Tesla Virtual Power Plant in CA

[gsdubs]

Discharge rate seems tied to backup reserve level and your max export rate.

Ran an experiment:
25%: 3.5kW
10%: 4.7kW
50%: 1.4kW
Back to 25%: 3.5kW
Takes a few minutes for discharge to catchup to reserve change.

I like this new behavior; allows one to get to the end of the VPP period and be right at your backup level to minimize grid usage

 

[astrorob]

Discharge rate seems tied to backup reserve level and your max export rate.

Ran an experiment:
25%: 3.5kW
10%: 4.7kW
50%: 1.4kW
Back to 25%: 3.5kW
Takes a few minutes for discharge to catchup to reserve change.

I like this new behavior; allows one to get to the end of the VPP period and be right at your backup level to minimize grid usage

yeah i didn’t connect the dots but my export was about 4.4kw at 30% and increased to 5.4 when i dropped my reserve to 10% just now.

 

[Benjamin Brooks]

Something is rotten in Denmark. 20% reserve, Self Powered mode, VPP event enabled...

 

[gsdubs]

Something is rotten in Denmark. 20% reserve, Self Powered mode, VPP event enabled...

View attachment 969060

Almost like SP mode overrides. Try TBC see what happens?

 

[Benjamin Brooks]

Almost like SP mode overrides. Try TBC see what happens?

Didn't help. Tried changing modes, tried changing reserve levels. Always said Powerwalls were discharging to support grid but the graph tab that shows Powerwall energy destinations continued to show 0 kWh to grid. It has always worked before in the 2022 and 2023 VPP events, not sure what changed.... other than others noting the behavior changed for them as well (not constantly outputting maximum export power to grid from batteries at event start). I even tried the opt out VPP, opt in VPP event option... that's when I learned once you opt out of current event you can't opt back in
Not sure if somehow related but I could always access the VPP details section on the app. Now it's constantly timeout errors when I try to access it...

 

[sorka]

Usually 12 to 13 kw.

 

[sorka]

OK, dropped reserve to 0% and it's now discharging normally.

 

[Benjamin Brooks]

So the algorithm, presumably on the Powerwall firmware side, has evidently been changed since the last VPP event to throttle the batteries to grid power to better guarantee that you'll contribute energy over the entire event window before you hit your reserve %.
However the VPP event apparently broke completely for me instead. Wondering if folks are on a lot newer Powerwall firmware? I'm stuck on 23.4.2-2 which seems quite old now...

 

[Zorg]

28.7MW. The reserve based discharge rate approach makes sense. In past VPP, the total MW discharged would decrease significantly over time whereas today, the power increases slightly through the event. It may be a proof of concept to demonstrate a more constant power feed.

 

[gsdubs]

So the algorithm, presumably on the Powerwall firmware side, has evidently been changed since the last VPP event to throttle the batteries to grid power to better guarantee that you'll contribute energy over the entire event window before you hit your reserve %.
However the VPP event apparently broke completely for me instead. Wondering if folks are on a lot newer Powerwall firmware? I'm stuck on 23.4.2-2 which seems quite old now...

Could be the case. Mine is at 23.12.11

 

[ucmndd]

So the algorithm, presumably on the Powerwall firmware side, has evidently been changed since the last VPP event to throttle the batteries to grid power to better guarantee that you'll contribute energy over the entire event window before you hit your reserve %.

This is my read of the behavior as well. I seem to be exporting at a rate that closely matches what I’d expect to hit my reserve right near the end of the event.

 

[bmah]

Could be the case. Mine is at 23.12.11

On the other hand my gateway is running that version and I’m noticing that new, more nuanced export behavior. So ?

Nevermind...

Bruce.

 

[sorka]

 

[Benjamin Brooks]

On the other hand my gateway is running that version and I’m noticing that new, more nuanced export behavior. So ?

Bruce.

You're also stuck on PW firmware release 23.4.2-2 from June 2023 and the VPP behavior for you was correct?

 

[bmah]

You're also stuck on PW firmware release 23.4.2-2 from June 2023 and the VPP behavior for you was correct?

Ah, disregard. I misinterpreted the post I was replying to. 23.12.11, newer VPP behavior. Sorry for the noise.

Bruce.

 

[miimura]

It's after 8:30pm and my system has not discharged to the grid at all, it has only supplied my house load. My solar after 3pm went to the grid as normal for TBC. I just changed my Reserve to 0% and there is no change.

 

[offandonagain]

Let's see if we break 30MW tonight

 

[dailo]

Seems like they are managing the discharge rates better now so that overall it is more consistent throughout the event. I remember before by now it would taper off significantly, but now I guess since event is almost over all PW are just discharging at max power to reserve. Mine is discharging at max rate for first time tonight. I like the new behavior as I usually manually tried to make it do the same thing as I'd rather it dump mostly toward the end of the event in the off chance I did lose power.

Also, I forgot there is a minimum of 20 hours of events for the program so this one probably falls in this category. Guess we should be expecting a few more while it's still warm.

Tesla and PG&E may also call events at other times to meet the program minimum of 20 hours of events. These additional events may include responses to CAISO Flex Alerts.

 

[YRide]

FW 23.12.11
4x PW (2xPW+ and 2xPW2)
5% reserve
TBC, EE, PTO, GC
Event priority = Grid Events
10.8kW PV
11.88kW site export limit

Exported as expected, 11.8kW consistent, mainly PW, from the beginning of the VPP.

The weird thing is…I would assume it could calculate that 3hrs at site export limit 11.9kW = 35.7kWh. 95% of PW SoC = 51.3kWh - 35.7 = 15.6kWh.

Not sure what the export dip at the end was.

All seems to make sense. I assume it anticipated I use the AC in the evening…so it should keep me just above reserve as I go back from part peak to off peak at midnight. Maybe it could have squeezed out a few peak kWh’s before the VPP event…but it would have been minor.

 

[Benjamin Brooks]

It's after 8:30pm and my system has not discharged to the grid at all, it has only supplied my house load. My solar after 3pm went to the grid as normal for TBC. I just changed my Reserve to 0% and there is no change.

I was in the exact same boat... perhaps you're stuck on older PW firmware as well?