My utility puts new solar customers on a demand plan called the "Solar Price Plan".
It's a carrot and stick plan. They allow net metering in exchange for placing you on the plan. The plan gives you a lower per kWh price, but you pay for demand. This was the reason I installed powerwalls. In central Florida, it rains almost every day in the summer, and AC is a requirement for most people. In the winter, we produce almost 40% less energy. All it takes is one cloud at the wrong time to spike your bill $20 to $50. This plan nearly negates the benefits net metering, unless you add storage.
In the past I actively managed my powerwall to make sure I had enough energy stored to make it through the demand period while enjoying high demand devices like the HVAC, stove, and oven. One to two hours before the demand period began I would set the powerwall to self-powered mode with a low reserve. Then once the period passed, I would set the powerwall back to backup only with a reserve of 100%. I learned the hard way that the powerwall can take a long time to switch modes. Now I keep the powerwall in self-consumption mode and adjust the reserve.
I tried using Advanced Time Based Controls, but found that the behavior to be strange and unpredictable. The powerwalls would randomly send power to the grid when I would have preferred the batteries to be charged. Other times it would pull power from the grid even though the batteries were full. All of this happened during the defined peak periods. Then when in off peak, the powerwalls would continue to discharge until empty. After many calls to Tesla and their explanations not making sense, along with the documentation not matching up with actual behavior I gave up on Advanced Time Based controls.
I have gone back to changing the self-consumption reserve before and after the demand period. I'm wondering how others on demand plans manage their powerwalls, if at all. As a side note, we originally has a western facing solar array. I came to realize that the rain patterns in this area meant that we received less sunlight because it rained in the afternoon. We installed and additional eastern facing array and are now seeing how that affects our supply, consumption, and management of the powerwall.
The Solar Price Plan is the price plan for residential customers who choose to produce some of their own energy using rooftop solar. The plan encourages customers to shift their energy usage away from peak times. Customers who are able to avoid large demands during peak times can save significant money with a much lower energy rate during the rest of the day.
How Does It Work?
The Solar Price Plan is a combination of two parts:
1.) A demand charge applied during a peak period
2.) A lower energy rate than the standard plan
A demand charge is applied based on your single highest energy usage during peak times over a billing period. The demand charge is $5.27 per kilowatt. For example, if your highest usage during a peak period for a month is 5 kilowatts, your demand charge would be $26.35.
All your energy for the month is billed at $0.2427 per kilowatt hour (kWh) regardless of when it is used. This rate is less than half what you would pay on the standard plan.
How Does It Work?
The Solar Price Plan is a combination of two parts:
1.) A demand charge applied during a peak period
2.) A lower energy rate than the standard plan
A demand charge is applied based on your single highest energy usage during peak times over a billing period. The demand charge is $5.27 per kilowatt. For example, if your highest usage during a peak period for a month is 5 kilowatts, your demand charge would be $26.35.
All your energy for the month is billed at $0.2427 per kilowatt hour (kWh) regardless of when it is used. This rate is less than half what you would pay on the standard plan.
It's a carrot and stick plan. They allow net metering in exchange for placing you on the plan. The plan gives you a lower per kWh price, but you pay for demand. This was the reason I installed powerwalls. In central Florida, it rains almost every day in the summer, and AC is a requirement for most people. In the winter, we produce almost 40% less energy. All it takes is one cloud at the wrong time to spike your bill $20 to $50. This plan nearly negates the benefits net metering, unless you add storage.
In the past I actively managed my powerwall to make sure I had enough energy stored to make it through the demand period while enjoying high demand devices like the HVAC, stove, and oven. One to two hours before the demand period began I would set the powerwall to self-powered mode with a low reserve. Then once the period passed, I would set the powerwall back to backup only with a reserve of 100%. I learned the hard way that the powerwall can take a long time to switch modes. Now I keep the powerwall in self-consumption mode and adjust the reserve.
I tried using Advanced Time Based Controls, but found that the behavior to be strange and unpredictable. The powerwalls would randomly send power to the grid when I would have preferred the batteries to be charged. Other times it would pull power from the grid even though the batteries were full. All of this happened during the defined peak periods. Then when in off peak, the powerwalls would continue to discharge until empty. After many calls to Tesla and their explanations not making sense, along with the documentation not matching up with actual behavior I gave up on Advanced Time Based controls.
I have gone back to changing the self-consumption reserve before and after the demand period. I'm wondering how others on demand plans manage their powerwalls, if at all. As a side note, we originally has a western facing solar array. I came to realize that the rain patterns in this area meant that we received less sunlight because it rained in the afternoon. We installed and additional eastern facing array and are now seeing how that affects our supply, consumption, and management of the powerwall.