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Question on layout of electrical boxes

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Hi, I have a question regarding the flexibility allowed in the placement of the electrical boxes.

My front door is elevated on the second floor with the garage below it on the first floor. Unfortunately (at least in my opinion), my main panel is currently placed right next to my front door. I guess one grey box is not that big of a deal, but looking at Tesla's plans, they will be placing the gateway, inverter and disconnects all next to the main panel which I think is going to be a bit more unsightly. My powerwalls are going to be placed inside the garage on the first floor.

My question is, is it possible to have the gateway and inverter boxes placed next to the powerwalls inside the garage, and just have the small disconnect switches placed externally next to my main panel? Your thoughts are much appreciated so that I know what should be possible before contacting Tesla. Thanks.
 
Hi, I have a question regarding the flexibility allowed in the placement of the electrical boxes.

My front door is elevated on the second floor with the garage below it on the first floor. Unfortunately (at least in my opinion), my main panel is currently placed right next to my front door. I guess one grey box is not that big of a deal, but looking at Tesla's plans, they will be placing the gateway, inverter and disconnects all next to the main panel which I think is going to be a bit more unsightly. My powerwalls are going to be placed inside the garage on the first floor.

My question is, is it possible to have the gateway and inverter boxes placed next to the powerwalls inside the garage, and just have the small disconnect switches placed externally next to my main panel? Your thoughts are much appreciated so that I know what should be possible before contacting Tesla. Thanks.

I agree with @Ampster. I would ask tesla to move them in there (the garage) if there is room. I thought I had read about a ton of challenges putting powerwalls inside the garage in NorCal in the past few months. Definitely worth investigating but hopefully any changes wont make it so you cant put the powerwalls in the garage either.
 
Talk to your advisor, I think as long as there is no code limitation (components distance) they would do it, they may need to run extra long conduits/wires which may or may not create different problems. The new inverter/gateway is a single smaller box and actually looks better than any metal panel, the disconnect is a different story. Should ask as soon as possible as all these will go into your install plan that would be submitted to PG&E for PTO.
 
I agree with @Ampster. I would ask tesla to move them in there (the garage) if there is room. I thought I had read about a ton of challenges putting powerwalls inside the garage in NorCal in the past few months. Definitely worth investigating but hopefully any changes wont make it so you cant put the powerwalls in the garage either.


Yeah, without knowing the county where Notadog lives, putting PWs inside could bring into play...

Bollards
Line of sight disconnecting means in addition to the disconnecting means outside
Heat sensors
Spacing considerations
Placing on slab vs elevated on the wall
 
I’m in Santa Clara county. The plan I told the guy who initially came to take pictures was that I wanted the Powerwalls inside the garage, slightly elevated on a wall. He mentioned they would need to install a bollard but he didn’t say anything else would be needed though.

I wonder with the disconnect boxes outside on the second floor, would they require ugly conduits on the exterior snaking down to the garage, or can they somehow put the conduits on the inside of the garage also?

Would be helpful if my advisor ever returned any of my messages. I’ve been basically talking exclusively to the online chat box.
 
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The first box from the left is the load panel. They pulled all of the load cables from my main panel to that panel. The middle one is the gateway, it also has the solar connection and the one on the right is the battery breakers. I think it is too big for just one breaker in it. It also houses the break from the outside shutoff for batteries. I was lucky to have space, these would be very ugly if I had to do it outside.
 
I’m in Santa Clara county. The plan I told the guy who initially came to take pictures was that I wanted the Powerwalls inside the garage, slightly elevated on a wall. He mentioned they would need to install a bollard but he didn’t say anything else would be needed though.

I wonder with the disconnect boxes outside on the second floor, would they require ugly conduits on the exterior snaking down to the garage, or can they somehow put the conduits on the inside of the garage also?

Would be helpful if my advisor ever returned any of my messages. I’ve been basically talking exclusively to the online chat box.


If you got time to burn, take a read through this thread.


The thread has info about the heat sensors that you'll need ... wired and can broadcast an alarm throughout the living quarters of the home. The irony is that nobody makes such a system that is ad-hoc (like Google Nest and Simplisafe do not cut the mustard). So it almost necessitates a full on integrated security/safety alarm system. That thread also talks about the bollard requirement (not sure if it's exclusive to Woodside?), and how it can't just be a weak/cheap bollard that you remove after the inspector leaves.

