My new solar and Powerwall installation

[ecarfan]

My solar system install is in progress. All the panels are mounted on the roof, the inverter and other components are mounted inside my garage and the Powerwall was brought to my house today. It will be mounted today, everything connected up and tested, and if all goes well this week a SolarEdge and a Tesla Energy representative will be here to make sure everything has been done correctly. Then the county electrical inspector has to come and sign off and then it can be turned on.

Here are some details copied from the system description in the price quote:

9.69 KW SYSTEM
SolarEdge Inverter SE7600A-USS00NNM2 w/Backup & RGM for on/off-grid and
P300 optimizers (qty 34)
Solar World SW285M Modules (qty 34)
Low profile, +/- 7 degree tilt solar rack system

I will post some photos of what has been done so far.

 

[Joelc]

/following

I'm in San Mateo and currently in a house remodel so seriously thinking of solar and Powerwall. Thanks for the updates!

 

[ecarfan]

One of three areas where the panels will be on the roof (photo taken two weeks ago)

One of two areas of 12 panels each (same area as previous photo). Roof has a 1:6 pitch.

One area with 10 panels is on a flat section of roof, so the panels are tilted up. The second area of 12 panels, which are also on a 1:6 pitch roof area, can be seen behind the 10 panel section.

The Powerwall box in my single car garage, with the lead electrician on the project (at left), my spouse (middle) and another electrican who is assisting (right). The Powerwall will be mounted on the wall at the left in this photo. Also on that wall is the inverter, "critical loads" subpanel, and other components (not yet connected up). My electrical panel is at the far left corner of the garage (in this view it is hidden because the door of the "critical loads" subpanel is open, that panel will not stick out from the wall as far as it appears to in this photo).

Powerwall lying flat on the floor with cover off.

Bottom edge of Powerwall

Top edge. The largest component shown in this photo is the coolant tank.

Close up of what would be the upper right corner of the unit if it was mounted on the wall and you were facing it.

Close up of upper left corner showing cooling fan. The radiator is directly below the cooling fan, inlet and outlet coolant tubes are shown.

 

[NikeWings]

My solar system install is in progress. All the panels are mounted on the roof, the inverter and other components are mounted inside my garage and the Powerwall was brought to my house today. It will be mounted today, everything connected up and tested, and if all goes well this week a SolarEdge and a Tesla Energy representative will be here to make sure everything has been done correctly. Then the county electrical inspector has to come and sign off and then it can be turned on.

Here are some details copied from the system description in the price quote:

9.69 KW SYSTEM
SolarEdge Inverter SE7600A-USS00NNM2 w/Backup & RGM for on/off-grid and
P300 optimizers (qty 34)
Solar World SW285M Modules (qty 34)
Low profile, +/- 7 degree tilt solar rack system

I will post some photos of what has been done so far.

Hi escarfan, this is enough wattage to power all your home needs and not just the powerwall, correct? And did the math lead you to equipment purchase or a lease & PPA? Thank you.

 

[ecarfan]

Here is the power wall mounted on the wall next to the inverter.

Photo below of my garage wall showing the critical loads subpanel, the auto transformer, the inverter, and the critical loads subpanel which will contain circuits for the refrigerator, some kitchen wall outlets, some lighting, and outlets in other parts of the house. It will not include circuits to run things like washers, dryers, stove, oven, microwave, because they would draw far more current than the Powerball is capable of delivering. My goal was to allow me to have a system that would let me keep food cold and have some lighting and some power during grid outages. And of course to make my annual electrical bill go to zero ( except for the mandatory monthly grid connection charge, which I am happy to pay to support the grid since I will be using it).


Powerwall cover in my carport next to, well, you know what that is...


Label on Powerwall.

 

[ecarfan]

Hi escarfan, this is enough wattage to power all your home needs and not just the powerwall, correct? And did the math lead you to equipment purchase or a lease & PPA? Thank you.

My solar system max output should be enough to make me a net zero user of electricity on an annual basis. So yes I did not size it simply to be sufficient to daily cycle the power wall and charge it during the day. I am buying the system out right for two reasons: I plan to be in my house for hopefully 30+ years, and also I do not want anything on my roof that I do not own.

 

[ApauloThirteen]

Here is the power wall mounted on the wall next to the inverter.
View attachment 190361
You of the wall showing the critical loads subpanel, the auto inverter, the inverter, and the Powerwall.
View attachment 190361

View attachment 190362

V cool, please feel free to update us (usage, thoughts, hints, etc). We're in the same area (Belmont area) and am thinking about solar and the powerwall too. Thanks.

 

[Tex EV]

Have the same inverters and optimizers on my system. Working very well so far, and SolarEdge's monitoring is nice. Very interested in seeing your results with the Powerwall. My installer talked me out of batteries , but I want to add them eventually. Will you be adjusting your charging schedule with the cars at all?

 

[ecarfan]

Will you be adjusting your charging schedule with the cars at all?

