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Powerwall 2 + UPS Connundrum - and solution

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So this was NOT my experience during my test this week on 1.34.3. I turned off my grid connection at 1am and immediately after the change over to the Powerwall the frequency spiked. My UPS showed 63hz though that was "output" so I'm not sure I can trust it. Assuredly the UPS was not happy with the wall power and my LED lights flickered until the SoC dropped enough. I am going to test again once I hunt down an oscilloscope or at least something that can measure frequency.

As an aside when I did that 1am test a bunch of my AFCI breakers and GFCI outlets tripped...

gpez, well I have to eat humble pie. I spoke to PW2 support and they confirmed your analysis. The PW2 DOES blindly raise the Hertz level to 66 when the grid power goes dead REGARDLESS of voltage input from the solar inverters. I've had a LONG discussion with them as to this being very bad for anyone that has a high SoC at night as it affects many home automation switches and LED lights. Lights flashing during the day is one thing, lights flashing at night when it is the only illumination is quite another.

I've again reiterated my solution to them and they are well aware of my rantings in this regard.
 
If all you want to do is look at these numbers, you can connect to the Powerwall Gateway's own Wi-fi network to see them. Instructions on how to connect to that network are on this page: Monitoring from Home | Tesla

Yup, have done that many times in the past however my Gateway simply does not respond any more when I connect to the TEG-XXX wifi. App says no data since yesterday at 4pm too. I called support again last night and the T1 agent said it is because T2 is looking in to the tickets I opened earlier which may make the Gateway unavailable locally. Not sure how much I believe that but if it is still down for the day today I am calling back. Hopefully I'm still outage protected and selling back to the grid but I'm flying blind.

gpez, well I have to eat humble pie. I spoke to PW2 support and they confirmed your analysis. The PW2 DOES blindly raise the Hertz level to 66 when the grid power goes dead REGARDLESS of voltage input from the solar inverters. I've had a LONG discussion with them as to this being very bad for anyone that has a high SoC at night as it affects many home automation switches and LED lights. Lights flashing during the day is one thing, lights flashing at night when it is the only illumination is quite another.

I've again reiterated my solution to them and they are well aware of my rantings in this regard.

Thanks for the update, @NinjaVece. I suspect they've been messing with this over the last few updates which I'd wager is part of the reason we're all having different experiences at different times!
 
Yup, have done that many times in the past however my Gateway simply does not respond any more when I connect to the TEG-XXX wifi. App says no data since yesterday at 4pm too. I called support again last night and the T1 agent said it is because T2 is looking in to the tickets I opened earlier which may make the Gateway unavailable locally. Not sure how much I believe that but if it is still down for the day today I am calling back. Hopefully I'm still outage protected and selling back to the grid but I'm flying blind.

It sounds like your Gateway could also be in a bad state. Some time back there was a persistent issue where the Gateway's web server would die. The only way for an end user to fix it was to reboot the Gateway. They seem to have fixed it in later firmware versions, but I wonder if your smptoms coudl be a variation of that problem. Of course there's also a chance that T1 support has accurate information this time ;).
 
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It sounds like your Gateway could also be in a bad state. Some time back there was a persistent issue where the Gateway's web server would die. The only way for an end user to fix it was to reboot the Gateway. They seem to have fixed it in later firmware versions, but I wonder if your smptoms coudl be a variation of that problem. Of course there's also a chance that T1 support has accurate information this time ;).

Something has been a bit wonky with it since day one. The installer thought it was because it doesn't have terribly great 3G connectivity and connecting to the wifi would help, except it can't connect to my wifi despite every other device in the same area being able to.

@cwied Do you mean "reboot" as in pressing the Reset button on the Gateway or something else?

Tesla support already has two strikes for me, hopefully the T1's information is accurate so there isn't a 3rd!
 
Maybe they're watching this thread, my app is working and saying its connected for a bit now. The T1 agent said all of the historical data should be uploaded retroactively but I have yet to see that.
 
Maybe they're watching this thread, my app is working and saying its connected for a bit now. The T1 agent said all of the historical data should be uploaded retroactively but I have yet to see that.

gpez, Tesla lost all my historical outage data when they upgraded me to 1.34.2 (I'm on 1.34.3 at the moment). I notified them many times as to the loss and they told me they would get it back so I could see it on the iOS App (I also use Tesla for Windows on my PCs where you can also see it). To date, I still don't have all that info from July 2018 to March 2019 available to see. This seems low priority to them as they probably have their plate full dealing with rules in geo-fenced areas and our ongoing 66 Hertz issue...
 
gpez, Tesla lost all my historical outage data when they upgraded me to 1.34.2 (I'm on 1.34.3 at the moment). I notified them many times as to the loss and they told me they would get it back so I could see it on the iOS App (I also use Tesla for Windows on my PCs where you can also see it). To date, I still don't have all that info from July 2018 to March 2019 available to see. This seems low priority to them as they probably have their plate full dealing with rules in geo-fenced areas and our ongoing 66 Hertz issue...

