalls):

 

[Vines]

In my experience, the 1.6 kW limit only applies when you're under the backup reserve. When you're in time-based control and above the reserve, grid charging can go up to the full charging rate. Here is an experiment I did in September (2 Powerwalls):
View attachment 868156

Agreed, my units will charge fully at 5 kW each. With so many ESS at your house this could easily overload your transformer, especially if you are charging cars we well.

The ESS do seem to recognize voltage drop, and back off the charge rate if I drop more than about 6-7 VAC when doing full charge on 5 ESS plus my Tesla.

 

[h2ofun]

In my experience, the 1.6 kW limit only applies when you're under the backup reserve. When you're in time-based control and above the reserve, grid charging can go up to the full charging rate. Here is an experiment I did in September (2 Powerwalls):
View attachment 868156

Okay, will change to tbc

 

[RKCRLR]

Okay, will change to tbc

Let us know how your transformer holds up.

 

[holeydonut]

Let us know how your transformer holds up.

I think PG&E upgraded his transformer before his mega-solar.

 

[h2ofun]

I think PG&E upgraded his transformer before his mega-solar.

Nope, needed no upgrade

 

[h2ofun]

Okay, based on my charge level from grid, folks said TOU allowed more.
So 3 hours ago I changed from self-powered, while my batteries are charged to 100%, to TOU.
Now only the grid is charging the house, under peak time.
When I change to self powered again, just the batteries are charging the house, zero grid.
so, what am I doing wrong?

 

[cwied]

Sorry, I'm not clear on what you want to happen. Do you want your Powerwalls on backup only, or do you want to self-consume your solar?
I'm not sure that there is a mode that allows you to self-consume only the amount of solar you're producing each day (i.e., self consume but have the Powerwalls hit 100% every day). I think the closest you can get is to adjust your reserve to the right level periodically during the winter as solar decreases and your usage increases.

 

[h2ofun]

Sorry, I'm not clear on what you want to happen. Do you want your Powerwalls on backup only, or do you want to self-consume your solar?
I'm not sure that there is a mode that allows you to self-consume only the amount of solar you're producing each day (i.e., self consume but have the Powerwalls hit 100% every day). I think the closest you can get is to adjust your reserve to the right level periodically during the winter as solar decreases and your usage increases.

I do not use backup only. Normally I have then at 20%, I just changed to 60%.
So in self-powered, it seems the batteries charge the house until they hit limit, then go to grid. Works great.
But if they get too low, and turning on grid charge to get back up, it is limited to like 1.6kw max per battery. Folks said using tou made it go to 5kw.
But when I went to tou, at 4pm when peak it, the house was still being charge by the grid, with batteries at 100% and not used. When I used
TOU in the past, at peak start, my house would go to 100% batteries, which it did not use. I have never used TOU so just trying to find
out what I am doing wrong.

 

[cwied]

I do not use backup only. Normally I have then at 20%, I just changed to 60%.
So in self-powered, it seems the batteries charge the house until they hit limit, then go to grid. Works great.
But if they get too low, and turning on grid charge to get back up, it is limited to like 1.6kw max per battery. Folks said using tou made it go to 5kw.
But when I went to tou, at 4pm when peak it, the house was still being charge by the grid, with batteries at 100% and not used. When I used
TOU in the past, at peak start, my house would go to 100% batteries, which it did not use. I have never used TOU so just trying to find
out what I am doing wrong.

That does sound strange. What is your backup reserve set to now? The other place I would check is the rate plan. I wonder if something is misconfigured there that might be confusing your system.

 

[h2ofun]

That does sound strange. What is your backup reserve set to now? The other place I would check is the rate plan. I wonder if something is misconfigured there that might be confusing your system.

So, I think maybe I found the issue. I charged up to 100% via grid charging. But tou is not using the batteries. When I read a note, is says the cost is too close so batteries will not be used. I am at 40% reserve. So, I want peak to use 100% batteries, which is 4 to 9 PGE. What are folks setting price rate to which causes batteries to do 100% the house? I had to go back to self powered to make this work.

 

[cwied]

I'm using the EV2-A rates - $.43 peak, $.41 partial-peak and $.25 off-peak. If I turn off "export everything," my house is powered from the batteries through partial peak and peak. If your only goal is for the Powerwalls to discharge at the right time, you could just pick arbitrary numbers like $0.01 off-peak and $1.00 peak.

 

[JakiChan]

Mine won't even let me grid charge. :/

 

[h2ofun]

So, I got this from Tesla. Anyone able to charge greater than 1.6?

“Grid charging will be limited to 1.6kW per powerwall roughly, outside of Storm Mode being active where it will be higher. This is expected behavior. The system should be working as expected.”