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Powerwall Time-Based with 2 peak periods
- Thread starter Dan123
- Start date
Chancellor32
Member
I don't think there is any issue since the automation is only doing what I can already do manually with the Tesla app, or by manually turning off/on devices driving power usage in my home. Darwins app simply lets me schedule and/or trigger changes to occur (again that we already can do in the tesla app), based on variety of other conditions occuring in the home, that I might otherwise make manually if I had the time to monitor the home usage and PW SOC all the time.
Also, SRP is getting what they want via their rate plan. I.e. in order for Solar/Renewables to not negatively impact them (duck curve and all), they need to drive me to only use power during their own defined off-peak rate plan hours. They encourage this with very cheap rates. So I maximize my usage during this time, and if I have extra solar during this time, then I also lower what I use during off-peak.
Next, SRP makes peak hours rates and demand charges very high during their defined peak rate plan hours, this is to encourage me to minimize my usage during peak hours where they otherwise risk having trouble meeting overall area peak usage for all homes in the valley of the SUN (otherwise the demand charges pile up pretty quickly on my bill). So my automation actually helps me zero out all peak rate hourly usage. So when the SRP grid is under maximum pressure to keep up, I'm using zero power.
All I'm doing is maximizing to the most extreme ability I have, what they already are trying to encourage with the solar generation rate plan - which to be honest is already skewed to their benefit quite a bit. Also, they have multiple meters; on the whole house, on the battery, and on the solar. They know exactly how much power is coming in-and-out of all these sources (out only from solar clearly). So they know exactly how I'm using the system, and I'm actually using it exactly they way the want me to use it, which the automation helps optimize.
If anything raises eyebrows, it might be how I manage to zero out peak usage (the way they desire), but do it with less solar (4.1kw) than many people here in Phoenix on 4400sq/ft of air condition space (includes my separate workshop). The extra PWs and extensive automation is what allows that to occur. I think this is exactly the type of information they are looking to capture.
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That's awesome, Jay. Thanks for a thoughful reply. I kept going back and forth with 4.2 kw or 8.16kw. I finally decided on 8.16kw with 2pws. I have just sign the loan agreement today. My house only uses 15500 kw last yr but i afraid my skill of managing electricity are not as good as you and others in this thread. From 2-8pm we use around 24-30 kw. Plus i think this is the last yr for the 26% tax credit and tesla is having a sale, plus $3600 for the battery rebate, i really believe this will be the least expensive solar in the next five yrs. So might as well go big.
Chancellor32
Member
Working flawlessly for me on Hubitat. I know there have been issues on SmartThings which is why I made the switch to Hubitat.
Here is our solution for this problem incase you like Rasberry PI and DIY 
Here is my video on automating powerwall using Raspberry PI computer unit and python scripting. If you ever wanted finer control of the powerwall schedule or you have multiple peak times say 5am-9am and 5pm -10pm, or some Florida folks that have 6am-10am, and 6pm-10pm then this is a way of automating that. This is super helpful for those in the SRP Region in Arizona now who have split peak times which includes myself cause we’re located in Gilbert, Arizona.
The Tesla software so far has a limitation in only defining 1 peak period but these workarounds can expand that to multiple more than 1 peak periods. Also just in general if you are trying to charge/discharge on a different set schedule like you know its more financial advantage to charge now vs discharge you could use it for that. This latest software was modified to go from the local intranet connection to internet Tesla owners API because Tesla recently closed down the local connection requiring users to toggle power to receive credentials.
If you are wanting to learn more, check out my video.
Thanks for the support everyone!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwCbAUurlu8
Here is my video on automating powerwall using Raspberry PI computer unit and python scripting. If you ever wanted finer control of the powerwall schedule or you have multiple peak times say 5am-9am and 5pm -10pm, or some Florida folks that have 6am-10am, and 6pm-10pm then this is a way of automating that. This is super helpful for those in the SRP Region in Arizona now who have split peak times which includes myself cause we’re located in Gilbert, Arizona.
The Tesla software so far has a limitation in only defining 1 peak period but these workarounds can expand that to multiple more than 1 peak periods. Also just in general if you are trying to charge/discharge on a different set schedule like you know its more financial advantage to charge now vs discharge you could use it for that. This latest software was modified to go from the local intranet connection to internet Tesla owners API because Tesla recently closed down the local connection requiring users to toggle power to receive credentials.
If you are wanting to learn more, check out my video.
Thanks for the support everyone!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwCbAUurlu8
Utility Rate Plans | Tesla Support is your friend, and there's a lot of discussion starting on page 4 here
