I would like to add my experience with Tesla so far. We applied to be an installer in Maine more than a year ago. Beside getting an initial email stating that they received our application, we have not heard a word since. I have one client with a SolarEdge 7600 StorEdge who put a deposit down in March of 2017, with a prediction in his acceptance letter of an April 2017 installation. Last week he asked for his deposit back. He has gotten the run around from the company for a year. I have not heard a word from them in my quest to be a Tesla Powerwall installer. Granted, this is in Maine, and we are not a high density state, but it still would be professional for them to rely to experienced people who want to install their product. Again, as a qualifier, this is only my experience, but it is frustrating.
Daryl DeJoy NABCEP Certified PV Penobscot Solar Design www.penobscotsolar.com Island Solar www.islandsolarbahamas.com > Marco, > > Thanks for sharing, it is good to hear details from an installer who is > living with a Powerwall. We starting selling the Powerwall 2 in 2017 and > have worked up a large pipeline. We have about 20 installed so far, but > are > still waiting on utility permission to operate which is taking a long > time. > We have spent a good deal of time commissioning and testing each system. > For the most part, our experience has been good although the commissioning > software and internet connectivity features have been buggy. Hopefully > those are issues that will be ironed out by Tesla. Otherwise, we've had > the > systems correctly operate in on-grid and off-grid modes with both > Solaredge > and SunPower Equinox AC coupled systems. > > We installed conventional lead acid battery backup systems for over 10 > years and I can confidently say that Tesla's Powerwall and Gateway setup > is truly market-disruptive. The design flexibility of the Gateway setup, > the small size, minimal labor to install, and performance blow other > systems out of the water. I hope that other manufacturers are able to > catch > up with this type of design. > > Best, > > August > > *August Goers* > > Luminalt Energy Corporation > > o: 415.641.4000 > > www.luminalt.com > > > > On Sat, Feb 10, 2018 at 12:23 PM, Marco Mangelsdorf <ma...@pvthawaii.com> > wrote: > >> >> >> *Aloha Wrenches,* >> >> >> *I thought I'd share my own experiences with the Powerwall as my company >> is now launching a program to add PW to existing NEM systems since the >> vast >> majority of them do not have storage which means that if the grid goes >> down, so does their PV system. (With the exception of the SMA SB line >> and >> their Secure Power Supply.)* >> >> >> *And no, I'm not a shill or toadie for Tesla.* >> >> >> *marco * >> >> *I wanted to walk my own talk. Before we launched adding Powerwall to >> existing Net Energy Metered solar electric systems, I wanted to make >> sure >> that what was promised on paper would work in the real world. I added >> Powerwall to my NEM system last year and have been monitoring and >> testing >> it during normal grid-on and grid outage modes. And Iâm very pleased >> to >> report that Powerwall has performed flawlessly and as expected.* >> >> >> >> *When used in a NEM system, Powerwall is programmed to be in >> âBackupâ >> mode. When utility power is on, Powerwall stands ready in a full state >> of >> charge for any power outage. During normal grid-on conditions, my >> Powerall >> takes about .6 kilowatt-hours every other day to stay fully charged. >> Over >> the course of the month, this Powerwallâs electricity consumption >> comes to >> about 9 kWhs or about $3/month at the current HELCO R rate.* >> >> >> >> *I have turned the utility power off to my home on a number of occasions >> in order to experience how Powerwall would perform in a simulated grid >> outage. When the grid goes down, my house effectively becomes a >> self-generating micro-grid. That is, my photovoltaic system (solar >> modules >> and inverters) and Powerwall (battery storage and integrated inverter) >> form >> a power grid with energy being created and stored and then consumed by >> my >> electric loads.* >> >> >> >> *Several things I noted from my simulated grid outages:* >> >> *· I purposefully overloaded Powerwall by turning on my >> electric >> dryer and electric oven at the same time. As expected, since the >> maximum >> output of Powerwall is 5 kilowatts, it shutdown. Meaning that all the >> power in my house went off. Within seconds, Powerwall reset itself and >> the >> power came back on, with the dryer and oven having shut down after the >> power went off. If power does not come back on after your Powerwall >> trips >> off, you will need to turn off those high-power loads and reset >> Powerwall >> by turning its black on-off switch, located on the right side of the >> unit, >> from on to off and then on again. The important takeaway: during a >> utility >> outage, you will need to be careful as far as operating heavy electric >> loads, especially 240 volt appliances both from the perspective of >> overloading your Powerwall and rapidly drawing down the battery >> capacity, >> especially at night.* >> >> *· The magic of frequency shifting. Without getting into too >> much >> techno-talk, this is the story of frequency shifting. Normal utility >> frequency is 60 hertz (Hz). PV inverters require the utility frequency >> to >> be at or near 60 Hz in order to operate. During a grid outage, >> Powerwall >> effectively establishes grid quality power (120/240 volts at 60 Hz), >> allowing a micro grid to operate with solar providing power to your >> house >> loads (during daylight hours) and charge Powerwall as needed. During >> the >> day with the loads being met by your PV system and Powerwall being at or >> near full state of charge (97-100 percent), Powerwall will shift the >> frequency from 60 to 66 Hz in order to turn off the PV inverter(s). >> That >> is, the PV inverter(s) see the frequency out of spec and shut down as >> theyâre expected and required to do. Why? Because with Powerwall at >> or >> near full and the house loads being met, thereâs nowhere for any >> additional >> solar generation to go. Powerwall will wait for its the state of charge >> to >> drop below 96-97 percent before shifting the frequency back to 60 Hz >> which >> allows the PV system to restart and generate solar power again. This >> frequency shifting can take place repeatedly over the course of the day >> depending on load demands, solar potential and Powerwall state of charge >> and is perfectly normal and does not damage the PV inverters.* >> >> *· **66 Hz and home appliances: when Powerwall is at 66 Hz, >> some >> of your house loads may be affected. What I and other Powerwall owners >> have noticed, while not a comprehensive list, can include: electronic >> clocks running fast, motors sounding different (microwave, washing >> machine, >> pumps), uninterruptible power sources (UPS) not charging and going into >> back-up power mode, appliances having a computer behaving unusually.* >> >> _______________________________________________ >> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> >> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches. >> org/maillist.html >> >> List rules & etiquette: >> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> >> Check out or update participant bios: >> www.members.re-wrenches.org >> >> >> > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > > _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
