Tesla Refused Powerwall Install - Now What?

[slazinger_7]

Long story short is that we ordered our Powerwalls back in February, and finally had an install date of Sept. 15, 2020. The team came out to do the install, but decided that one of our sub-panels needed to be moved about 20 feet for code compliance because the height was 5.5 foot instead of 6.5 foot.

Tesla is claiming that his was "unexpected" and requires a change order, but we sent them pictures of the entire area and gave them the height measurements back in March (and before they pulled permits). We asked them at the time to visit the property, but they refused (explaining that the pictures were enough and that they could easily adapt the install while on site).

We were told (verbally) by sales that it would cost another $7k to move the panel! And that a further proposal would be forthcoming. Nothing showed up and further calls to Tesla only resulted in a "supervisor" calling us back about 3 weeks later telling us that "we need to wait" for the local warehouse to get back with us.

It's now been two months, we've heard nothing, and no one at Tesla will return our calls.

Has anyone run into anything similar? Any recommendations what we should do?

 

[charlesj]

Sorry to hear this. What sub panel and what is the deal with that 6.5ft height? Above the floor? Inside or outside?
My inside sub panels are certainly not 6.5ft high but where I can reach it.
And, why moved 20ft, from where to where?
Most curious and disturbing response from Tesla. I suppose they don't want difficult installations, just simple and easy ones.

 

[h2ofun]

Sorry to hear this. What sub panel and what is the deal with that 6.5ft height? Above the floor? Inside or outside?
My inside sub panels are certainly not 6.5ft high but where I can reach it.
And, why moved 20ft, from where to where?
Most curious and disturbing response from Tesla. I suppose they don't want difficult installations, just simple and easy ones.

SInce they are charging rock bottom prices, yep seems fair their rates are for simple easy ones

 

[slazinger_7]

The subpanel is located in our "crawl" space and is mounted to a wall that has a 5.5 ft floor-to-ceiling height. Our "crawl" is rather large - moving it 20 ft gets us to a section of the crawl that's about 7ft -8ft floor-to-height clearance and apparently code compliant.

The subpanel is a 400 amp service, so Tesla needs to tie into it and break it into two 200 amp subpanels. Solar was previously tied into the 400 amp panel without any issues from the solar company, and the county inspector signed off on the permits this spring. Tesla didn't care and refused to even call the county or have an inspector come out to the house to see if the project could be done without moving the sub-panel. Instead, the field manager just pulled his team.

My feeling is that Tesla showed up and decided they couldn't do the install in their usual one day window because it is complex, and decided to balk at our install unless we pay another $7k. Frankly, this isn't right.

I get the same impression that they want easy installs, and we'd walk away from the project if we could, but we're approved by the SGIP for the entire cost of the install and we need the battery back ups since we live right in the middle of PGE's PSPS territory (we've had power shut off 8 times the last two years).

I don't know what else to do if they simply won't return our calls or do any work on our project.

 

[bgrynn1873]

I had a similar thing but with solar panels. I am suing Tesla and made complaint with the state.

no reason for the bs they did and any other contractor would lose their license in how they bid for business.

 

[charlesj]

I had a similar thing but with solar panels. I am suing Tesla and made complaint with the state.

no reason for the bs they did and any other contractor would lose their license in how they bid for business.

Keep us updated on that suit.

 

[charlesj]

The subpanel is located in our "crawl" space and is mounted to a wall that has a 5.5 ft floor-to-ceiling height. Our "crawl" is rather large - moving it 20 ft gets us to a section of the crawl that's about 7ft -8ft floor-to-height clearance and apparently code compliant.

...

Thanks for the clarification. So, it is not the height of the panel itself but the wall must be that high?
I bet it would be a hard place for a tall person to work in that 5.5ft ceiling and that may be the reason.

 

[wwhitney]

The subpanel is located in our "crawl" space and is mounted to a wall that has a 5.5 ft floor-to-ceiling height. Our "crawl" is rather large - moving it 20 ft gets us to a section of the crawl that's about 7ft -8ft floor-to-height clearance and apparently code compliant.

The subpanel is a 400 amp service, so Tesla needs to tie into it and break it into two 200 amp subpanels.

If the panel is 400 amps, then unfortunately Tesla is correct. From the 2017 NEC (same as 2019 California Electrical Code):

110.26(A)(3) Height of Working Space. The work space shall be clear and extend from the grade, floor, or platform to a height of 2.0 m (61∕2 ft) or the height of the equipment, whichever is greater. Within the height requirements of this section, other equipment that is associated with the electrical installation and is located above or below the electrical equipment shall be permitted to extend not more than 150 mm (6 in.) beyond the front of the electrical equipment.

