Storm Watch Activated in SF East Bay

[charlesj]

We do not have a net meter so that might be the issue

Very high probability that is it. If the panels needed to feed the grid as the house or battery cannot use all the generated energy, the grid is the place to dump it. With a one way meter not sure that is possible.

When the time comes, PG&E will come out and replace the meter for a bi-directional meter.

 

[attathomeguy]

Very high probability that is it. If the panels needed to feed the grid as the house or battery cannot use all the generated energy, the grid is the place to dump it. With a one way meter not sure that is possible.

When the time comes, PG&E will come out and replace the meter for a bi-directional meter.

Here is the invertor we have and I have tried finding a manual about what the exterior lights mean

 

[attathomeguy]

 

[BrettS]

That’s the same inverter I have. There is a small switch to the left of the lights and it’s hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like it might be in the off position. Make sure that switch is on.

Beyond that, a blue light means that the inverter is communicating with the monitoring platform. A solid green light means that the system is producing power. A blinking green light means the system has AC power, but is not producing power. A solid red light indicates a system error.

 

[attathomeguy]

@BrettS I just noticed the little red switch. Is it supposed to click into place or just look like attached?

 

[BrettS]

If it’s like mine, it’s a three position switch. Off is to the far right, on is in the middle, and if you push it to the left it puts it into program mode, but it won’t stay there. You just push it over to the left and it bounces back to the middle. It doesn’t hurt to push it into the program mode position. If you don’t connect to it to program it then it just goes back into normal mode after a minute or two.

 

[jaed]

Try this site. Inverter Status and System Performance Indications | SolarEdge US

what are your LEDs doing? I see green and blue but are they solid or flashing?

Also are you sure your breaker is turned on that is back feeding from the inverter to your panel?

for my system they made sure everything worked before leaving and at PTO all I would do it turn on some breakers, turn on the inverters, turn on the Powerwalls at the breakers and on the side of each power wall.
Hope that helps.

 

[attathomeguy]

Thanks everyone! The green light and blue light are now solid! I'll see if anything goes into the battery in the morning

 

[BrettS]

Thanks everyone! The green light and blue light are now solid! I'll see if anything goes into the battery in the morning

That’s great. Do be careful though because you don’t want to be exporting power to the grid before you have your PTO. It’s probably not the end of the world to export a little, that happened when tesla was testing my system just after it was installed. But I wouldn’t just leave everything on without keeping a close eye on it. Turn the inverter back off after the powerwall is charged, or if it doesn’t seem to be charging, but is exporting power instead.

 

[jaed]

I have seen guys do extended off grid testing if you have enough solar and battery to disconnect yourself from the grid. I have a “friend” that is doing that now while “they” are waiting for PTO. Like what was said above try not to send power to the provider.

 

[attathomeguy]

That’s great. Do be careful though because you don’t want to be exporting power to the grid before you have your PTO. It’s probably not the end of the world to export a little, that happened when tesla was testing my system just after it was installed. But I wouldn’t just leave everything on without keeping a close eye on it. Turn the inverter back off after the powerwall is charged, or if it doesn’t seem to be charging, but is exporting power instead.

Everything is working this morning and I am watching it very closely and the battery now has 2%. I will turn off the invertor once the battery is full

 

[BrettS]

Everything is working this morning and I am watching it very closely and the battery now has 2%. I will turn off the invertor once the battery is full

I’m glad you got it to work, especially since the battery was so low. It’s not great to set it sit at 0% like that for extended periods.

Once the powerwall is full you can turn the inverter off and leave the powerwall on. The powerwall will still take over and power your backed up loads in the event of an outage. And if it’s an extended outage you can go ahead and turn your inverter back on to provide some additional power to help get you though.

 

[jjrandorin]

Everything is working this morning and I am watching it very closely and the battery now has 2%. I will turn off the invertor once the battery is full

Awesome!

Glad the group collective could help you get it started! Situations like this is why I like this part of the forum so much

 

[charlesj]

Everything is working this morning and I am watching it very closely and the battery now has 2%. I will turn off the invertor once the battery is full

Is your Tesla app working? Are you producing more than house needs?
If so, you may want to just turn off the grid for now and see how it is doing. You could also use the setting, for now, 'backup only' until it is almost full, then use self-powered with breaker off unless your house load is such that it would delete the battery until you have good solar production.

 

[BrettS]

such that it would delete the battery until you have good solar production.

Yeah, I hate when my battery gets deleted

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist)

 

[attathomeguy]

Is your Tesla app working? Are you producing more than house needs?
If so, you may want to just turn off the grid for now and see how it is doing. You could also use the setting, for now, 'backup only' until it is almost full, then use self-powered with breaker off unless your house load is such that it would delete the battery until you have good solar production.

Yes the Tesla app is working and I have already set the battery to backup only and I will turn off the inverter once the battery gets to 100%

 

[attathomeguy]

Currently battery is at 70%

 

[BrettS]

Currently battery is at 70%

That’s a whole lot better than 0%

 

[Boatguy]

The app has a setting for Vehicle Charging during a power outage. How does the app know if my car is charging from a Powerwall?

 

[jaed]

I would think it knows since they are on the same account. Mine works since the update. I wish it did the power coordination with the car during normal use not just grid outage. It seams easy to do.