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PowerBlaster Installation?
- Thread starter Fragger
- Start date
I'm in the same boat. It was part of my order but installer never put it in. I've called and opened a case last week and plan to call again tomorrow or monday to follow up. Sadly from what i've read in the other threads they do not come back out and install it and even if you install it w/o tesla they will not incorporate it into their app.
It seems to me that if it is listed as part of the order, they really don't have a choice in the matter. (I do not know for others if it is listed, or just expected, but I feel like the way Tesla advertises their product, it is certainly reasonable to expect.) In your case, I would insist they open a repair ticket, and, if not, escalate it, if necessary with the threat of using the arbitration clause (which may also contain an opt-out you might have used and an option to go to small claims.)
For others, including OP, I would check the contract and other documents but would likely pursue similar steps. The best time to catch this is before payment, but I realize it is harder to tell without a physical inspection since Tesla does not commission solar-only systems until PTO, it seems, so you can't see it in the app.
I've already had them tell me well its not included in our cost as more of a nice thing they do. But they also do confirm they see it was given to the install team and install team didn't note why they didn't install it. I will say that they do have an out if they say we looked and it can't be installed on your breaker because of some reason or another. My fear is that is the case for me but they should have noted that and since they didn't I want someone to come out and at least check if it can be done.
EDIT: Just got off the phone with Telsa...FYI new line is there is a "national shortage" from the manufacturer and so it was in the design but warehouse doesn't have any so no one is getting power blasters right now. They don't have a date on when it will be back in stock and the rep said try calling back in the spring since she doubts they'll be in stock during the holidays.
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Ah - I guess that is a bit different if it is more of an "it was on the order list" versus "it was spelled out in the agreement." Still, I think an argument could be made that they did consider it part of the install, and I agree that at the least they do owe you a formal explanation of why it wasn't installed, and arguably some refund (since whatever Tesla calls it, they clearly are pricing contracts expecting to install these.)
Tesla seems to be pretty poor in terms of specificity in their contracts. It used to be that they seemed to go the extra mile to do things in favor of the customer when there was a discrepancy. However, as they have grown - even over the last year - it seems like there has been a real shift in their approach, and I think that is going to come back and bite them.
I thank everyone for sharing their experiences. Let's get the thread updated with our outcomes or progress, if any...
Let me add my version... My advisor said that they don't actually install these anymore. However, since our work order had this listed, he located one in a warehouse in a town nearby. So as soon as it's shipped to my town, an installer with install it... *fingers crossed*?
Let me add my version... My advisor said that they don't actually install these anymore. However, since our work order had this listed, he located one in a warehouse in a town nearby. So as soon as it's shipped to my town, an installer with install it... *fingers crossed*?
This happened to me - I called customer support and the first time, I was told that it wasn’t installed because they couldn’t fit it in the breaker box and that if I want monitoring then I should buy a powerwall.
After asking on this forum (thanks!!) I called back and got a much friendlier rep who said it was definitely part of the design and should have been installed. They did eventually come back and install it a few weeks later. This was somewhere around September 2019. I think it really depends on who picks up your call/email - good luck.
After asking on this forum (thanks!!) I called back and got a much friendlier rep who said it was definitely part of the design and should have been installed. They did eventually come back and install it a few weeks later. This was somewhere around September 2019. I think it really depends on who picks up your call/email - good luck.
Thank you for sharing your experience, it gives hope to this community and my situation. The breaker argument is really bogus, especially on new homes, but I see they say what they need to to get out of it
!Frankly, one of the bigger draws to Tesla is their presentation layer. Power Flow is unique visualization, not sure why they are cutting it off for ~$200 expense!
Anyway, I hope our advisor comes through and we get it.
Question - When they installed it, what steps needed to happen to see the change and was that the difference between seeing and not seeing Power Flow in the app? Thanks!
The difference was that before I could see the solar output but not the home energy consumption. IIRC I didn’t have to do anything special after they installed the CTs and little powerblaster box - the data started showing up in the app automatically. They did have something flipped at first, so my production was showing up as usage and usage as showing up as production. I called tech support and they fixed that quickly.
Thank you for sharing your experience, it gives hope to this community and my situation. The breaker argument is really bogus, especially on new homes, but I see they say what they need to to get out of it
Frankly, one of the bigger draws to Tesla is their presentation layer. Power Flow is unique visualization, not sure why they are cutting it off for ~$200 expense!
Anyway, I hope our advisor comes through and we get it.
Question - When they installed it, what steps needed to happen to see the change and was that the difference between seeing and not seeing Power Flow in the app? Thanks!
Thank you for sharing... Did you see the Power Flow option show up in the app after they installed the CTs and PowerBlaster?
Hi Friends,
Sharing an update on this topic to keep the information flowing.
As our advisor promised, a technician called us today to install our missing PowerBlaster. The technician on site confirmed that these are not no longer available in the local warehouse and that they found a unit remaining in a different city and were able to get it shipped to them to get it installed at our home as it was part of our work order.
He also confirmed that for whatever reason, Tesla is no longer installing these for their Panels-only customers.
After the install (20 minutes) the friendly local technician did have to make a few calls to provision the unit for our account. Not sure if this was a necessary step, but the curse of reading here is that you're over cautious and I insisted that he called around and confirmed no further steps were needed. His Tier 2 people were not working, but he made some calls to his buddies and they were able to use the serial and MAC of the unit to add to our account.