Exception No. 1: In existing dwelling units, service equipment or panelboards that do not exceed 200 amperes shall be permitted in spaces where the height of the working space is less than 2.0 m (61∕2 ft).

It's pretty unusual to have a 400A panel in a crawl space. Most 400A services would be split at the meter into (2) 200A feeders. Your violation should be remedied, but as you tell it Tesla had full knowledge of the situation, so can hardly claim it is unexpected.

Couple options that might be cheaper than moving the 400A panel:

- Dig out the area in front of the panel 1' additional to reach the requisite headroom clearance. Working space has to be 30" wide and 36" deep. Could get complicated if you needed a small retaining wall around the area, but you can do alot of digging for $7K.

- Put in a 400A disconnect outside with (2) 200A breakers, refeed your 400A panel with a 200A feeder. This clearly complies with the intent of the exception, although one could argue that the rating of the panel is 400A even though it has only a 200A feeder. I would say the rating is now 200A, the busbar rating is immaterial.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[Big Dog]

In the meantime, why not call a a couple of local electrician to get a quote to see what it would cost? If a local guy would only charge you say, $1500, maybe its worth going in that direction? (yeah, I get that Tesla screwed up and should own it, but it doesn't sound like they are there yet)

 

[slazinger_7]

Yes - it's the height of the room; not the panel. I'm not saying Tesla is wrong about their interpretation of the electrical code, I'm just saying that Tesla reviewed our layout, electrical system, and I specifically told them about the height of the install area, etc. and Tesla provided a certain contract price to do the installation work after reviewing everything.

I would tend to agree with @bgrynn1873 that any other contractor would lose their license if they simply walked off the project like Tesla did. Have you gotten anywhere with your lawsuit and/or state license complaint? Where are you located?

We're located in California.

We had the opportunity to use a different company and pursue the SGIP rebate at the time, but given the unknowns whether the state would release additional funding, we decided to use Tesla since their contract price was about $15k less at the time. Now I feel like we are stuck if we are to get the entire project covered by the program. Come Jan. 1, we lose another 4% in tax deductions as well.

We looked at digging the area out, but we'd need to jackhammer out a portion of the foundation, so that's a no go. We also discussed hiring an electrician, but Tesla needs to own this one since there's other electrical work to be done on the sub-panel. My other worry is that, even if we have the work done by a third party, I'm not convinced Tesla will come back out and do the work, or they will make other unsubstantiated claims that further work needs to be done to the moved subpanel (and they would arguably be right at that point since their quote was based on the current location, not the moved location).

 

[wwhitney]

How about a photo of the panel and environs?

What equipment is on the outside of the house, upstream of the panel?

Cheers, Wayne

 

[charlesj]

Yes - it's the height of the room; not the panel. I'm not saying Tesla is wrong about their interpretation of the electrical code, I'm just saying that Tesla reviewed our layout, electrical system, and I specifically told them about the height of the install area, etc. and Tesla provided a certain contract price to do the installation work after reviewing everything.

....

Yes, indeed, they were aware, they should have eaten their mistake.

 

[BGbreeder]

Why is jackhammering a no go? Just curious.

In general, I'm with @wwhitney in that you could do a lot of digging for $7k.

All the best,

BG

 

[bgrynn1873]

I would tend to agree with @bgrynn1873 that any other contractor would lose their license if they simply walked off the project like Tesla did. Have you gotten anywhere with your lawsuit and/or state license complaint? Where are you located?

I am in Florida, There is a process that needs to be followed and I filed complaints against them against state. It's long process and will take a while to resolve. They haven't released their lien and still have ownership of the permit and have not repair any damage. This is clearly against the law and a huge problem because the contract is still valid with them. To make a long story short the law though has a process before you file against them and that is what I have to do first. Eventually I assume I will hear a response and they have a right to correct anything. My guess is they will fix all the damage and issue a letter saying they have no lien or just turn around and actually install the solar panels. It would be crazy to think they would ignore a complaint and open themselves up a lot larger liability.

 

[DoyleS]

Clearly moving the panel 20 ft is a lot of additional work. In our case, the 400 Amp panel was on the outside of the garage and they were able to locate the new panel in the garage directly opposite the outside panel. They then pulled all of those circuits through to the new panel and there was sufficient wire for them to hook all of them up. So as you can see it is no small amount of effort.