Very unsatisfying Tesla app for powerwall, especially for Australia

[meloccom]

It is the only heating we have (Blue Mountains). Our AC system is quite old but very smart and we can leave it "on" 24x7. We have 5 separate zones for different parts of the house and each zone has 5 different time periods that can be programmed with different heating and cooling settings.

Three of the zones are for areas we don't use much and so we have them essentially shut off. The other 2 zones are set up to be comfortable when we're using them and a bit less comfortable when not using them.

I’ll be doing the same once we are there full time. Originally it was a holiday house, but eventually it will be the main home once we both retire. We have 2 spare bedrooms that we turn off except when guests come and a Daikin SKYFi feature that allows you to turn it on remotely.
p.s. Daikin SKYFi is a pos compared to the Tesla app.

 

[atj777]

I’ll be doing the same once we are there full time. Originally it was a holiday house, but eventually it will be the main home once we both retire. We have 2 spare bedrooms that we turn off except when guests come and a Daikin SKYFi feature that allows you to turn it on remotely.
p.s. Daikin SKYFi is a pos compared to the Tesla app.

Ours is a Carrier and is around 20 years old. It was pretty schmick at the time we got it.

In Summer 2019/2020 (when we had that record heat) it died. There was a leak somewhere in the refrigerant and the technicians couldn't guarantee they could fix it. They gave us various quotes for different systems and none of them came even close to the capabilities of the current system. They did have phone apps so you could turn on/off remotely but none of the built-in automation we have now.

Fortunately, the technician found the fault quickly and it's all good now. I'm dreading when we have to replace it with something inferior.

 

[Vostok]

As I showed above, mine charges to 100% off the grid before the shoulder starts. It does this consistently every day.

Yes, but does your PW2 also charge to 100% from the grid between 4am and 7am, i.e. before your “peak” period starts?

If your PW2 is always full at 4am as you describe, and the sun comes up and starts to charge your battery before 7am, then your settings may not be testing that. So you see any grid charging activity between 4 and 7am?

I want my PW2 to fully charge at off peak rates before 7am shoulder starts, and then, if necessary, do it again at shoulder rates before peak starts.

If it’s a sunny day, my battery would be full anyway well before 2pm so this algorithm would do nothing. But if it’s not a sunny day, I want the battery to be full by 2pm so that I minimize peak grid consumption. Then, by fully charging before 7am, the amount of shoulder charging on cloudy days is minimised, further saving costs.

 

[atj777]

Yes, but does your PW2 also charge to 100% from the grid between 4am and 7am, i.e. before your “peak” period starts?

No. As I said above, It charges to 100% by 4am. It then draws some from the grid between 4 and 7am. On some days it is at 100% at 7am. On other days it has drawn very little from the grid and may only be at 70-80% at 7am. It appears the system tries to predict both load and solar input (based on weather forecasts.

This morning it was at 85% at 7am. A few days ago it was close to 100% at 7am.

If your PW2 is always full at 4am as you describe, and the sun comes up and starts to charge your battery before 7am, then your settings may not be testing that. So you see any grid charging activity between 4 and 7am?

Correct. And I mentioned that already. I don't know how it will work as we move to milder weather (so AC is not heating the house) and longer days with the sun higher. I suspect I will have to move the start of Peak earlier but I will see.

I do see grid activity between 4am and 7am. I mentioned it and I posted screen shots showing the usage. It appears to be exactly what you want but at different times and without the influence of solar.

I want my PW2 to fully charge at off peak rates before 7am shoulder starts, and then, if necessary, do it again at shoulder rates before peak starts.

That is sort of what mine is doing now - but with off-peak ending at 4am and peak starting at 7am. It is attempting to predict what the load and solar input will be an account for that.

If it’s a sunny day, my battery would be full anyway well before 2pm so this algorithm would do nothing. But if it’s not a sunny day, I want the battery to be full by 2pm so that I minimize peak grid consumption. Then, by fully charging before 7am, the amount of shoulder charging on cloudy days is minimised, further saving costs.

Yep. I understand that. Again, that's what my system is doing but with different times. And yes, my Peak is starting before solar kicks in.

I should know something different in a month as sunrise becomes earlier.

 

[atj777]

If it’s a sunny day, my battery would be full anyway well before 2pm so this algorithm would do nothing. But if it’s not a sunny day, I want the battery to be full by 2pm so that I minimize peak grid consumption. Then, by fully charging before 7am, the amount of shoulder charging on cloudy days is minimised, further saving costs.

I guess what I'm trying to say (based on what I'm seeing with my system - albeit with different times to your) that the system should be trying to make sure you have enough charge in your system to get you through the peak period. It is supposed to take into account the forecast but also the current state of charge such that if you need to be at 100% at the start of peak, it should put you there.

 

[ZTrekus]

My Samsung Smartthings hub arrived last night. So far the auto scheduling kind of works! A few teething problems but it's generally pretty cool.

For the life of me I can't understand why the basic Tesla app can't do those basic things. It's as if the battery was rushed to market without any real thought going into the app.

Anyway, really glad I bought the hub. It was much easier to install than I thought.

This is what I followed:

Tesla Powerwall Manager app for SmartThings and Hubitat Hubs - DarwinsDen.com

Introducing the Powerwall Manager SmartApp for SmartThings and Hubitat Hubs Update 1-Jan-2023: This app is still fully operational on the Hubitat Hub platform, however due to recent changes on the SmartThings platform to eliminate the hosted Groovy application capability, this app is no longer...

darwinsden.com

 

[jamesgo]

Evidently Storm Mode doesn't do anything for Australia, cause Victoria has had a pretty decent storm the last 24 hrs and nothing triggered automatically.

That said did have two small backup events trigger.