I have data from my Enlighten Envoy for production so I'm less concerned about the historical info personally. The Envoy data is 15 minutes delayed so having real time on the Tesla app is the draw. For me this is more of a test than anything else to see if I can trust their support team to be forthcoming even for things that have a negative customer experience. As I type this the app once again can't connect to my system. Will be calling them later!
 
@NinjaVece it seems you have been getting quick replies from Tesla support. It's been almost a week since I opened tickets regarding my issues, including the frequency problem, and it's "still being handled by T2 agents" though no one has reached out to me. Any tips or tricks to getting at least more communication out of Tesla?
 
@NinjaVece it seems you have been getting quick replies from Tesla support. It's been almost a week since I opened tickets regarding my issues, including the frequency problem, and it's "still being handled by T2 agents" though no one has reached out to me. Any tips or tricks to getting at least more communication out of Tesla?

Persistence. Now, I also do not know definitively whether the firmware guys are taking my advice as to the 66 Hz issue (and others) but EVERY T1 support person knows my name regardless of whether they have spoken to me before (over time, I've spoken to all). My concerns and comments have circulated through all of them and are discussed in lunch rooms (so they say) so I'm hopeful that at least some of our issues will be addressed soon.

So my best advice is simply to keep track of the people you talk to and if you connect with someone that you haven't voiced your concern to, give them the spiel all over again. If you connect with one you have, ask the status. The squeaky Powerwall owner gets the grease...
 
I picked up two Eaton UPSes, a 5S700 I planned to use to power some office equipment and a 3S550 I plan to use to power my networking gear, both indeed handle the 66Hz output by the Powerwall without issue as expected (though it seems my office survives the PW transition just fine on its own, so the 5S700 might end up powering my entertainment center since my Vizio TV shuts down when the PW kicks-in, whether the PW is charging or discharging when the outage occurs). But what I didn't realize is that they're much pickier about proper grounding than any APC/CyberPower UPS I've used. My 1960 house before I bought it had most of the outlets replaced with 3-prong even though they're not grounded, and while other UPSes ignore it or at worst light a "wiring fault" LED but otherwise function normally, the Eaton ones outright refuse to turn on if plugged-in to an ungrounded outlet, and remain on battery if turned on before they're plugged-in. I wound up testing them in my kitchen where all of the outlets I installed in a 2009 remodel are grounded, but any of the locations I'd like to deploy them to will need to be re-wired first. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's an unexpected nuisance that wasn't a restriction for other UPSes I've used. It also made me think the first one was DOA until I realized why it wasn't turning on.

While the networking gear survives the outage, my real plan was to add DC-DC converters running off the 3S550's 12V battery, to save space on bricks/wall-warts and outlets needed for a structured wiring cabinet I plan to do.
 
I picked up two Eaton UPSes, a 5S700 I planned to use to power some office equipment and a 3S550 I plan to use to power my networking gear, both indeed handle the 66Hz output by the Powerwall without issue as expected (though it seems my office survives the PW transition just fine on its own, so the 5S700 might end up powering my entertainment center since my Vizio TV shuts down when the PW kicks-in, whether the PW is charging or discharging when the outage occurs). But what I didn't realize is that they're much pickier about proper grounding than any APC/CyberPower UPS I've used. My 1960 house before I bought it had most of the outlets replaced with 3-prong even though they're not grounded, and while other UPSes ignore it or at worst light a "wiring fault" LED but otherwise function normally, the Eaton ones outright refuse to turn on if plugged-in to an ungrounded outlet, and remain on battery if turned on before they're plugged-in. I wound up testing them in my kitchen where all of the outlets I installed in a 2009 remodel are grounded, but any of the locations I'd like to deploy them to will need to be re-wired first. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's an unexpected nuisance that wasn't a restriction for other UPSes I've used. It also made me think the first one was DOA until I realized why it wasn't turning on.

While the networking gear survives the outage, my real plan was to add DC-DC converters running off the 3S550's 12V battery, to save space on bricks/wall-warts and outlets needed for a structured wiring cabinet I plan to do.

Interesting. I just added a 5S1000 to my 5S700 to protect my main system (we run 14 computers at our house / office protected by APC and MinuteMan UPSs) and one of the modems for the two Internet providers we have coming into the house. The UVerse modem (router portion disabled as I have another router connected) is VERY sensitive and would fault every time the APC went active when it was in the place of the Eaton but now it seems to weather cross-overs better.

My 5S700 is what protects my NAS, routers, switches, backup drives and Spectrum modem (router portion disabled). In that area there is another APC 1000 that backs up a computer connected to a 75" Samsung (amazing low power draw on that one, by the way) as well as PS4 and cable TV box but they aren't important if the 66 Hertz issue arises as I'd just shut them down if the APC were draining...

My house was built in the 90s so my grounding is better but it is good to know those issues if I try to assist someone setting this up in a older house. My brother lives in the old family house built in the 40s which may have the same issues...