Solar + Power Walls

[Sonus]

So yesterday they installed my Solar + Powerwalls.

They told me that the PWs can be powered on but the solar can't. When they left the house they forgot to turn on the system. It is running so far with no issues.

Should i let it run or shut the solar off? What is the reason for waiting to turn on the system? and is there can be a problem why did they leave it running?

Thanks!

 

[jjrandorin]

So yesterday they installed my Solar + Powerwalls.

They told me that the PWs can be powered on but the solar can't. When they left the house they forgot to turn on the system. It is running so far with no issues.

Should i let it run or shut the solar off? What is the reason for waiting to turn on the system? and is there can be a problem why did they leave it running?

Thanks!

The problem is, you dont have permission to operate it yet, so if you send solar back to the grid the utility will know. They may or may not do anything about it, but they will know, if they look that is. Also, you could have issues operating the system in an unpermitted state before your inspections. You definitely want to have the system OFF when the inspector comes to inspect it, since it does not have a permit at that time (which is why that inspector would be there).

As tempting as it is to turn it on, since you didnt have solar to begin with you should only turn it on to see that its working ("test" it). In your situation I would not leave it on, especially since you could generate enough solar to fill the battery and send back to the utility.

 

[dortor4ev]

when I had my Solar system installed it was 30 days between solar being installed & functional and the system's Permission to Operate coming - I ran the system anyways cause I"m that type of guy - the only issue I noted is that I did not receive proper credit for the netmetering prior to the Permission to operate - although it did in fact lower my houses usage because the Solar was powering the house during the day. My utility is Pacific Gas & Electric - so your milage may vary…

the safest and legal thing to do is to NOT operate your solar system with out permission to operate

at the end of the day unless your system is super big - the net effect to the residential area micro-grid that represents your grid block is probably minor and no one will notice - but if you do operate your system you run the risk of making your utility provider "mad" with unknown consequences - so it's your call…

the other option is for you to "run the system" but disconnect from the grid by throwing the main breaker on your home - this would require your solar system + batteries to be able to meet your daily household needs, but if you're disconnected from the grid the utility should have no issue because you won't be providing any power to the grid, or taking any power from the grid - but this may be a pain in the ass

if Tesla left it running and it's working and no one is complaining I'd leave it alone, you can always claim you haven't touched the system ;-)

 

[Sonus]

So if i understand everyone the actual problem is with power going back into the grid? i will kill the main switch and see if the system can support me... it shoud. (i am also with PG&E)

 

[dortor4ev]

yeah - technically the power company can get fussy with you providing power back to the grid until you have your PTO - something about them having to balance the power in the neighborhood - also you won't get proper billing credits for your "excess" power until your PTO - so any power you give back the grid will go "uncredited" until your PTO date - in practice PG&E probably won't notice if you're solar system is giving power back to the grid - but they will also not credit you properly until your official date.

 

[Sonus]

Nice. I shutoff the main power to the house and we run now completely on Solar + PWs.

We will see...

 

[getakey]

how many powerwalls?

 

[Sonus]

2

 

[getakey]

will be interesting to see if you can be completely self powered. I would bet not on a cloudy day, but we've had few clouds the entire month so far
Heat pump or gas furnace?

 

[Sonus]

Gas furnace. but I have a pool.... According to my calculations I should be fine, I ordered the right size to make sure I can self power my house. So far we woke up today with 35% left on the power walls. it is now 10:30am and we are producing 3kw, 2kw goes to the house and 1kw to the PWs. (the pool pump is running which is my main concern)

 

[MorrisonHiker]

The problem is, you dont have permission to operate it yet, so if you send solar back to the grid the utility will know. They may or may not do anything about it, but they will know, if they look that is. Also, you could have issues operating the system in an unpermitted state before your inspections. You definitely want to have the system OFF when the inspector comes to inspect it, since it does not have a permit at that time (which is why that inspector would be there).

It took nearly 2 months for us to get PTO even though our system was inspected the same day that installation was finished. During that time, we didn't have any meters so I don't think they could see if we had our solar system turned on early.

I did turn it on a couple times when I was working from home or on the weekends. We just used it to charge up the Powerwalls and cars and didn't send much (if any) back to the grid.

 

[miimura]

If it was me, I would set the system to Backup Mode. During the day, let the system run with the main breaker off until the batteries are full. Then I would turn the solar off and turn the main breaker back on. Then wait for PTO. This is all assuming that you have passed the city inspections.

In my specific situation, I already had solar when my Powerwalls were installed. I left them in Backup mode and powered on until PTO. Since they were installed in February, it took 3 days for my small solar system to fill both Powerwalls.

 

[Sonus]

According to Teals PWs can be on, no need to wait for the PTO. Just the Solar should be left off.

 

[dancudds]

According to Teals PWs can be on, no need to wait for the PTO. Just the Solar should be left off.

PW only charge from Solar though

 

[chrisbailey13]

According to Teals PWs can be on, no need to wait for the PTO. Just the Solar should be left off.

That doesn't do you much good...once the batteries are drained they won't recharge.

 

[Sonus]

That doesn't do you much good...once the batteries are drained they won't recharge.

They should be left in backup mode. Up until yesterday this was the only mode I had in the app. Yesterday I found the Self-Powered mode and today they added the Storm Watch. Still no "advanced" mode for me.

 

[R3dstang66]

Gas furnace. but I have a pool.... According to my calculations I should be fine, I ordered the right size to make sure I can self power my house. So far we woke up today with 35% left on the power walls. it is now 10:30am and we are producing 3kw, 2kw goes to the house and 1kw to the PWs. (the pool pump is running which is my main concern)

Sonus,

We are planning to put 2 maybe 3 pw up have a pool and S. We left a deposit down and are now waiting for Tesla specialist to get back to us. How long did it take for you to get your system up?

 

[Sonus]

Sonus,

We are planning to put 2 maybe 3 pw up have a pool and S. We left a deposit down and are now waiting for Tesla specialist to get back to us. How long did it take for you to get your system up?

I ordered a 8KW solar and 2 PWs system on November 15th 2019 when Elon (on Twitter) promised if you order in Nov you will get it installed before the year end to get the full 30% credit, But they couldn't deliver and they were installed on Feb 18th 2020 instead. Not that bad I think but I lost the 30% credit and have to wait a year to get the 26% instead... so Tesla will refund me back 4% of the total cost of the system when I get my PTO (Still waiting).

 

[jjrandorin]

Sonus,

We are planning to put 2 maybe 3 pw up have a pool and S. We left a deposit down and are now waiting for Tesla specialist to get back to us. How long did it take for you to get your system up?

Its probably going to be significantly longer right now, since tesla is un coupling powerwalls from solar, and seems to have powerwall installs into the fall already. Let us know what ETA they give you. I suspect it will be "september" (just to throw a month guess at the wall).

 

[jboy210]

I ordered a 8KW solar and 2 PWs system on November 15th 2019 when Elon (on Twitter) promised if you order in Nov you will get it installed before the year end to get the full 30% credit, But they couldn't deliver and they were installed on Feb 18th 2020 instead. Not that bad I think but I lost the 30% credit and have to wait a year to get the 26% instead... so Tesla will refund me back 4% of the total cost of the system when I get my PTO (Still waiting).

FWIW, Tesla told us last week that it could take 30-45 days to get PTO from PG&E.