Yep, me auburn, norcal. Getting hot out right now! I love with the mini splits we can heat or cool just the area we am using, rather than the entire house level!
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Tesla Energy has the worst Customer Service. Regret getting Tesla
- Thread starter tee2nu
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I agree, service is lacking... But, i also have a Sunrun system, and getting service on that was pretty bad also. I want to say it took nearly 3 months to replace a faulty optimizer. I need to put in another call to Sunrun today, I have 4 panels no longer producing, so will see how they compare.
Another note, I did not get additional quotes before the Tesla install. I spoke with someone the other day who did, for an 8kw system he said the 2 other company quotes were nearly $30k, he paid Tesla $16k. I am not sure if this is true across the board, but from all my research its a big enough difference to deal with the headaches.
Another note, I did not get additional quotes before the Tesla install. I spoke with someone the other day who did, for an 8kw system he said the 2 other company quotes were nearly $30k, he paid Tesla $16k. I am not sure if this is true across the board, but from all my research its a big enough difference to deal with the headaches.
Yeah, I am looking into this right now to expand my own solar (see my other thread). Tesla is about $20K cheaper for a project that includes about 12kW of solar and 2 Powerwalls. And right now no one else has access to Powerwalls either, so if going down that path, have to go with other types of batteries which then jacks up the price as well...
They are taking ownership of fixing a warranty item and from what it sounds like they are in line or ahead of what it takes sunrun to repair something similar. But the failure is not their fault (unless they screwed up the wiring or something). Not saying it's perfect but it is being fixed. I have no idea what you mean by me being bitter- If anything you have you and I backwards...
jhn_
Member
This is a legitimate point. And one I tell myself over and over again waiting for service on my solar install right now. But we spoke with nearly a dozen installers and got quotes from half of them. Tesla was $17k cheaper, so adding in three Powerwalls was like getting them for free.
So is it hard to put up with customer service drama and delays? Yes, but a few weeks of lost production is still cheaper than paying another $17k up front.
RKCRLR
Active Member
I had a whole house backup put in June of 2020 that was supposed to be able to run the AC. The AC has never worked correctly during grid outages and I have to play with it to get it running. Their latest plan is to put a load shedding device in to stop the AC from trying to run during backup so it doesn't trip the Powerwalls. They said it would not be able to be bypassed so my AC will never work during an outage.
Its coming up on a year and Tesla is basically saying take it or leave it.
Its coming up on a year and Tesla is basically saying take it or leave it.
Load shedding is done using Aux contacts 1 & 2 in the gateway, which is just a NC relay that opens when the grid is down. This is then connected to your thermostat Y (cooling) circuit or to the 24V contactor in the condenser unit. You can easily bypass this by installing a SPST switch across the wires, effectively shorting them and restoring the circuit during a grid outage.
RKCRLR
Active Member
2 Powerwalls. But they planned to install a SureStart (actually, they did install one but it caused all sorts of problems). They pulled the wrong specification for my AC and it turns out a SureStart isn't compatible with my compressor.
RKCRLR
Active Member
This is exactly the information I've been asking them for months now! They refuse to provide any details on how they are going to do this. They just keep asking me if I want to proceed. I discussed putting in a toggle switch and they told me it isn't possible. They implied that if I modified the system after install the load shedding it would void my Powerwall warranty.
My Carrier system has a Utility Curtailment feature that can be enabled/disabled from my communicating thermostat. It also has a low stage only option. With the R and Y2 terminals closed and the utility curtailment enabled the system will operate normally. If the circuit across R and Y2 terminals is opened the compressor either be commanded to not run or only run on low stage depending on what was set in the thermostat.
I've specifically asked them several times why my utility curtailment feature couldn't be used for load shedding and they haven't responded. The only thing I can see that may cause a problem is the system takes a few minutes to acknowledge the change. So if the power went down within that window or the system was running there may be a problem. But even if the system is running in high stage it only requires 26 amps to continue running so if the switchover is fast enough it shouldn't be a problem for 2 Powerwalls.
They have told me I would need 5 Powerwalls since my LRA is 130 amps. But I can lock the unit into low stage during an outage which only requires half the starting current (65 amps). While this is a little too much for the existing Powerwall 2's, if it is possible to increase the Powerwall output (per Elon's tweet) or add a 3rd Powerwall it should be enough. I've asked them about this and they just keep saying I'd need 5 Powerwalls.
Personally, I think they'd be able to find a soft start method for my compressor if they'd put a little effort into it. But they refuse to use anything except SureStarts.
Actually, 3 weeks is not bad for any sort of warranty repair. We had the fan on our carrier system fail and it took them 4 weeks to get a new fan. The local A/C guy, a friend of mine, warned us that warranty parts take a long time to arrive.
charlesj
Active Member
I guess we'll find out in a month or so if Tesla delivers on their " at least 3 week" commitment.
I'm still wondering why Tesla ground-mounted his batteries after repeated requests to get them lifted up a bit. I thought all Tesla Powerwalls were kind of mounted up on a wall or on a pad.
Good question. My guess was about $1200Wonder how long non-warranty parts take to get?
, and similar time frames since Carrier would cancel your warranty if you don't use their parts.
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The batteries can be directly a slab, on a pad, or wall-mounted as long as there are no other loads on the wall studs. They come with feet attached for ground mounting. We were home when they installed ours and discussed with the installers the options. We originally wanted them ground-mounted stacked together to minimize the footprint. But our garage wall has a 2-inch concrete ledge and they would have had to put them on top of a stand or wall mount them since they cannot mount on that ledge. We had to choose quickly and went on the wall mount. Glad we did not have shelving to remove in this area like other parts of the garage, My wife also pointed to the mess of plumbing for our tankless water heater and said don't make it look like that!!!! As a result, all of the cables were routed inside flex conduits in the garage wall.
A funny fact is they mounted them on the wall with the feet still attached. I had to find the correct size Torx bit to remove the feet.
Just for comparison, I called into Sunrun yesterday for 4 panels under performing or not working at all. Sat on hold for 30 minutes, finally got someone on the call. He had a heavy accent, could barely understand him. He basically just took down my info and said someone would call me in 7-10 days to discuss my issue.
I think all of these installers are really busy. This year we are seeing people install solar that have lived in their homes for 20 years.
They have individual optimizers (Tigo), my daily production is also down considerably from last year. The upside of optimizers, you can see any issues, the downside is, its probably the optimizer that is the problem. I had 1 fail back in 2017, they replaced the optimizer, then it failed again a couple years later. I never got around to replacing, but then saw I had 3 additional panels that appear to be shutting down mid day. I like the individual reporting, but did not want them on my new install.
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