Powerwall Backorders

[BGbreeder]

There are two different designs for lightning rods; pointed and rounded.

• Pointed rods emit / attract ions when the electric field increases, and DO attract direct hits by creating an ion path for lightning to follow.
• Rounded ones maintain a ground field above the structure and tend NOT attract direct hits.

For some reason pointed ones are popular in the US...

I have zero data on the efficacy of one design versus the other.

Personally, I wouldn't try to repair a surge / lightning suppressor that has taken a direct hit because there is no way to really know if the ancillary parts (e.g. insulation, board traces, etc.) are intact.

All the best,

BG

 

[jf2go]

We are here in SoCa ordered ours in Oct 2020 and are still waiting. We are in a Tier 3 fire area and eligible for the full SGIP. LA Solar emailed earlier in the week that we should be scheduled for our installation this week or next. We will see.

Same here. Ordered 2 Powerwall's from Tesla in August 2020. Also Tier 3 fire zone and Med Baseline, so full SGIP. I can't even get my Project Advisor to return an email or phone call. Many emails with no response. I am concerned that SCE SGIP funds will run out before Tesla can complete the project. Really poor overall experience with this. I already had solar installed, so the Powerwalls were add-on. Maybe they are holding them for customers that are ordering solar as well.

 

[ucmndd]

Maybe good news for me? Just got a note from my installer that they had a conference call with their Tesla Energy sales rep and a divisional manager of some sort and were able to get my order moved to "shipment verification" status, which they SAY means my Powerwalls should be shipped within 2 weeks. Guess we'll see.

Order was placed with Tesla August of 2020.

Fingers crossed? Today is the second day in a week we've been without power for 5+ hours.

 

[ucmndd]

I am concerned that SCE SGIP funds will run out before Tesla can complete the project.

Do you have a confirmed SGIP reservation letter? If so, that money is yours and it should wait for you.

If you don't, your installer should be applying for that now.

 

[sunwarriors]

Same here. Ordered 2 Powerwall's from Tesla in August 2020. Also Tier 3 fire zone and Med Baseline, so full SGIP. I can't even get my Project Advisor to return an email or phone call. Many emails with no response. I am concerned that SCE SGIP funds will run out before Tesla can complete the project. Really poor overall experience with this. I already had solar installed, so the Powerwalls were add-on. Maybe they are holding them for customers that are ordering solar as well.

Didn't Tesla already hit the cap for SGIP across all tiers? I've read here I think of no SGIP at all after someone else complained about it from a Tesla install.

 

[ucmndd]

Didn't Tesla already hit the cap for SGIP across all tiers? I've read here I think of no SGIP at all after someone else complained about it from a Tesla install.

Equity Resiliency program has no developer caps.

 

[jf2go]

Do you have a confirmed SGIP reservation letter? If so, that money is yours and it should wait for you.

If you don't, your installer should be applying for that now.

No reservation letter. One of the few communications I received from Tesla stated that they had started the process on my behalf. I inquired with SCE and they indicated that they have not received an application from Tesla for me. The application has to be done by Tesla - I don't see how I can do it myself without the developer code (?). Based on the lack of communication, I am concerned about proceeding with an installation and depending on Tesla to follow up on completing the SGIP process.

 

[ucmndd]

No reservation letter. One of the few communications I received from Tesla stated that they had started the process on my behalf. I inquired with SCE and they indicated that they have not received an application from Tesla for me. The application has to be done by Tesla - I don't see how I can do it myself without the developer code (?). Based on the lack of communication, I am concerned about proceeding with an installation and depending on Tesla to follow up on completing the SGIP process.

Yes, you’re correct, the installer has to do it for you. This is why I went with a third party to begin with… I didn’t trust Tesla to handle the process correctly and in a timely manner (I’m in PGE territory where the funds went very quickly).

Of course, going with that third party has had its own challenges… namely waiting for a year for equipment from Tesla while they prioritize their own installs.

 

[CrazyRabbit]

So lightning rods do not attract lightning. Lightning will only strike a lightning rod if it already happens to be very close to the lightning's path. That's why it's better to put the lightning rods on your roof and not rely on a flagpole in the yard for protection. A large roof should have multiple sharp-point lightning rods mounted as high up as possible, each connected to a good earth ground with heavy gauge copper wire not in conduit.

I don’t know how I feel having 100K volts traveling thru my house to a ground rod. Even if separate ground rod energy will still flow back into house thru ground and neutral..

so I removed the three covers off the back of one of the panels and removed the solder to the 3 shocky diodes, removing short, and the panel functions. So now to order replacement diodes. So panels should be repairable.

