Tesla Powerwall 2 Grid Outage Switchover Delays

[MikeParkin]

Hi all,

Long time forum lurker, recent Powerwall 2 + solar buyer. I've had a Powerwall 2 (with Gateway 2) installed alongside a solar array (using a Fronius inverter). For the most part, everything has been smooth sailing - however, there is one issue... We have a lot of planned power outages where I live, so we mostly have the battery at around 50/50 for self-use and backup. The issue: while sometimes things switch over with very little delay and all we see is a light flicker, other times it can take a while (around 16 seconds to be exact). While I have tried to isolate a particular scenario, such as only being on backup or using the solar, or having high usage etc... Nothing stands out, and I just don't understand what's going on!

So my question, is this normal? Any ideas on what the issue might be? The info in other forum posts seems a little mixed, so I thought I'd ask for my specific situation. The only other issue we have is that the wifi to the gateway is weak and sometimes disconnects - but we are planning to fix this with an ethernet cable. I doubt that has any link to what is going on, right?

If you need any further info, I'd be happy to provide it - thanks in advanced!

 

[Vines]

Hi all,

Long time forum lurker, recent Powerwall 2 + solar buyer. I've had a Powerwall 2 (with Gateway 2) installed alongside a solar array (using a Fronius inverter). For the most part, everything has been smooth sailing - however, there is one issue... We have a lot of planned power outages where I live, so we mostly have the battery at around 50/50 for self-use and backup. The issue: while sometimes things switch over with very little delay and all we see is a light flicker, other times it can take a while (around 16 seconds to be exact). While I have tried to isolate a particular scenario, such as only being on backup or using the solar, or having high usage etc... Nothing stands out, and I just don't understand what's going on!

So my question, is this normal? Any ideas on what the issue might be? The info in other forum posts seems a little mixed, so I thought I'd ask for my specific situation. The only other issue we have is that the wifi to the gateway is weak and sometimes disconnects - but we are planning to fix this with an ethernet cable. I doubt that has any link to what is going on, right?

If you need any further info, I'd be happy to provide it - thanks in advanced!

What is the impedance loop test value for your system? This might not be something you can easily know as the tester is somewhat expensive. It can be estimated by knowing the distance from the service to the transformer and back and the wire size and composition.

Most of the time the switchover is very quick, but if line side impedance from your service panel to the transformer and back is very high then this will delay switchover.

Most of the time, the switchover will be quick when the battery is already supplying house loads, but it still may drop out or flicker.

 

[jjrandorin]

So my question, is this normal?

Without knowing specifics, I can tell you that its pretty normal. There are a couple of threads we have here on powerwall swap over times, if I get time I will try to find one and link it here.

There are mandated ride through settings to the utility, so if the power is sort of fluxuating, you may see that.

 

[MikeParkin]

What is the impedance loop test value for your system? This might not be something you can easily know as the tester is somewhat expensive. It can be estimated by knowing the distance from the service to the transformer and back and the wire size and composition.

Most of the time the switchover is very quick, but if line side impedance from your service panel to the transformer and back is very high then this will delay switchover.

Most of the time, the switchover will be quick when the battery is already supplying house loads, but it still may drop out or flicker.

Yeah unfortunately I do not have the know how for that But I do know that the distance between the transformer and the main panel is only about 1 - 2 meters (~3 - 6 feet) so it isn't that far at all.

 

[MikeParkin]

Without knowing specifics, I can tell you that its pretty normal. There are a couple of threads we have here on powerwall swap over times, if I get time I will try to find one and link it here.

There are mandated ride through settings to the utility, so if the power is sort of fluxuating, you may see that.

That'd be great! Just from browsing the forums it seemed that some said it was normal, and others not...

Could you elaborate on the ride through settings and how that effects fluctuation? Sorry if these questions are a bit stupid, my knowledge in this area is quite limited...

 

[jjrandorin]

That'd be great! Just from browsing the forums it seemed that some said it was normal, and others not...

Could you elaborate on the ride through settings and how that effects fluctuation? Sorry if these questions are a bit stupid, my knowledge in this area is quite limited...

Sorry I am not technical enough to explain that. I just know that the system has to ride through some fluctuations, to ensure its not always disconnecting and re connecting.

You can also read through this 83 post thread that was on the same basic topic:

How come power changeover was not seamless during power outage blip?

