PowerWall 2 Installed, yay...but got humming noise!

[EcoCloudIT]

Just wondering if anyone with a PW2 has experienced a continuous humming noise even when not under load?

Sort of sounds like a fan whirring and is very auditable to the room on the inside of where the PW2 installed outside. The ambient temp is 11.8C, so not too cold or too hot, and the battery is only discharging at around 0.7 kW (so not under any undue load).....the PW2 only went live as of around 12pm today, not sure if that makes any difference.

At the moment my name is mud as the boss isn't happy that the room on the inside can hear the battery....

 

[gigawatt1010]

Congrats on your Powerwall. From what I understand, the humming noise is normal and it kinda sounds alien like whirring. I don’t have a powerwall yet, my install is scheduled for July. What I found really interesting from your picture is what looks like a Gateway2. Did you specifically ask for them to install Gateway2 or is that what they install now?

Congrats again and good luck with the missus.

 

[EcoCloudIT]

@gigawatt1010 - hmmm, trouble is the noise is easy to hear on the room to which the battery is mounted (which is a bedroom) and nobody told us this would be the case (auditable humming noise). When an inspection was done they saw the room on the inside etc. and nobody mentioned anything...do you think the noise will go become less after the battery is conditioned? It's not something one hears easily, but when the room is silent it is easy to hear.

I got the battery as a referral award, took a long time until I decided to take delivery....I guess the delay was a good thing as Tesla provided the Gateway2 as part of the award....I personally don't know what the difference is...?

 

[begg]

My Powerwall 2 hums. (No issue as in the garage.)

 

[EcoCloudIT]

@begg - thanks....bloody hell...I may have to have the darn thing 'moved'......that's a lot of extra $'s when this could have been avoided by knowing upfront the potential transfer of the hum noise to an inside room....

 

[gigawatt1010]

Hey @EcoCloudIT - what's cooler than a PW2? A free one!

I haven't heard the noise in person but I assume it would be annoying if it's constant. Just basing it on my research here on TMC and I heard it from watching a boatload of YouTube videos. I'm getting 3 of them for my solar install so they're going to the garage, on the opposite side of the house, away from any bedrooms. Perhaps ask them politely if there's a way it can be moved? It may cost you extra but might be worth it to not sleep in the dog house.

As far as GW2, there's a whole thread on here about them. For one, they're much better looking than the boring gray box GW1. Apparently, better wifi connectivity, better data gathering, etc.

I think at this point, good luck to you is a better sentiment than congratulations

Also, hopefully someone with an existing PW2 will comment on this thread.

 

[jamesgo]

@gigawatt1010
I got the battery as a referral award, took a long time until I decided to take delivery....I guess the delay was a good thing as Tesla provided the Gateway2 as part of the award....I personally don't know what the difference is...?

The main difference with Gateway2 is that it supports 4G SIM and is physically a smaller box (Gateway 1 only had a 3G modem). As for the noise, ours is installed in the garage so I don't hear anything but the top of the Powerwall is the radiator which has the two fans, one on each side. It is relatively quiet (the fans run all the time) and just like the car does for battery management it cycles up and down in speed. From the photo your unit is outside, so depending on how much direct sunlight it gets and at night the cool it will obviously get more fan usage though as it's liquid cooled and does temperature preconditioning.

Noise wise, you've got a few options, I'm guessing there is no wall insulation as that would take some of the noise out, another options is to put some baffle or Mass Loaded Vinyl Barriers to reduce the noise. If the noise is coming via the wall braces, then perhaps some rubber would help.

Also, not sure if this is a issue for you, but there is a green LED strip on the side, this can be disabled, you just pop the cover off and pull the connector off.

Like the car, it gets regular software updates, I'm on 1.47.0 right now but I doubt it will change much for the fan usage, that was fixed a few years ago.

 

[EcoCloudIT]

The main difference with Gateway2 is that it supports 4G SIM and is physically a smaller box (Gateway 1 only had a 3G modem). As for the noise, ours is installed in the garage so I don't hear anything but the top of the Powerwall is the radiator which has the two fans, one on each side. It is relatively quiet (the fans run all the time) and just like the car does for battery management it cycles up and down in speed. From the photo your unit is outside, so depending on how much direct sunlight it gets and at night the cool it will obviously get more fan usage though as it's liquid cooled and does temperature preconditioning.

