Storm watch active...

[rjdunn]

Well, I was wondering at what point Tesla would engage Storm watch. We got a hurricane warning (coastal NC) at about 5 pm today, and the Powerwall immediately went into Storm watch. We should not get to the point of power failures until Thursday night, so that’s probably early enough to get charged if the sun is out. However, I was anticipating increasing clouds, so I’d already bumped up the backup reserve to 85%. In A/C season, I use most of my generated power if more than one HVAC is on, so the Powerwall just catches short bursts, so that’s enough headroom.

We’ll see how it does in keeping the house running. We are evacuating tomorrow ahead of the storm, and will turn off the A/C and water heater when we leave. Base load for the fridges, etc should be fine, as long as the house doesn’t blow away!

-Joel

 

[Shygar]

Good luck, I have a lot of family and friends in NC/SC so hoping it's not as bad as it appears.

Just curious, how did you know it went into storm watch? Did the app change? I'd be curious to see some screenshots.

 

[rjdunn]

It says “Storm Watch” in orange letters at the bottom of the power flow screen...

The storm is weakening, and the track (for me, fortunately) is moving south, less so for those in SC. Will come ashore in Wilmington and then head to Myrtle Beach.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I can confirm Storm Watch doesn't get activated during Winter Storm Warnings...at least not in my neck of the woods. We have up to 14" of snow predicted today. The Powerwalls are down to 39% today. The panels are covered with snow and the power is currently still on...but Storm Watch did nothing to try to charge the Powerwalls back up. Bummer. Fortunately, I should be able to run things for 16 to 24 hours if the grid goes down, but it would've been nice if the Powerwalls had been charged back up before the storm or even during the storm while the grid is still up.

 

[zanary]

That is correct. when I worked with Tesla, they inform me that the activation of Storm Watch is only when one condition occurs:

(1) The National Weather Service needs to issue a severe warning for your specific ZIP Code, and when that happens, your Powerwall will automatically go into Storm Watch and fully charge from the grid.

They say this is because of the ITC federal rules. When we filled in all those forms when we purchased solar, one of the questions was if we were going to apply for the ITC 30% credit, and if you said this, this rule was automatically invoked,

I had a similar issue a week ago with a severe rain storm, and I was down to 30% on my Powerwall, and I wanted to turn on Storm Watch which is where I learned all this.

The National Weather Service did not issue a severe alert for my zip code, so the Powerwall never started to charge from the grid.

You've got to get more details from the National Weather Service to see what conditions force them to issue a severe weather alert.

I wish all this of was visible in the actual Tesla mobile app under the "Storm Watch " setting.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

That is correct. when I worked with Tesla, they inform me that the activation of Storm Watch is only when one condition occurs:

(1) The National Weather Service needs to issue a severe warning for your specific ZIP Code, and when that happens, your Powerwall will automatically go into Storm Watch and fully charge from the grid.

They say this is because of the ITC federal rules. When we filled in all those forms when we purchased solar, one of the questions was if we were going to apply for the ITC 30% credit, and if you said this, this rule was automatically invoked,

I had a similar issue a week ago with a severe rain storm, and I was down to 30% on my Powerwall, and I wanted to turn on Storm Watch which is where I learned all this.

The National Weather Service did not issue a severe alert for my zip code, so the Powerwall never started to charge from the grid.

You've got to get more details from the National Weather Service to see what conditions force them to issue a severe weather alert.

I wish all this of was visible in the actual Tesla mobile app under the "Storm Watch " setting.

Thanks for your insight.

1. The National Weather Service did issue a Winter Storm Warning for my ZIP code and most of Northeastern Colorado, with predictions of up to 14 inches of snow. Maybe that's not severe enough? We have had storms with 4 feet of snow in the past. I wonder if that would count.

2. Not everyone who has Powerwalls gets the ITC. I get $0 on the ITC because my Powerwalls were free through the referral program. We didn't fill out any form asking about the ITC and if we did, we would've said no.

Shouldn't I be able to charge from the grid?

