My utility bills went up after installing solar panels and home energy usage is doubled based on Tesla app

[TradeDC]

Two quick questions. In the DE data table that you posted earlier did you compute the last column of data or was that from the DE output? Also, is the DE data for 7/20/22 in the early morning hours all zeros or was that a mistake made when you were copy-and-pasting? This is particular concerning as the Tesla app data is showing grid usage during this time of at least 1kW.

Based on the data that you have shared, I think that your usage has gone up dramatically from the last year and your PV is undersized for your current needs. Looking at the DE data for 7/23 you pulled 137.2 kWh from the grid with most of that after from 8:00-12:00am. The screenshots of Home usage on 7/20 and 7/21 are showing 5 and 7 spikes of usage up to 7.2kW indicate A/C usage.

The thing that I can't wrap my head around is the Powerwall charge/discharge that is going on. If you were in Self-Powered mode I would expect to see discharge into the night, but this isn't happening on either 7/20 or 7/21 and the Powerwalls are discharging during the day. I think the system might think that you don't have permission to export to the grid, but that doesn't fit exactly either.

I was looking at historical weather data for your area and most days there are at least some clouds that were present. On 7/20 it was sunny from 6:00-12:00pm, but then passing clouds from 12:00-6:00pm and 7/21 was partly cloudy from 6:00am-6:00pm. This mostly matches the app data. I did find one sunny day on October 9th. What do your Solar, Home, and Grid views look like on that day? If the solar is cutting out then it would be a better indicator that the system thinks that you can't export.

The last column is total consumption of the day. 7/20 might not be best day to check because it was all zero prior to that day.

3614039372	30096400	10/13/22	0	0	0	0	0.2	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.5	0.7	1.1	1.3	1	1	1	1	1	1	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	24.9
3614039372	30096400	10/12/22	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.1
3614039372	30096400	10/11/22	0	0.2	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	1.2	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.5	3.9	5.6	2.7	1.2	0.8	28.4
3614039372	30096400	10/10/22	0	0	0	0.2	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8.8
3614039372	30096400	10/9/22	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.4

 

[Redhill_qik]

The last column is total consumption of the day. 7/20 might not be best day to check because it was all zero prior to that day.

3614039372	30096400	10/13/22	0	0	0	0	0.2	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.5	0.7	1.1	1.3	1	1	1	1	1	1	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	24.9
3614039372	30096400	10/12/22	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.1
3614039372	30096400	10/11/22	0	0.2	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	1.2	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.5	3.9	5.6	2.7	1.2	0.8	28.4
3614039372	30096400	10/10/22	0	0	0	0.2	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8.8
3614039372	30096400	10/9/22	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.4

Ok, that is a mostly smooth bell curve for you solar production. In the morning it is charging the Powerwalls for some strange reason then covers the house load with the excess going to he Powerwalls and once they are full it continues to power the house and sends the rest (14.7 kWh) to the grid. The DE data is all zeros, because I think that is just reporting the Delivered kWh and not the Received kWh. Hopefully the 14.7 kWh for 10/9 and more are on your 10/15 bill in the "Total kWh Rec" line item.

I see zero indication that the system in October was under an export limitation.

 

[aesculus]

@TradeDC : Are you by any chance on a well? I have seen some pretty drastic energy usage from people who are on wells and then find out there was a hole in the pump pipe so they were just circulating water inside of the well.

 

[TradeDC]

@TradeDC : Are you by any chance on a well? I have seen some pretty drastic energy usage from people who are on wells and then find out there was a hole in the pump pipe so they were just circulating water inside of the well.

No, I am not near well. My home consumption was consistent at the range of 600 to 1400. It looks doubled from Tesla App as soon as solar installed

 

[Redhill_qik]

No, I am not near well. My home consumption was consistent at the range of 600 to 1400. It looks doubled from Tesla App as soon as solar installed

Everything so far indicates that you are using more electricity now then you were pre-solar and you haven't provided any data to contradict that.

You have been asked to compare the smart meter instant reading for kW to the apps instant kW and haven't responded.

In an early post, you mentioned turning off a lot of breakers, but still haven't a 1.5kW consumption. What was still on?

Assuming that you have other people in the house, are they using more than before with lower AC temps and leaving lights on because solar equals free?