 

[power.saver]

I don’t know how I feel having 100K volts traveling thru my house to a ground rod. Even if separate ground rod energy will still flow back into house thru ground and neutral..

Well the lightning rods are on the roof, and the heavy gauge wire to the grounding rod in the earth is run outside the house. The purpose is to divert the strike energy away from the house and anything in it. Otherwise a lightning strike on a roof without lightning rods will find its way down and through your house wiring, plumbing and just about everything else. The lightning rod, heavy gauge wire and earth grounding serve as a path of much lower resistance than the house, which is what you want.

 

[BGbreeder]

Well the lightning rods are on the roof, and the heavy gauge wire to the grounding rod in the earth is run outside the house. The purpose is to divert the strike energy away from the house and anything in it. Otherwise a lightning strike on a roof without lightning rods will find its way down and through your house wiring, plumbing and just about everything else. The lightning rod, heavy gauge wire and earth grounding serve as a path of much lower resistance than the house, which is what you want.

Using lightning rods to channel the energy down a heavy gauge wire or cable worked ok when the goal was to prevent lightning caused fires. It channeled some of the energy away from the roof, limiting the damage and fire.

These days, the electromagnetic pulse from a direct hit, or nearby hit, is enough to fry almost anything nearby that is electrical. It doesn't even have to be connected. That's why a rounded lightning rod, and surge suppressors in the house may be preferable to limit damage.

Having lived in an area extremely prone to lightning strikes, where the power company had chosen to run the power line along a ridge, I can tell you that it was amazing what a nearby hit can fry. E.g. a resistance element on an electrical stove top once (powered off at the time), the whole stove another time (also off), numerous light bulbs (some on, some off), various motors... You get the idea. There is a tremendous amount of energy at extreme voltage in a lightning bolt.

All the best,

Peter

 

[dailo]

After hearing about PW being backordered, I placed an order expecting to have the system installed sometime next year. To my surprise I got an install date of 8/19 after ordering on 6/28

 

[el-guapin]

After hearing about PW being backordered, I placed an order expecting to have the system installed sometime next year. To my surprise I got an install date of 8/19 after ordering on 6/28

The PV will get installed then. But The PWs most likely next year.

 

[dailo]

The PV will get installed then. But The PWs most likely next year.

That's what I thought, but confirmed everything will be installed. Maybe I got someones cancelled order? They just called today to see if I was available to do the install tomorrow. Was originally scheduled for September.

 

[ericl]

My install date was moved up a month and I had already read this thread so I called my advisor and asked if I am getting the power wall + because my initial contract was just for power wall; they said yes I am getting power wall+. I finalized my contract this month and I am scheduled to receive the power wall + with installation of the roof tomorrow followed by the battery in 3 days. So I guess Tesla is prioritizing their own customers vs. sending it to the 3rd parties.

 

[CrazyRabbit]

Well the lightning rods are on the roof, and the heavy gauge wire to the grounding rod in the earth is run outside the house. The purpose is to divert the strike energy away from the house and anything in it. Otherwise a lightning strike on a roof without lightning rods will find its way down and through your house wiring, plumbing and just about everything else. The lightning rod, heavy gauge wire and earth grounding serve as a path of much lower resistance than the house, which is what you want.

so the "cable" will run down the roof, over the eve, down the wall to the ground rod... ugly...

 

[power.saver]

so the "cable" will run down the roof, over the eve, down the wall to the ground rod... ugly...

Yes.

 

[BGbreeder]

More grist for the mill;

LIGHTNING RODS: FRANKLIN HAD IT WRONG (Published 1983)

www.nytimes.com

It is not uncommon for the ground cables to fail after a lightning strike, and by fail, I mean vaporize / explode. Old fashioned lightning rods often had glass balls on them, so owners could tell when the building had been hit and could then check to make sure the cables were ok. You want the cable on the outside, though I have seen some run internally.

Back on topic: ordered May 2020, not yet installed.

All the best,

BG

 

[holeydonut]

so the "cable" will run down the roof, over the eve, down the wall to the ground rod... ugly...

Maybe you need to buy the Acme brand lightning rod and have Wile E Coyote install it?

 

[BGbreeder]

so the "cable" will run down the roof, over the eve, down the wall to the ground rod... ugly...

Or don't have one, and deal with the lightning hit, if and when it happens. If you have tall tree or buildings near you, it might not happen any time soon. Tarrant county only gets 8-10,000 lightning strikes per year. What are the odds?