After about 30 minutes, no rebooting or power shut off, we did start seeing the grid and usage numbers in the app. Not sure if this was related, but the gateway did have an issue where it said, "No Signal" for most of the day, and even after rebooting the inverter, gateway and router, the problem did not go away for hours.
I then finally unplugged the black Gateway for a while, rebooted the router and tried again. No Signal again, but as I looked at the box after a few more minutes, I had no more red lights.
Not sure if this was due to the PowerBlaster, or the inverter or my network or if Tesla uses AWS, I head they had an outage? No idea.
Anyway, just keep the thread updated. Thanks.
Sharing an update on this topic to keep the information flowing.
As our advisor promised, a technician called us today to install our missing PowerBlaster. The technician on site confirmed that these are not no longer available in the local warehouse and that they found a unit remaining in a different city and were able to get it shipped to them to get it installed at our home as it was part of our work order.
He also confirmed that for whatever reason, Tesla is no longer installing these for their Panels-only customers.
After the install (20 minutes) the friendly local technician did have to make a few calls to provision the unit for our account. Not sure if this was a necessary step, but the curse of reading here is that you're over cautious and I insisted that he called around and confirmed no further steps were needed. His Tier 2 people were not working, but he made some calls to his buddies and they were able to use the serial and MAC of the unit to add to our account.
After about 30 minutes, no rebooting or power shut off, we did start seeing the grid and usage numbers in the app. Not sure if this was related, but the gateway did have an issue where it said, "No Signal" for most of the day, and even after rebooting the inverter, gateway and router, the problem did not go away for hours.
I then finally unplugged the black Gateway for a while, rebooted the router and tried again. No Signal again, but as I looked at the box after a few more minutes, I had no more red lights.
Not sure if this was due to the PowerBlaster, or the inverter or my network or if Tesla uses AWS, I head they had an outage? No idea.
Anyway, just keep the thread updated. Thanks.
As I was reading through the posts I was going to mention this as a real possibility. Manufacturing companies have been affected by covid shutdowns and reduced production. During our install there was a shortage of 40A breakers. We were told they were having trouble getting them, and sure enough Home Depot, Lowes, and electrical contractor stores were out of stock. They put our breakers on a maintenance list and when they came in scheduled an appointment to take care if it. A lot of solar/PW installs going on for months now so demand is high. Construction has been able to continue in most areas after a short stop but the parts are still sometimes a problem getting.
I wouldn’t assume that Tesla is cheating you out of something. If the PowerBlasters are impossible to get for an indeterminate amount of time I could see them dropping installing them however. As mentioned, there is a parts inventory list prepared for the warehouse for your job that isn’t shared, but you can ask if something was on it. We had called making sure a soft start was included for our old AC unit and they confirmed it for us. We have PWs as part of our system, so have neurios installed instead of the Powerblaster so can’t speak to when those ran into inventory issues.
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jat255
Member
I was told today that the powerblasters are no longer installed because they provide inaccurate data and they were having too many problems with them, so whatever that means, it seems like the story is changing!
For what it is worth, Neurio was purchased by Generac a while ago. Mine was purchased online a couple of years ago and has worked well. After the purchase I expected worse.
Thats a new one... I think most people on this board that have one would disagree with that statement, lol (not yours, what tesla told you, above).
Its much (much) more likely that they simply stopped buying them because they were going to build that functionality into their own inverter. Maybe the contract they had to buy them expired, or maybe (because the device is now owned by a company that is a direct competitor) they just chose to not use them any longer.
They really should tell their front line employees the truth though, or encourage a believable story anyway, lol
jat255
Member
Yeah, my guess is this is built into the new "Tesla inverter", or maybe they're just leaving it out if you don't have PW. I'm a little disappointed to be in the "in-between" where I got a Delta inverter without the powerblaster, but too early to get the Tesla inverter (just activated today, which is why I was searching for this)
shinebox
Member
Same situation here, underlayment is being installed right now and was just told I am getting the M series Detla inverters in a week or two and no power blasters. We are just doing solar roof without powerwalls and I am pretty disappointed there will be no energy monitoring. Got a callback from our project advisor explaining that the power blasters were a “promotion” that ended in october and that my only options were 3rd party (not integrated with the tesla app) or get a powerwall... Also inquired about the new Tesla inverters and those indeed have home energy consumption monitoring but already being implemented on current upcoming plans but not in progress installs due to permits and etc. Really sucks for this kind of $ the didnt atleast come up with a phase out solution for us too late to get power blasters and to early to get the new inverters.
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Yeah - I completely agree. If I were in your situation, I'd consider purchasing a Neurio for $200 ( https://www.amazon.com/Neurio-Technology-W1-Hem-Energy-Monitor/dp/B07KMF9SZL ) and ask the Tesla electricians to install it for you and get it linked to your app when they do the rest of their work in (I'm guessing since your install is bigger than mine was) a week or two. I don't know for sure that the linking would work, but I'd think it would - something to ask your advisor or the electrician.
I "think" but am not 100% sure of this, that the version of the neurio tesla has (had) was one specifically for them. So, its unlikely that an off the shelf one is going to be integrated into the tesla app.
That may be true. I don't have a Tesla installation but I have the standalone version of the Neurio and it does provide useful information. Standalone I use it to trigger IFTTT events.
