Outage knocking out solar

[zƬesla]

Just had a 1.5 hour grid outage. The TEG must have kept the frequency high the whole time as the inverters would not kick on. Typically, the SMA inverters kick back on after 5-15 minutes. I even shut off one of the two inverters to ensure they would not produce more than the 2 PWs can handle. Called Tesla and they said I'd get a call back in 3-5 business days. Really wish this stuff would work seamlessly.

 

[arnolddeleon]

What was the state of the charge of the batteries? I've seen people report the system try to curtail solar production well before the battery is full.

 

[bmah]

What was the state of the charge of the batteries? I've seen people report the system try to curtail solar production well before the battery is full.

It might also be good to know if the Powerwalls were able to deliver power to the house during the outage.

This might not help at this very instant but when troubleshooting suspected AC line frequency issues, I've found a Kill-A-Watt to be a easy, cheap way to measure this so you don't have to guess what's going on. (That information is also available programmatically through an API on the TEG, although it's a little more work to do this just to get a point measurement.)

Bruce.

 

[power.saver]

Just had a 1.5 hour grid outage. The TEG must have kept the frequency high the whole time as the inverters would not kick on. Typically, the SMA inverters kick back on after 5-15 minutes. I even shut off one of the two inverters to ensure they would not produce more than the 2 PWs can handle. Called Tesla and they said I'd get a call back in 3-5 business days. Really wish this stuff would work seamlessly.

What version software is your gateway on?

 

[zƬesla]

Version 1.50.1

PWs were originally at high-90s. Even when it got down to low 90s, solar did not kick in. What % does it normally kick solar back on?

 

[jboy210]

If the batteries were full, or close to full (89-90+% and lots of sun), isn't this the expected behavior?
No grid to dump excess power to means source (solar) needs to be shut down.

 

[power.saver]

Version 1.50.1

PWs were originally at high-90s. Even when it got down to low 90s, solar did not kick in. What % does it normally kick solar back on?

Mine restores solar after dropping to 96%, but I haven't had an outage recently.

What you describe has been mentioned by others, and seems to be a problem with newer updates (versions 1.50.1 and/or 1.50.2) keeping the solar off.

 

[zƬesla]

96% makes sense. I probably got down to 89% and solar did not kick in before grid came back.

 

[slcasner]

Are there enough smarts in the TEG or PW to decide to turn the solar back on if the house load is high enough to use the solar even though the battery SOC is more than 90% or whatever the threshold really is? If so, starting an EV charge might be a good option. Or does that load have to drain down the battery below the threshold before the solar is allowed back on?

 

[zƬesla]

If/when Tesla calls back, I'll see if I can get some clarification on the magic number.

 

[wjgjr]

If/when Tesla calls back, I'll see if I can get some clarification on the magic number.

It will be interesting to see what they say. My impression is there is no magic number, and it may depend on everything from number of PWs and solar/inverter capacity to real-time estimates. However, I agree with others that whatever the limit was, it seems like many are reporting that number has been greatly reduced as others have reported numbers in the 80% range before solar re-started. I have not tested since my software went to 1.50.1, but before that, my solar would turn back on by the time PWs got down to 95%.

 

[Brovane]

Just had a 1.5 hour grid outage. The TEG must have kept the frequency high the whole time as the inverters would not kick on. Typically, the SMA inverters kick back on after 5-15 minutes. I even shut off one of the two inverters to ensure they would not produce more than the 2 PWs can handle. Called Tesla and they said I'd get a call back in 3-5 business days. Really wish this stuff would work seamlessly.

Why don't you just do a test and turn off your service and see if you can get the Solar Inverters to kick on? Let the Powerwall's drop below 80% and see if the Solar Comes back on.

 

[Kodemonkey]

It will be interesting to see what they say. My impression is there is no magic number, and it may depend on everything from number of PWs and solar/inverter capacity to real-time estimates. However, I agree with others that whatever the limit was, it seems like many are reporting that number has been greatly reduced as others have reported numbers in the 80% range before solar re-started. I have not tested since my software went to 1.50.1, but before that, my solar would turn back on by the time PWs got down to 95%.

I agree their would be no magic number as well. Each system is different. If you have a large PV system and it is producing 15KW and only one power wall, and you are currently consuming 1kw the solar won’t come on until it gets low enough to hit the max charge rate of the power wall. That could be never (or at least close to sunset). It has to do with production not being greater than consumption + power wall charge consumption. Too many variables to say they will always come on at 97% SOC. Now, if you are in the above situation with more overproduction and you have a variable load that you can adjust (perfect example is a Tesla where you can vary the charge current manually) then you may be able to tip the scales to get solar production started and if done right, charging the power wall.