 

[Will792]

@TradeDC , How many PWs do you have in your system?

@Redhill_qik , I do not think electricity consumption increase level can be explained by having house light bulbs on more than before. The increase is too large for that.

 

[TradeDC]

Everything so far indicates that you are using more electricity now then you were pre-solar and you haven't provided any data to contradict that.

You have been asked to compare the smart meter instant reading for kW to the apps instant kW and haven't responded.

In an early post, you mentioned turning off a lot of breakers, but still haven't a 1.5kW consumption. What was still on?

Assuming that you have other people in the house, are they using more than before with lower AC temps and leaving lights on because solar equals free?

My smart meter reading matched exactly with my home usage deducted solar production. When I turned off, the only thing on was power wall. I only have one AC and house temperature was set to same level as past summer. I use gas heater. During the day, it shows usage as 1.4 kWh even I just have a lap top and few lights on. The only other things would be one refrigerator. It was more like 0.4 kWh in the past. I am using smart system to monitor home. Really couldn’t figure out what drove up the consumption to almost doubled.

 

[Redhill_qik]

@TradeDC , How many PWs do you have in your system?

@Redhill_qik , I do not think electricity consumption increase level can be explained by having house light bulbs on more than before. The increase is too large for that.

I mentioned running the AC more along with more light usage. On the lights side, if the OP is still using incandescent lights a 60W bulb left on 24 hours for 30 days consumes 43.2kWh if there are 10 then that is 432 kWh in a month which is in the ballpark of what the OP is seeing. Something is up, and I'm just offering some suggestions of things to look at.

 

[Edev0]

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[Edev0]

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Looks like a baseline of about 2KW. Is there a pool pump or HVAC fan running 24/7?. My baseline is about 200 wats for refrig and internet.

 

[Redhill_qik]

My smart meter reading matched exactly with my home usage deducted solar production.

This is the wrong comparison that should be check. You should be looking at the Tesla app Grid kW value versus what is displayed on the smart meter at the same instant. Are this two the same or with a 0.1kW of each other? If not then something is amiss.

When I turned off, the only thing on was power wall. I only have one AC and house temperature was set to same level as past summer. I use gas heater. During the day, it shows usage as 1.4 kWh even I just have a lap top and few lights on. The only other things would be one refrigerator. It was more like 0.4 kWh in the past. I am using smart system to monitor home. Really couldn’t figure out what drove up the consumption to almost doubled.

You have to go brute force on this. Turn all of the breakers off and your Powerwalls and your PV generation. Does the app report 0 kW? Does the smart meter report 0 kW? With the PW and PV off, turn on the breakers one-by-one and repeat the comparison. Try your refrigerator first, maybe a compressor motor has gone bad and is drawing a lot of current. If you see a discrepancy between the app and smart meter that might be the problem. If you a load for a breaker that is more than you expect that might be the problem.

The only other thing that the forum might be able to look into is for you to provide ALL of the following for the 10/9/2022

• Screen capture for the Powerwall for the day with the color mode
• Screen capture for the Grid for the day with the color mode
• Screen capture for the House for the day with the color mode
• Download the data for the day and post the CSV file (either as a table or else I think you need to ZIP it to post)

With that additional data and the previously posted screen capture for Solar for the day with the color mode and your DE 30 minute data, maybe a discrepancy will be found.

 

[TradeDC]

This is the wrong comparison that should be check. You should be looking at the Tesla app Grid kW value versus what is displayed on the smart meter at the same instant. Are this two the same or with a 0.1kW of each other? If not then something is amiss.


You have to go brute force on this. Turn all of the breakers off and your Powerwalls and your PV generation. Does the app report 0 kW? Does the smart meter report 0 kW? With the PW and PV off, turn on the breakers one-by-one and repeat the comparison. Try your refrigerator first, maybe a compressor motor has gone bad and is drawing a lot of current. If you see a discrepancy between the app and smart meter that might be the problem. If you a load for a breaker that is more than you expect that might be the problem.

The only other thing that the forum might be able to look into is for you to provide ALL of the following for the 10/9/2022

• Screen capture for the Powerwall for the day with the color mode
• Screen capture for the Grid for the day with the color mode
• Screen capture for the House for the day with the color mode
• Download the data for the day and post the CSV file (either as a table or else I think you need to ZIP it to post)

With that additional data and the previously posted screen capture for Solar for the day with the color mode and your DE 30 minute data, maybe a discrepancy will be found.