Noise wise, you've got a few options, I'm guessing there is no wall insulation as that would take some of the noise out, another options is to put some baffle or Mass Loaded Vinyl Barriers to reduce the noise. If the noise is coming via the wall braces, then perhaps some rubber would help.

Also, not sure if this is a issue for you, but there is a green LED strip on the side, this can be disabled, you just pop the cover off and pull the connector off.

Like the car, it gets regular software updates, I'm on 1.47.0 right now but I doubt it will change much for the fan usage, that was fixed a few years ago.

Thanks @jamesgo - the PW is on the South side of the house so pretty much never gets direct sunlight, really only has ambient temp to deal with...as I said though it is 11.8C outside and not under any undue discharge load so I am assuming the fan(s) are running in their quietest speed.....we have a ton of insulation in the walls (renovated some years back) however being a weatherboard I guess the noise can easily transfer....what are these baffle or mass loaded vinyl barriers you speak of?

The installer said the firmware is on the latest (1.46.0), evidently not as you are on 1.47.0....I guess you're right in that being on the latest would make no difference fan/noise wise.

 

[Peterbeans]

Just wondering if anyone with a PW2 has experienced a continuous humming noise even when not under load?

Sort of sounds like a fan whirring and is very auditable to the room on the inside of where the PW2 installed outside. The ambient temp is 11.8C, so not too cold or too hot, and the battery is only discharging at around 0.7 kW (so not under any undue load).....the PW2 only went live as of around 12pm today, not sure if that makes any difference.

At the moment my name is mud as the boss isn't happy that the room on the inside can hear the battery....

View attachment 547545 View attachment 547546

Just went outside to check on my PW2 - it’s pretty much dead silent at present at 9 degrees ambient.
Had it for about 15 months and must say I’ve never noticed much noise at all from it. It is mounted in the car port on a brick veneer wall. Certainly never heard any sound transmitted to the room behind it.
Hopefully once it settles down it will be much quieter for you.

 

[jamesgo]

Just went outside to the garage and I stand corrected, there is only 1 fan, it's on the right handside (it's like a PC fan), you can see it behind the on/off switch. Anyway, the fan wasn't moving and the unit was dead silent.
Admittedly our charge level is pretty low (damn Melb low solar winter days).

As for the baffle, there are lots out there, just google for sound insulation/baffle. I guess you just need to find one that is suitable for outdoors and place it behind the Powerwall. Some come as sheets like this which is for inside a wall, 1st google hit: NuWave Base Accoustic Barrier | Thermotec

 

[paulp]

I had three PW2 installed inside my garage, bolted to the wall, 3 weeks ago.
None of them make a humming noise.
They do make a quiet whirring noise (similar to the car but quieter) when in heavy charge or discharge, but other than that are silent. Indeed far quieter than I was expecting.
Sounds like you need it looked into.
Presume yours is on stable level ground and cannot be vibrating against anything? The noise you have could be a vibrating noise amplifying through your structure.

 

[MIT_S60]

Congrats on your Powerwall. From what I understand, the humming noise is normal and it kinda sounds alien like whirring. I don’t have a powerwall yet, my install is scheduled for July. What I found really interesting from your picture is what looks like a Gateway2. Did you specifically ask for them to install Gateway2 or is that what they install now?

Congrats again and good luck with the missus.

Do you by any chance know the part number difference for Gateway 1 versus Gateway 2? Trying to figure out which one came with the referral program (without opening the box, although I guess I could open the box).

 

[EcoCloudIT]

I had three PW2 installed inside my garage, bolted to the wall, 3 weeks ago.
None of them make a humming noise.
They do make a quiet whirring noise (similar to the car but quieter) when in heavy charge or discharge, but other than that are silent. Indeed far quieter than I was expecting.
Sounds like you need it looked into.
Presume yours is on stable level ground and cannot be vibrating against anything? The noise you have could be a vibrating noise amplifying through your structure.

Actually, what I checked today this morning:

1. No fan noise
2. Seems totally silent when standing next to it
3. If I put my ear on the battery I can hear a humming, like a transformer, noise
4. This hum noise transfers to the inside of the house (is amplified)

I would assume based on this I would need some rubber mounting or something?