I'm not trying to shoot the messenger...just trying to figure out why some people get Storm watch enabled for a little wind and others can have more severe conditions and not get it activated! We've had severe wind alerts here before but I can't remember if we've had any since getting the Powerwalls installed.

 

[zanary]

Thanks for your insight.

1. The National Weather Service did issue a Winter Storm Warning for my ZIP code and most of Northeastern Colorado, with predictions of up to 14 inches of snow. Maybe that's not severe enough? We have had storms with 4 feet of snow in the past. I wonder if that would count.

2. Not everyone who has Powerwalls gets the ITC. I get $0 on the ITC because my Powerwalls were free through the referral program. We didn't fill out any form asking about the ITC and if we did, we would've said no.

Shouldn't I be able to charge from the grid?

View attachment 368146

View attachment 368145

I'm not trying to shoot the messenger...just trying to figure out why some people get Storm watch enabled for a little wind and others can have more severe conditions and not get it activated! We've had severe wind alerts here before but I can't remember if we've had any since getting the Powerwalls installed.

(1) I think it has to be the most severe alert from them and not just a warning. I wish they would explain which one of the alerts would mean that we go into Storm Watch. Weather Safety - Types of Warnings
(2) If you have Solar, then it's that ITC that qualifies, since ITC can't applied to just Powerwall.
(3) If all you have is Powerwall, then it can be configured to charge during non-peak hours, and use during other hours.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

(1) I think it has to be the most severe alert from them and not just a warning. I wish they would explain which one of the alerts would mean that we go into Storm Watch. Weather Safety - Types of Warnings
(2) If you have Solar, then it's that ITC that qualifies, since ITC can't applied to just Powerwall.
(3) If all you have is Powerwall, then it can be configured to charge during non-peak hours, and use during other hours.

Thanks. I looked and couldn't find any severe snow listing. I guess we'll just have to wait for a major blizzard and see if that every qualifies.

We have both solar and Powerwalls but get $0 ITC on the Powerwalls because we paid $0 for the referral Powerwalls (other than potential taxes). I can understand how they don't allow it for people who get a tax credit on theirs be we don't get any ITC for ours.

Ironically, we do sometimes see in the app that the Powerwalls get a trickle charge from the grid or provide a tiny of power back to the grid. I don't know how accurate it is but it does appear to be happening at times.

 

[zanary]

We have both solar and Powerwalls but get $0 ITC on the Powerwalls because we paid $0 for the referral Powerwalls (other than potential taxes). I can understand how they don't allow it for people who get a tax credit on theirs be we don't get any ITC for ours.

ITC doend't apply to your Powerwall. I believe (but I could be wrong), but since you have solar and you already applied for the ITC 30% credit for solar, that implies that your Powerwalls must be charged by Solar and not grid unless a NWS issues a severe alert for your zip code.

Now if you had not applied for ITC 30% for your Solar, I think you have a good case to get the feature turned off.

When I got my Solar, there was a question about if I was going to apply for ITC, and I said yes, so that means I'm in the same boat at you. Note, I did not get Powerwalls with my Solar as I had them about a 1 year in advance of Solar.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

ITC doend't apply to your Powerwall. I believe (but I could be wrong), but since you have solar and you already applied for the ITC 30% credit for solar, that implies that your Powerwalls must be charged by Solar and not grid unless a NWS issues a severe alert for your zip code.

Now if you had not applied for ITC 30% for your Solar, I think you have a good case to get the feature turned off.

When I got my Solar, there was a question about if I was going to apply for ITC, and I said yes, so that means I'm in the same boat at you. Note, I did not get Powerwalls with my Solar as I had them about a 1 year in advance of Solar.

We haven't applied for ITC on the solar yet but we haven't filed taxes since getting it installed. I don't remember there being a question about filing for ITC so I should probably go back over the paperwork. Was this on paperwork your solar installer had you sign before installation?

 

[eml2]

(1) I think it has to be the most severe alert from them and not just a warning. I wish they would explain which one of the alerts would mean that we go into Storm Watch. Weather Safety - Types of Warnings
(2) If you have Solar, then it's that ITC that qualifies, since ITC can't applied to just Powerwall.
(3) If all you have is Powerwall, then it can be configured to charge during non-peak hours, and use during other hours.

