I just had my installer call me. He told me that the solar production meter needs to be in place for me to test my system and also to see my Tesla inverter turn on. I am guessing that some installers leave the wiring or the "continuity bar" in the production meter slot intact so that power will flow even without the meter. That is what enables some of us to "test" the system even without the production meter being there. But other installers leave the production meter slot open so that no power will flow through it without an actual meter being installed. In this case, we cannot "test" the system nor can we see the inverter turn on until the utility installs the Production meter and configures it to work. I am not sure how I feel about this because the utility could shut me off from my own solar production by simply turning off their Production meter!
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Tesla Unveils New Tesla Brand Solar Inverter
- Thread starter willow_hiller
- Start date
I just had my installer call me. He told me that the solar production meter needs to be in place for me to test my system and also to see my Tesla inverter turn on. I am guessing that some installers leave the wiring or the "continuity bar" in the production meter slot intact so that power will flow even without the meter. That is what enables some of us to "test" the system even without the production meter being there. But other installers leave the production meter slot open so that no power will flow through it without an actual meter being installed. In this case, we cannot "test" the system nor can we see the inverter turn on until the utility installs the Production meter and configures it to work. I am not sure how I feel about this because the utility could shut me off from my own solar production by simply turning off their Production meter!
Glad you found the reason, we in PG&E territory have smart meters for years and they are solar ready so as soon as the Tesla inverter is commissioned the system works. On another note, I was told that my solar roof was originally engineered with Delta inverter but changed to Tesla inverter the last minute, so they had to submit an updated permit to the city after the install. So my PTO application cannot even be submitted to PG&E until another approval from the city, though new inspection is not needed.
No there is nothing as there isn't any power supplied to those units at all. When they put the new production meter in place it will provide the continuity to the grid. Then I should be in business. It seems different depending on where you live but mine are powered down at the moment.
I just had a 4kw system with the new tesla inverter. I also can only see the solar production and not the energy flow to the home/grid even though some sort of power meter was installed. They say the powerblaster is discontinued but the electricians installed as generac meter. I do not have the gateway that plugs into my router.
which is a rebranded neurio monitor since they were bought by genereac
I also see the "PWRview" wifi network it is broadcasting. All the hardware is there but it seems like something on Tesla side is not connecting.
which is a rebranded neurio monitor since they were bought by genereac
I also see the "PWRview" wifi network it is broadcasting. All the hardware is there but it seems like something on Tesla side is not connecting.
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.Tesla needs to configure things on their end for you to see the grid usage (and derived home usage) in the app. After my PTO, I wasn't seeing grid usage so I called customer service and they enabled it for me - I think it took 24 hours or so for the change to take effect. Unfortunately, whoever did the setup mis-configured things, causing my grid usage numbers to be incorrect. It took another month plus of me confirming that things were not working properly and convincing Tesla of the same before tier 2 service fixed the problem ( see Tesla app not showing home usage when there is solar ).
A more common problem others report is when the CTs that feed the meter are improperly installed.
Hope your situation gets sorted quickly.
When Tesla installed our system, I don't specifically remember a meter jumper on the solar meter but I guess there had to be one for it to work. I know that our regular meter slot had a meter jumper for nearly 3 months. We were able to test our system without any problems while waiting for PTO.
When I put my first PV system in in 1999, I bought a surplus electric meter (non-racheting so spins Up and Down) from Single Phase Watt Hour Meters
and put it directly in the circuit between the inverter and the power panel
I knew exactly the amount produced, the loss at night, etc (1,100 kwh/year and 20 watts/hour/24 hours (480 watts per day to run inverter)) on a tiny ~1.3 kW system
It ran for 20 years till I had to reroof.
Now I use both a Sense system with PV leg, and my Solar company also monitors output and production so I have 2 sources of data to use to be sure LCEC is crediting me properly
and put it directly in the circuit between the inverter and the power panel
I knew exactly the amount produced, the loss at night, etc (1,100 kwh/year and 20 watts/hour/24 hours (480 watts per day to run inverter)) on a tiny ~1.3 kW system
It ran for 20 years till I had to reroof.
Now I use both a Sense system with PV leg, and my Solar company also monitors output and production so I have 2 sources of data to use to be sure LCEC is crediting me properly
Well its going down hill fast! Apparently when Tesla changed my inverters from Solar Edge to their Tesla brand (2) they didn't submit the change to CPS Energy. Never the less they still billed me like the solution was ready for PTO. If you had these changed by Tesla like I did I would check to make sure they submitted the change to the local utility. And yes you can't reach anyone for clarification so its a lot of texting and chatting with people that know anything. This should have never move to the utility approval stage. I've already started my payment dispute 
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.I think the direct connection to the Tesla inverter SSID is meant for configuration only, where you can enable/disable network interface. It would be good if Tesla would include the instant string outputs in the Tesla app.
According to Tesla:
The configuration interface of the Tesla Solar Inverter is available within 15 minutes of the system being powered on. If it has been more than 15 minutes since the system was last powered on, power cycle the inverter by turning the breaker(s) OFF and then ON again.
According to Tesla:
The configuration interface of the Tesla Solar Inverter is available within 15 minutes of the system being powered on. If it has been more than 15 minutes since the system was last powered on, power cycle the inverter by turning the breaker(s) OFF and then ON again.
My solar roof is progressing and I had Tesla inverter installed (Plus 2 power walls). I have to wait for PTO to turn it all on, which is painful. I called into Tesla about 3 weeks ago trying to get Tesla inverter and was told it would delay my install by months, so I chose not to. Then yesterday the electrician who had no idea I even wanted one just happened to put one up. He said these are way better then the other ones (Take that with a grain of salt). Super happy to have received one as I think this will allow me to see more things in the app then non-Tesla inverter.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Only if the utility discovers the change
They shouldn't care... it's dumb when they do. They should only have two concerns. kW rating and is it UL1741 (Rule 21 in CA). Nothing else matters.
But providing the inverter make and model provides a cross check on that information.
Cheers, Wayne
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Sure... then they should ask the model... write that down on a post-it.... check the kW and UL1741 boxes to 'cross check'... then throw the post-it away because it's useless information
Model change? ok.... grab another post-it.....I was curious as to what was going on since it had been almost two weeks since Tesla said they asked for permission (Our utility is pretty fast here). They (Utility) informed me of the recent change from Tesla plus they would have caught it changing/installing the meters anyway. Called Tesla and they were like what change (unreal)
. Best to be safe and ask your PA if you have one that actually works, but they did officially submit a change in my case. Inverter change means you can't request approval to operate the system I was told.They are probably pissed that Tesla presenting documentation and got approval to install the SolarEdge then installed something else. To make it worse after the fact they submitted the change. They didn't have permission to install the Tesla inverters and I'm paying for it. Its bad business!Only if the utility discovers the change
They shouldn't care... it's dumb when they do. They should only have two concerns. kW rating and is it UL1741 (Rule 21 in CA). Nothing else matters.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
As long as the Tesla kW rating is the same or less than the SE kW rating the utility has no reason to care. They both meet the same UL1741 standards.
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