Site survey and System Size/Power Wall?

[pkalhan]

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to get an idea of how long it usually takes to hear back from Tesla after having the site survey done. I had a nice gentleman come out on Saturday January 26, 2019 but due to the weather, we was only able to look at my attic and my breaker box. He came back out on Tuesday January 29, 2019 to get on my roof to finish up the survey.

I also wanted to get forum members opinions about something else. Is it better to have the largest system I could afford (comfortably) or go for a slightly smaller system and get two powerwalls. I like the idea of powerwalls, but they are a bit pricey. I think I would need at least 2. Currently I had agreed to a 12.025kW system but this could change based on the results of the site survey. I currently have a Tesla Model 3 and at some point (not sure when), I would like to get my wife an electric car/SUV.

Thanks In Advance!

 

[zanary]

For my Powerwall only site survey, it took about 1.5 weeks to get back the package with diagrams and costs. For my solar install it also took about 1.5 weeks.

As for our system, I would go for the larger numbers of panels you can possible accommodate. Powerwalls quantity will be determined by your largest breaker (but normally there are two Powerwall with most setups).

 

[nyprepper]

to the original poster, you might want to consider snow removal implications as I see you are in Pittsburgh. I have 20 panels, see pic. I wanted to limit my panels to a single roof section for ease of access. This was the most they could fit on this single roof south facing roof section. Snow slides off as it melts but if you get hit with ice and snow and the temperatures stay cold the snow isn't going to magically disappear. you either have to wait for it to melt or try and clean it off. to that end, I really wish I knew this going in as I would have limited my array to 15 panels in a single rectangular shape (3 rows of 5 each) for easier snow removal. I would be happy to give up the 25% extra power to have an easier to clean array. FYI, i got a really good telescoping rubber roof rake from amazon that is made of foam rubber. works great on center sections of the array but the panels on the outer edges are really hard to clear. I live at elevation on a mountain and heavy snow and ice seem to be a constant for me.

I should clarify that my concerns about snow removal stem solely from prolonged grid outages which are frequent for me. In a grid outage after a storm, if the panels are snow covered I need to get them clear to keep the juice flowing to the Powerwalls. Otherwise i'm probably only good for 48 hours on battery power alone for essentials.

 

[ssq]

I was told they only do self surveys where you fill up a guided survey where you answer wuesquest and upload a bunch of pictures. No site visits are done anymore..

 

[RoBoRaT]

In SoCal, Tesla took 7 days to show plan with actual cost breakdown after site survey. This was 15 Feb 2019.

I suggest using PVwatts or have your Tesla Energy advisor run simulations (like Energy Tool Base) to size your PV system plus Powerwall vs actual/projected consumption.

Calculate projected production base on location via PVwatts: PVWatts Calculator

EnergyTB Proposal creator Video:

This way you can customize your system to your needs.