Powerwall Location: Eyesore vs. Performance vs. Noise

[SoundDaTrumpet]

Hi Folks,

This is my first new thread. I have been sitting on a Powerwall reservation since 2016, and have a imminent installation scheduled in April finally. Plenty of kudos to members of this forum for helping me along. Has anybody have recommendations on mounting the Powerwall equipment (the battery packs themselves)?

I seem to value wall space in the garage, but at the same time know that semi-conditioned attached garage helps performance. Eyesore has to do with the constant reminder that I have a Powerwall. I have four locations presented which I reduced down to three.

1. Exterior north shade. Behind unlocked gate. Directly under the solar inverter. Closest location to service panel. No living space other side of wall. This area is where the trash bins are kept so regularly visited.

2. Exterior north shade. Same wall as above, but in the backyard. Best place to showcase. No one really goes there unless given a tour. Kitchen nook/guest bathroom on other side of wall. It is in a location where I am not constantly reminded I own a Powerwall. Elected the hidden conduit option for a $1000 premium (in contract).

3. Interior garage near rollup door. Have stack of boxes which could be relocated, so net zero on loss of wall space. Hallway on other side of wall near front door. Given orientation of house, I'd be advertising I have a power wall everyday. It will be a conduit run over the cars. Likely will ask for the $1000 back and do an exposed run.

4. Interior garage in front of cars. Crashing into a powerwall would make history, so I don't know why that was suggested.

I understand that the $1000 hidden conduit option applies to the other wire runs as well. I appreciate any input!

Thanks,
SoundTheTrumpet

 

[miimura]

In the Bay Area, I don't think it matters much as long as they're not in direct sunlight on a south or west facing outside wall. Therefore, I voted #1. Personally, mine are mounted on the outside of the house on a southwest facing wall, just past my side gate, shaded by trees and hillside.

 

[patrick40363]

I would place them in the garage.

 

[GenSao]

I voted for #1 or #3. Leaning more for #1, if garage space is premium and you live in a moderate part of the Bay Area. The Powewalls fit right in in your utility area. Go for #3 if temperature is a very big concern for your area. Powerwalls do make some noise when they are conditioning the batteries so #2 could be ruled out.

I personally opted for #1 since garage space is limited for me.

 

[Vines]

I'd go for #1 or #3 personally. They are much better in a temperature controlled area. Below 55 degrees or so they need to spend energy to keep themselves warm, so that they can take a charge. Its likely you would need them when its both cold and dark, in winter.

I'd not be worried about visibility much, if you are worried about optics, just paint or tape over the logo. Few people are recognizing these on sight.

 

[woferry]

I didn't have many options at my fairly small house. No room in the garage, and its temperature isn't much different than the outside anyway. At first I thought it might be able to go on my back wall, which probably wouldn't have been so great with the afternoon sun. It wound up on my ~NW facing exterior wall (side of the house, inside the fenced yard), where I have room to add a second one later on. It will get some sun late afternoon as the sun hits that wall, though it gets some shade from the chimney next to it.

I am curious to see how noisy the thing is (don't have PTO yet, and it got installed way before my panels did, so it's just been 300 lbs of dead-weight hanging on my wall for over 2 months now. ), I hadn't heard anything about noise before it was already mounted. The wall where it's mounted is shared between my living and dining rooms, so I hope it's not too bad.

The service is on the other side of the chimney (sandwiched between the living room/patio door and the chimney), there was just enough room for the gateway and 2 inverters there. So they ran a conduit into my crawlspace to get around the chimney, which I liked better than their initial suggestion which was to go around the fireplace on the outside (actually the first suggestion from the site surveyor was different and I also would have liked, but the rest of the pieces didn't end up where he thought they would so it didn't really apply).

 

[bmah]

I am curious to see how noisy the thing is (don't have PTO yet, and it got installed way before my panels did, so it's just been 300 lbs of dead-weight hanging on my wall for over 2 months now. ), I hadn't heard anything about noise before it was already mounted. The wall where it's mounted is shared between my living and dining rooms, so I hope it's not too bad.

Without any quantitative measurements, I'd say mine are "really quiet". I can hear a small fan running sometimes but I have to get really close to hear it. They're quieter than my solar inverter, which isn't that loud to begin with, so I'm pretty sure you wouldn't hear them on the other side of a wall. If the fans aren't not running, the Powerwalls are silent.

Bruce.

PS. Then again my wife says there's a lot of stuff I don't hear, so...well...