My furnace consumed 1.1kwh

 

[Redhill_qik]

My furnace consumed 1.1kwh

The air blower on on a HVAC system is usually in that range, but that shouldn't be on all the time unless you have something misconfigured or connecting wrong. I personally made a mistake when I installed an Ecobee controller causing my AC compressor to come on when it should have only been the blower for the gas heater.

Edit: Was this different between the Tesla App and the smart meter display?

 

[Will792]

I mentioned running the AC more along with more light usage. On the lights side, if the OP is still using incandescent lights a 60W bulb left on 24 hours for 30 days consumes 43.2kWh if there are 10 then that is 432 kWh in a month which is in the ballpark of what the OP is seeing. Something is up, and I'm just offering some suggestions of things to look at.

July house consumption in Tesla app shows 2400KWh. It is a huge increase from previously observed 600-1400. Daily consumption graph for July 20th and 21st has -2KW base with 7.2KW spikes for around 40-50 minutes. I assume that it is single stage AC activated by thermostat. 7200W - 2000 W (base consumption) / 240V is around 21A, roughly right consumption for AC compressor and air handler.

There is a possibility that some of Tesla app readings do not reflect reality, I.e. house consumption including PV production numbers. This can be caused by incorrect CT placement or Gateway configuration.

If something increased house consumption it might explain why electric utility meter does not see exporting. All of PV production above house consumption went to PWs charging. By next day PWs are empty and cycle repeats. That is where increasing PW reserve level to 100% helps with troubleshooting.

 

[Redhill_qik]

July house consumption in Tesla app shows 2400KWh. It is a huge increase from previously observed 600-1400. Daily consumption graph for July 20th and 21st has -2KW base with 7.2KW spikes for around 40-50 minutes. I assume that it is single stage AC activated by thermostat. 7200W - 2000 W (base consumption) / 240V is around 21A, roughly right consumption for AC compressor and air handler.

There is a possibility that some of Tesla app readings do not reflect reality, I.e. house consumption including PV production numbers. This can be caused by incorrect CT placement or Gateway configuration.

If something increased house consumption it might explain why electric utility meter does not see exporting. All of PV production above house consumption went to PWs charging. By next day PWs are empty and cycle repeats. That is where increasing PW reserve level to 100% helps with troubleshooting.

The OP has only provided an incomplete picture, so it is hard to say what is actually happening and what correlates between Tesla and the utility measurements. Maybe something is misconfigured with the CTs (happens a lot), maybe something was configured wrong for the smart meter or how Dominion has the account setup (happens a lot less frequently, but it does happen), maybe something has been turned on in the home that the OP isn't aware of and is consuming more energy than they thought (happens a lot). This is why asked for complete data for only day that I could find was sunny in the OPs town back in post #51.

Maybe the OP will provide all of that and we can get a better picture, but if not then I'm done looking into this.

 

[Will792]

I see that this smart meter has alternative view of data that is activated by placing a magnet in right upper quadrant.

manual: GE I-210+c Smart Grid Meter Product Description and Operation, Maintenance, and Upgrade Instructions.pdf

 

[TradeDC]

I noticed that I have furnace fan on all the time which caused extra 0.7 kWh consumption. Hopefully, it will be back to normal after I turn it off. I called testa customer service few times to inspect but they never responded right away and never followed up. I will continue monitoring and see if consumption will be back to normal.

 

[Gbills]

I noticed that I have furnace fan on all the time which caused extra 0.7 kWh consumption. Hopefully, it will be back to normal after I turn it off. I called testa customer service few times to inspect but they never responded right away and never followed up. I will continue monitoring and see if consumption will be back to normal.

 

[Gbills]

Did you turn on your solar system before your utility company gave you permission via a letter. Just because Tesla’s installation is complete doesn’t mean everything at the utility company is complete. If this is the case any solar production will go back to the grid as added consumption. If I have repeated anyone my apologies (long thread to read all)

 

[CrazyRabbit]

If your solar CT is reading high, then your house consumption numbers will be high. So please post a picture of house consumption, solar and powerwalls.