My PW is mounted off of the ground on a cement/ply sheet (2x layers) timer frame that is mounted to the frame of the house (weatherboard house with crap loads of insulation).....I don't think it is an ambient noise per se more an amplification of the "hum"....

@paulp - can you put your ear against one of you PW's and tell me if you can hear the hum I speak of? At least I will know if it is rubber mounting I need to look in to or if my unit is making a hum that it shouldn't....

 

[jamesgo]

Went out to the garage again... we're charging right now, no fan running, very slight electrical hum (it'll be from the inverter), if you put your head against the solar inverter it's the same noise. If you put a torch on the side you should see the fan not running.

As for the acoustic resonance, i'm guessing they attached it to the house frame and there must be something with the same harmonics causing it to resonate. So yeah, I guess some dampening should do the trick, I guess the best place for some rubber or equiv would be on the wall bracket. The Powerwall is just sitting down on the hangers/brackets.

 

[Blue heaven]

Just wondering if anyone with a PW2 has experienced a continuous humming noise even when not under load?

Sort of sounds like a fan whirring and is very auditable to the room on the inside of where the PW2 installed outside. The ambient temp is 11.8C, so not too cold or too hot, and the battery is only discharging at around 0.7 kW (so not under any undue load).....the PW2 only went live as of around 12pm today, not sure if that makes any difference.

At the moment my name is mud as the boss isn't happy that the room on the inside can hear the battery....

View attachment 547545 View attachment 547546

If the boss is not happy with the Powerwall 2 cooling and heating noise I suggest you fire up a portable genset to drown out the noise.

 

[paulp]

Actually, what I checked today this morning:

1. No fan noise
2. Seems totally silent when standing next to it
3. If I put my ear on the battery I can hear a humming, like a transformer, noise
4. This hum noise transfers to the inside of the house (is amplified)

I would assume based on this I would need some rubber mounting or something?

My PW is mounted off of the ground on a cement/ply sheet (2x layers) timer frame that is mounted to the frame of the house (weatherboard house with crap loads of insulation).....I don't think it is an ambient noise per se more an amplification of the "hum"....

@paulp - can you put your ear against one of you PW's and tell me if you can hear the hum I speak of? At least I will know if it is rubber mounting I need to look in to or if my unit is making a hum that it shouldn't....

With my ear on the unit yes I can hear a hum like a transformer, but only if I’m touching it with my ear. I can feel the vibration with my fingers though. You therefore need to investigate some structural seperation as suggested by jamesgo above.
I had a similar problem in one of our bedrooms, turned out to be an appliance that was structurally connected at the other side of the house. The catch is, some people cannot hear structural noise. The older you get the less audible it is. Young people are more susceptible to it.
Insulation will not stop structural noise. Its likely your base is rapidly flexing, and a thin layer of rubber may help

 

[paulp]

Actually, what I checked today this morning:

1. No fan noise
2. Seems totally silent when standing next to it
3. If I put my ear on the battery I can hear a humming, like a transformer, noise
4. This hum noise transfers to the inside of the house (is amplified)

I would assume based on this I would need some rubber mounting or something?

My PW is mounted off of the ground on a cement/ply sheet (2x layers) timer frame that is mounted to the frame of the house (weatherboard house with crap loads of insulation).....I don't think it is an ambient noise per se more an amplification of the "hum"....

@paulp - can you put your ear against one of you PW's and tell me if you can hear the hum I speak of? At least I will know if it is rubber mounting I need to look in to or if my unit is making a hum that it shouldn't....

I just remembered....I no longer install commercial aircon and extraction equipment on steel frames as all the isolation mounts in the world cannot stop the structure vibrating. These days its always pour a concrete slab at the top of the building and mount good isolation mounts to that. Never get structural vibration from that.
My powerwalls are directly bolted to precast concrete walls, which is likely why I have no vibration noise. You probbaly have to try and pour some concrete under your timber frame and then try and seperate it from the house.

 

[pts260]

I've had the PW2 since 2018 and never heard a humming sound (mounted similar to outside of house, brick veneer home adjacent to bedroom). The only sound I've heard is a light fan noise when putting my head next to the vent. Thats all. Ever. Not sure what's wrong but sounds like something.

 

[Peterbeans]

The Powerwall can be mounted on a concrete pad as an alternative. May need protection posts if there is a likelihood of vehicular impact.

 

[patrick40363]

My 2 are installed on my concrete garage floor. No sound.