Well, this is interesting. Am sitting at my computer and the screen glitches. I get a text from my Ting line monitoring device that power has gone out, and then was restored "quickly". Looks like a transformer blew in the area, but we had a quick restore. Others are not without power. But...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Vines]

That'd be great! Just from browsing the forums it seemed that some said it was normal, and others not...

Could you elaborate on the ride through settings and how that effects fluctuation? Sorry if these questions are a bit stupid, my knowledge in this area is quite limited...

These are factory settings based on your installation, they select the correct grid profile for your area. The complicated bits are all behind the curtain in those utility settings, and the only thing to do is make sure you have the correct utility setup.

Yeah unfortunately I do not have the know how for that But I do know that the distance between the transformer and the main panel is only about 1 - 2 meters (~3 - 6 feet) so it isn't that far at all.

If you are so close to the transformer then this is not likely your issue. Though I cannot say there is an issue, but that 16 seconds sounds 2x longer than I have experienced.

 

[jboy210]

Our experience has been that the "cleanness" of the shutdown seems to impact the "seemless-ness" of the Powerwall transition. If the grid just drops immediately, we don't notice it except from message in the Tesla app. However, if it a slower transition the lights will flicker and various alarms on devices will go off. We use UPSes to ensure that critical devices (computers, etc.) do not see the issue.

 

[MikeParkin]

These are factory settings based on your installation, they select the correct grid profile for your area. The complicated bits are all behind the curtain in those utility settings, and the only thing to do is make sure you have the correct utility setup.

If you are so close to the transformer then this is not likely your issue. Though I cannot say there is an issue, but that 16 seconds sounds 2x longer than I have experienced.

Ahh okay, I see... So is this something I can fiddle with myself, or is it something that I should contact the original installer about?

And yeah, I just had another planned grid outage and it took over 60 seconds for the Powerwalls to kick in, which was not a great time.

 

[jjrandorin]

Ahh okay, I see... So is this something I can fiddle with myself, or is it something that I should contact the original installer about?

And yeah, I just had another planned grid outage and it took over 60 seconds for the Powerwalls to kick in, which was not a great time.

Thats longer than anything I have heard of. Its something you would need to contact your installer about. In the meantime, if these are planned outages, and this is your experience, I would try disconnecting myself from the grid before the planned outage.

I also wonder what is the size of your PV installation. You mention you have 2 powerwalls, but you dont say the size of your solar install. If its larger than about 14kW this could be your issue.

 

[Russelr]

I have a Powerwall 2 and Enphase solar with microinverters , provides 5.2kw peak , I have same issue Powerwall will sometimes take upto 20 seconds to switch over, other times seamless , regardless of solar production as can be in evening.
I have even had the Powerwall shut off during poweroutage and system app went to 0% battery yet there awas still 71% left, I had to switch off gateway circuit breakers and back on to bring battery back up?
My system was installed 2 months ago and it seems to slowly be degarding in switchover times?

 

[Vines]

I have a Powerwall 2 and Enphase solar with microinverters , provides 5.2kw peak , I have same issue Powerwall will sometimes take upto 20 seconds to switch over, other times seamless , regardless of solar production as can be in evening.
I have even had the Powerwall shut off during poweroutage and system app went to 0% battery yet there awas still 71% left, I had to switch off gateway circuit breakers and back on to bring battery back up?
My system was installed 2 months ago and it seems to slowly be degarding in switchover times?

I would call your installer back out. It sounds like the communication wires might be intermittent, or there is a hardware error. That's likely why your charge percentage went to zero then came back. As to the grid delays, it might be a settings problem or another problem I do not understand.

 

[yash0505]

I have a Powerwall 2 and Enphase solar with microinverters , provides 5.2kw peak , I have same issue Powerwall will sometimes take upto 20 seconds to switch over, other times seamless , regardless of solar production as can be in evening.
I have even had the Powerwall shut off during poweroutage and system app went to 0% battery yet there awas still 71% left, I had to switch off gateway circuit breakers and back on to bring battery back up?
My system was installed 2 months ago and it seems to slowly be degarding in switchover times?

We have similar issues. Sometimes the switchover is seamless. Sometimes less than 10 secs. Sometimes a minute or more. No idea what’s wrong. Installer seems puzzled. We installed about 3 months ago. Installer is starting to suspect that it’s a hardware fault. We’re in South Africa where there are multiple daily planned outages at the moment. Not cool.