According to one of my contacts at Tesla Energy, the answer is "no", that I should not modify my current charging or electrical usage behavior. The firmware in the SolarEdge inverter that manages the energy flow and when to charge/discharge the Powerwall was written by Tesla. It will optimize the energy flow based on my usage and rate plan (I am on the PG&E EV1 plan, so my cheapest energy is from 12AM to 7AM and is a bit over $0.10/kWh). I am not to try to "out think" the Tesla firmware, I just do what I have been doing, which is to charge my cars between 12 and 7AM.

Keep in mind that the Powerwall is only a bit over 6kW and not all of that is available for use (there is always overhead reserved, just like in an EV battery). So it's not as if I can charge my cars exclusively from the Powerwall or the solar panels. I need the grid. But my objective is to reduce my electric bill to zero on a net annual basis (except for the required monthly grid connection charge which I am happy to pay since I am using the grid!).

NOTE ON MY ELECTRICAL USAGE: My house is about 1,600 sq, ft. I do not have a pool or AC. Kitchen is all electric. Space heating is powered by natural gas, hot water radiant heat system in the floor. On demand water heater is powered by gas. Only my spouse and I live here. Compared to my neighbors, my electrical bill is modest, less than $165/month even with charging two Teslas. However, my wife runs her own business from home, and I do not have a commute drive every day and for the past year we have not been putting a lot of miles on our cars, most of our miles come from road trips in the Model S and then we are primarily using Superchargers, not charging at home.

 

[ecarfan]

Progress by end of today. More progress tomorrow...

 

[Garlan Garner]

My solar system max output should be enough to make me a net zero user of electricity on an annual basis. So yes I did not size it simply to be sufficient to daily cycle the power wall and charge it during the day. I am buying the system out right for two reasons: I plan to be in my house for hopefully 30+ years, and also I do not want anything on my roof that I do not own.

Cool, I"m a net zero Solar Edge user also. Check out my progress in my link below.

 

[K-MTG]

Couple of questions, who did the install? How much did it cost? I was quoted $11k even though I already had solar so I decided not to pull the trigger.

 

[ArtInCT]

What is the expected output of your DC->AC inverter in AMPS and volts?
Can it output 220 Volts?

Likewise, what is the DC output of the PowerWall in AMPS and volts and how long can it sustain that AMP and voltage load?

I ask these questions as I suspect the DC->AC inverter is the gating factor between Solar Panels and the Model S.

I have plenty of South Facing roof on my Barn, just wondering what piece of gear in a typical solar array will keep me from achieving 40 A and 220 volts?

 

[GSP]

The label on the powerwall says the max DC power (charge/discharge rate) is 3.3 kW. AC output will be slightly slower, due to inverter losses. That is a 0.5C rate, good for extended cycle life.

GSP

 

[schonelucht]

According to one of my contacts at Tesla Energy, the answer is "no", that I should not modify my current charging or electrical usage behavior. The firmware in the SolarEdge inverter that manages the energy flow and when to charge/discharge the Powerwall was written by Tesla. It will optimize the energy flow based on my usage and rate plan (I am on the PG&E EV1 plan, so my cheapest energy is from 12AM to 7AM and is a bit over $0.10/kWh). I am not to try to "out think" the Tesla firmware, I just do what I have been doing, which is to charge my cars between 12 and 7AM.

Very cool! Thanks for the pictures and information. Is that schedule of when your electricity pricing is high/low something you program on the inverter or does it get it automatically from the internet somewhere?

 

[ecarfan]

Is that schedule of when your electricity pricing is high/low something you program on the inverter or does it get it automatically from the internet somewhere

At this point I don't know the answer to that question. I will try to find out when Tesla Energy is onsite.

 

[SD_Engnr]

Couple of questions, who did the install? How much did it cost? I was quoted $11k even though I already had solar so I decided not to pull the trigger.

Also curious on the cost, and who you used for the Solar installation. Thanks for sharing your progress!

 

[ecarfan]

Is that schedule of when your electricity pricing is high/low something you program on the inverter or does it get it automatically from the internet somewhere?

Update: I have now learned that, once my system is operational, I will go to SolarEdge's online web portal and enter my electrical rate schedule into my online account for my system. That information will then be used by the firmware in my SolarEdge inverter (some of that firmware was written by Tesla to control the Powerwall, some of that firmware was written by SolarEdge) to manage the energy flow in my system.

 

[ecarfan]

Keep in mind that the Powerwall is only a bit over 6kW and not all of that is available for use (there is always overhead reserved, just like in an EV battery).

Quoting myself here I want to clarify and expand on that.

First, I should have written "6.4 kWh".

Second, I have learned that the amount of energy the Powerwall reserves for "overhead" is something that the user (in this case, me) defines through the online web portal that I referred to in my post just upthread, it is not a fixed setting defined by Tesla Energy. Of course I will be seeking guidance from Tesla Energy as to what a reasonable setting should be, and when I learn more I will post it.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Couple of questions, who did the install? How much did it cost? I was quoted $11k even though I already had solar so I decided not to pull the trigger.

I installed mine with my son. Solar is a very lego type installation. There are no shingles to remove or anything.

My system cost approx. $8K in total. 54 panels. You can keep track of my progress by clicking the link below.