I think if you're looking for a more curated experience, you should consider going with a local shop that can pay attention to your needs instead of forcing you through a cookie cutter script. It'll cost more, but at least you'll be able to get the system you want.
 
The bollards apply in Santa Clara county, and they are engineered, not small, and designEd to take something like 6,000lbs hitting it 2' up. Per @Vines: 5" in diameter, 3/8" steel wall, concrete filled...

I recall seeing the requirements for how deeply they need to be embedded, and how far from the batteries, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

All the best,

BG
 
The bollards apply in Santa Clara county, and they are engineered, not small, and designEd to take something like 6,000lbs hitting it 2' up. Per @Vines: 5" in diameter, 3/8" steel wall, concrete filled...

I recall seeing the requirements for how deeply they need to be embedded, and how far from the batteries, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

All the best,

BG

Vines posted the pdf in his thread...
 
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Reactions: BGbreeder
My garage is pretty big and the location of the Powerwall is in a location that a car should not really be able to reach unless you made like a 20-point turn to hit it on purpose. Would a bollard still be required?

Also the PDF seemed to refer to Woodside, which is in San Mateo county and not Santa Clara county?
 
My garage is pretty big and the location of the Powerwall is in a location that a car should not really be able to reach unless you made like a 20-point turn to hit it on purpose. Would a bollard still be required?

Also the PDF seemed to refer to Woodside, which is in San Mateo county and not Santa Clara county?


When I had my system installed in Oct/Nov 2020, Sunrun said that their rule of thumb was that bollards were only required if car headlights could shine directly at the Powerwall. But they had some Peninsula installs require bollards (I think in Palo Alto) because the inspector said that there was a chance someone could still hit the powerwall with a riding lawn mower or something that could do tight turns. I heard some funny stories about Palo Alto...
 
Does anyone know if a bollard is required/planned, then it would be noted in the design plans? I'm looking at my plans right now and there is no mention of bollards. Same question goes with the heat detection requirement - I don't see any devices annotated. Also, I'm in San Jose, will I be still subject to the stricter Santa Clara county standards?
 
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City of San Jose jurisdiction only requires bollards when the Powerwalls are on the back wall, or in the driving pathway, say on a side wall without a "Return Wall" to protect the batteries. Most garages have at least a 6" return wall before the garage door starts.

Santa Clara County has so far convinced a few jurisdictions to follow their lead, but San Jose is not one of them.
 
I just spoke with an advisor to ask about the possibility of moving the electrical boxes.

The advisor actually told me that the new Tesla policy is that the site lead will decide on the day where to best put all the electrical boxes, while taking into account my preferences, if possible.

They also told me Tesla doesn't schedule a walkthrough of the install with the contractor before install day anymore, everything is going to happen on install day.

Does that sound right to you guys? It sounds to me like there is no use to talk to an advisor about changing the design plans anymore and I need to discuss with the site lead on the day of the install. I just don't feel comfortable potentially being pressured to install boxes where I prefer they not be on the day of the install just because the whole crew is already there.
 
I just spoke with an advisor to ask about the possibility of moving the electrical boxes.

The advisor actually told me that the new Tesla policy is that the site lead will decide on the day where to best put all the electrical boxes, while taking into account my preferences, if possible.

They also told me Tesla doesn't schedule a walkthrough of the install with the contractor before install day anymore, everything is going to happen on install day.

Does that sound right to you guys? It sounds to me like there is no use to talk to an advisor about changing the design plans anymore and I need to discuss with the site lead on the day of the install. I just don't feel comfortable potentially being pressured to install boxes where I prefer they not be on the day of the install just because the whole crew is already there.
I was told the same thing by the PA only with my inverters. I wanted them in the garage but guess what, they are outside. Not saying you can’t trust what they are saying but when the team calls you a day or two before the install I would validate with them what the PA told you. I almost told them not to start the installation but there were other things they sprung on me.

Also I had no walkthrough in Texas a couple of months back.