@coney27 Tomorrow will be warm and sunny. Get that Powerwall into backup mode. Sunday will be warm and cloudy, good bye snow. Then set your reserve high enough so you don't get backed in a corner again. I'll write to my Congresswoman and tell her to get the law changed. :wink:
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How to charge powerwalls from grid with solar
- Thread starter coney27
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https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/201809003.pdf
This is the private letter ruling that addresses it. Of course, officially it is not precedent, but it is certainly not just an assumption being made.
Akikiki
A'-Lo-HA ! y'all
@wjgjr, Thank you. I do fully stand corrected on my previous comment "making an assumption". Very good work on your part.
Sad though finally wording at the bottom, where it says, the ruling is only applicable to the taxpayer that requested the ruling and is not a precedent.
Thanks again for finding this. I don't need it, but I am going to save it. Would never have found it on my own.
Sad though finally wording at the bottom, where it says, the ruling is only applicable to the taxpayer that requested the ruling and is not a precedent.
Thanks again for finding this. I don't need it, but I am going to save it. Would never have found it on my own.
As was said up thread, TESLA has chosen to not allow powerwalls to charge from the grid when solar is present. This is likely to preserve their ability to get the income tax credit. My guess is, if they allowed people to decide, then the product itself wouldnt qualify for the tax credit.
Not a tax expert, its just what I believe, because its how tesla is acting. Only one person we know of has FORCED tesla to allow them to charge from the grid when they have solar, and it took quite a bit of time, and a specific letter from their utility allowing it. Most utilities in the US are unlikely to send a letter saying "oh yeah you can charge your powerwalls off peak and also sell me that same power during peak".
If one wants to charge from the grid and never backfeed TO the grid (no Net metering) that is probably easier to do, but thats not what most people are asking about.
Again, no one has proposed this behavior, so I'm not sure what you are talking about.
Cheers, Wayne
No, but if grid charging was allowed, one could charge their powerwall fully at off peak rates, and then backfeed all solar they were not using into the grid both off peak and on peak (while PV was generating when on peak, anyway).
contrast this with what happens now, when the PV has to support both the home load AND charging the powerwall, with only excess from both of those draws going to the grid.
I dont agree with the above, personally, but its what many people want to do.
No, I have not, I believe you have misunderstood. If you'd like to refer me to the comments in question, I'm happy to elaborate.
Cheers, Wayne
Yes, that was sending 7 kWh to the grid during Peak. Charge the Powerwall during off Peak, send it back during Peak. Standard TOU arbitrage.
Cheers, Wayne
Right, but not allowed. I thought someone had suggested sending to grid during Off Peak. I guess I was wrong
Regulatorily allowed (by the CPUC, and by PG&E with the correct interconnection agreement) but not supported by current Powerwall software.
Cheers, Wayne
If you don't have solar, you can charge Off-Peak and drive your grid usage to zero during Peak. That is fully supported. What is not supported in the software is discharging batteries in excess of your consumption to drive your meter backwards and feed power into the grid during Peak. As far as I know the "Grid Services" feature is the only one that will allow battery energy to go into the grid.
One wouldn't be charging and exporting during the same rate period. As I mentioned earlier, it sounds like the OP wants to export solar and from the Powerwalls during peak. The Powerwalls would be charged off-peak and export during peak.
My household only uses about 3-4 kWh during the peak period so I have over over 50 kWh stored in the Powerwalls. If I was allowed to export from the Powerwalls and solar to the grid during peak, even with a 10% loss, couldn't it still be profitable?
As an example, if the Powerwalls were charged up to ~50 kWh from the grid $0.08/kWh off-peak, that would be a max of $4 using Denver off-peak electricity rates. If I was then allowed to export that during peak, even if only 90% of that makes it back to the grid, I could make $9 a day during peak ($0.20/kWh * 50 kWh * .9 = $9 credit). Wouldn't that be a profit of $5 a day or $150 a month? If it was allowed in California, the number could easily closer to $10 a day or $300 a month.
We didn't claim the ITC on my Powerwalls since we got them through the referral program. Theoretically, we should be allowed to charge them from the grid but we haven't bothered asking Tesla to make the change.
I have been told Tesla will not do this. Has anyone in Calif with PGE got tesla to config for grid charge with solar connected? If so, details. Now since some with sgip are getting them for free, and not tax write off, what would stop tesla from allowing grid config? I know I am asking, but no clear answer yet.
RKCRLR
Active Member
I was told by PG&E that they don't allow batteries to charge from the grid if you have solar (other than storm watch situations). What I don't understand is why.
With NEM2 and the current TOU rates they only compensate you about $0.03/kWh at your annual true-up for any overproduction. So there isn't a financial incentive to produce more power than you consume.
With NEM2 and the current TOU rates they only compensate you about $0.03/kWh at your annual true-up for any overproduction. So there isn't a financial incentive to produce more power than you consume.
If you could charge from grid, you could undersize solar and rate arbitrage with PWs to eliminate Peak
RKCRLR
Active Member
From a Federal Tax perspecitive you can, but does PG&E allow that? Doesn't seem to make sense for their side of th equation
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