I had Storm Watch active a few times. It is only triggered by High Wind Warning.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Ironically, we do sometimes see in the app that the Powerwalls get a trickle charge from the grid or provide a tiny of power back to the grid. I don't know how accurate it is but it does appear to be happening at times.

I just checked the app and see the Powerwalls are now down to 34%...and actively sending up to 0.5 kW back to the grid.

 

[wwhitney]

ITC doend't apply to your Powerwall. I believe (but I could be wrong), but since you have solar and you already applied for the ITC 30% credit for solar, that implies that your Powerwalls must be charged by Solar and not grid.

I don't believe that is correct, I think tax-wise the charging restriction only applies if you take the ITC on the Powerwalls themselves. But Tesla, for simplicity on their end, imposes the charging restriction on all US Powerwall customers with solar.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[zanary]

In the SF Bay Area, we're preparing for a huge storm, and the NWS issued their warning. Tesla Powerwall switched to Storm Watch mode right now. I received an APNS for my Tesla App, and the app is showing charging Powerwall fully with a combination of solar and grid power.

 

[miimura]

Hmmm. Maybe I will turn Storm Watch on at 11pm tonight... I have been on 75% reserve since November due to low solar production.

 

[zanary]

Hmmm. Maybe I will turn Storm Watch on at 11pm tonight... I have been on 75% reserve since November due to low solar production.

The value of your reserve has no impact to Storm Watch. My reserve is normally at 30% and during the winter month I move it to 50%, and I always leave on Storm Watch.

My production during the winter month is really really low, but during the summer is the opposite, so I'm good when I look at the entire year.

 

[miimura]

My point was that with 75% reserve, I could endure a normal storm related outage, so I left Storm Watch off out of an abundance of tax credit caution. I am merely considering a little Off-Peak top up tonight if Storm Watch is already in effect. I probably won't bother.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

In the SF Bay Area, we're preparing for a huge storm, and the NWS issued their warning. Tesla Powerwall switched to Storm Watch mode right now. I received an APNS for my Tesla App, and the app is showing charging Powerwall fully with a combination of solar and grid power.View attachment 369164View attachment 369165View attachment 369166

Can you clarify what you mean by huge storm? Wind? Rain? Probably not snow for you...plus we know they haven't enabled Storm Watch for snow yet.

We ended up only getting about 8 to 10 inches of snow last Friday. Fortunately the power stayed on...but my wall connectors' delivery was delayed 3 days. Solar production was greatly reduced to 0.1 kWh Friday. We were able to use a roof rake to restore 10% solar production on Saturday, 40% solar production on Sunday, 60% yesterday and 80% today.

 

[zanary]

Can you clarify what you mean by huge storm? Wind? Rain? Probably not snow for you...plus we know they haven't enabled Storm Watch for snow yet.

We ended up only getting about 8 to 10 inches of snow last Friday. Fortunately the power stayed on...but my wall connectors' delivery was delayed 3 days. Solar production was greatly reduced but we were able to use a roof rake to restore 40% solar production on Sunday, 60% yesterday and 80% today.

NWS post everything on their Bay Area twitter feed here: NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) | Twitter

Based on my conversation with Tesla, Storm Watch is only activated automatically based on NWS alerts. I have to assume that Tesla and the Feds agreed to certain alerts that will automatically trigger Storm Watch on our Powerwalls (if we've enabled it of course).

While snow can cause havoc, we have issues with high winds, flooding, flash flooding, landslides, power outages, entire roadways and some local bridges that just give way, etc... We get one or two of these storms each winter season.

 

[zanary]

My point was that with 75% reserve, I could endure a normal storm related outage, so I left Storm Watch off out of an abundance of tax credit caution. I am merely considering a little Off-Peak top up tonight if Storm Watch is already in effect. I probably won't bother.

My understanding is that the duration of Storm Watch is not part of the ITC calculations which is why Storm Watch is automatically activated when the Feds issue the NWS alert. The duration of Storm Watch won't impact your tax credit, however it will impact your PG&E credits.