 

[tjka4231]

I'll go with the interior choice 3. Keeping them inside away from the weather I would think can enhance their performance so they don't need to expend extra energy to keep warm or cool. My 2 Powerwalls are very quiet inside my garage, just a very faint hum from their fans. The only time when they were a bit noisy was during their initial turn-on when the coolant was being circulated.

 

[Shygar]

I voted for #1 since you're in the bay area. You can see my profile pic that's what I did (east facing wall, next to everything electric).

Only issues I have outside are that I get a lot of spider webs on the top where the fan is. It's not enough to really affect it, but it's there. If I were to get a second one, I would probably mount it on the other side of this wall, inside the garage, but that's just due to how my layout is. It would make getting in and out of my car a little bit harder.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I'm surprised nobody brought up "eyesore" yet. We proudly display our 3 founders series Powerwalls in the garage! We don't consider them to be an eyesore.

 

[NuShrike]

After a year of debate, I'm putting mine inside the garage. A City Inspector previously recommended it to avoid "copper thieves".

In the same vein, I think it is a good idea to hide it behind a wall during any zombie apocalypse, and a narrower temperature range may be good too.

 

[Jigglypuff]

In the well house by the service entrance. What? You don't have a well house plus two separate buildings? The best location will vary by home and needs.

 

[abasile]

I voted for #1 because the Bay Area has temperate climates, so installing outdoors should be fine. Might as well keep things as simple and cheap as possible.

Here in our colder climate, our outdoor-installed Powerwalls lose around 4-5% charge per day in subfreezing temperatures when our solar panels are completely buried by snow. But we don't have a garage.

 

[SoundDaTrumpet]

I had not realized that battery pack heater could be a drain (despite moderate San Francisco Bay Area weather). Tesla installation is next week, and will be asking them to install inside (semi-conditioned attached garage).

We park both cars in the small two-car garage with access to all car doors. I had not considered mounting the Powerwalls along the walls near the front of the either cars to avoid swinging doors. The ideal spot shares the wall with electrical service, but has an irrigation controller in the way (low voltage wire in conduit and 110V outlet next to it). I figured since hidden conduit option is priced--perhaps with the walls opened up already, Tesla hopefully can to easily accommodate relocating the controller.

Thanks everyone for your input and vote.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I had not realized that battery pack heater could be a drain (despite moderate San Francisco Bay Area weather). Tesla installation is next week, and will be asking them to install inside (semi-conditioned attached garage).

We park both cars in the small two-car garage with access to all car doors. I had not considered mounting the Powerwalls along the walls near the front of the either cars to avoid swinging doors. The ideal spot shares the wall with electrical service, but has an irrigation controller in the way (low voltage wire in conduit and 110V outlet next to it). I figured since hidden conduit option is priced--perhaps with the walls opened up already, Tesla hopefully can to easily accommodate relocating the controller.

Thanks everyone for your input and vote.

I'm sure that would be very easy for them to move. When installing our Powerwalls, they actually needed to install a new stud. In record time, they cut a slit to only remove as much drywall as necessary, installed a new stud and reinstalled and patched up the drywall.

 

[NuShrike]

For those that installed inside/garage, what amount of clearance was needed? I'm being told by my City via installer that 19' x 20' isn't enough clearance for installing 2 PWs inside, when it's the exact same clearance on the outside wall and property fence.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

For those that installed inside/garage, what amount of clearance was needed? I'm being told by my City via installer that 19' x 20' isn't enough clearance for installing 2 PWs inside, when it's the exact same clearance on the outside wall and property fence.

Is that for mounting them at ground level in the garage? They typically don't want to do that where you might drive into them. I have seen them installed on ground level on the sides of garages...or on the walls at the front.

 

[NuShrike]

Is that for mounting them at ground level in the garage? They typically don't want to do that where you might drive into them. I have seen them installed on ground level on the sides of garages...or on the walls at the front.

Mounting (high up) side-by-side on the side-walls of the garage.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Mounting (high up) side-by-side on the side-walls of the garage.

Interesting. I would think they would be allowed there. I haven't heard of any other clearance requirements other than they have to be 6 (?) inches away from each other and can't be mounted higher than 46 (?) inches. I don't remember the exact numbers bu those should be pretty close.

Let us know if they give you an explanation.

 

[RoBoRaT]

Mounting (high up) side-by-side on the side-walls of the garage.

Recently received plans for Solar PV system and 2 PW inside the garage.
I notice that PW can be installed up to 5 feet above ground (see Detail A).

So, at least in my location it is allowed to be installed that high, it may be possible where you are at too.

I will ask my installer if they can mount one PW on the ground, and the other 6 inches above the first one. That will put the 2nd PW at 50 inches (4.17 ft) above ground.