Tesla Powerwall 2 Owners

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#1920188 15-Dec-2017 13:33

SQLGeek:

I have just ordered and paid a deposit for a Tesla Powerwall 2, I would been keen to hear from other NZ owners.

Telsa are sending someone round to do a quote in January. It is expected to cost $13K to $14K installed. The deposit is refundable.

My place in Christchurch has a PV system with 15 x 270 Watt panels with Enphase M215 micro inverters. I have 3 phase power, so there is only 5 panels per phase. I often export on 2 phases and import on the other! This makes my system very inefficient, hopefully the battery will help with this.

Like most people I really only have excess supply in the summer. The aim is to top up the battery with cheaper night-rate power at other times.

Solar without a battery you are limited to power retailers who support buy-back. Once the battery is installed I can look to switch to a retailer like Flick which should help reduce my bill even further.

How have you found your Powerwall? Any tips? What was the impact to your monthly bill?

TIA

I'm a Tesla Powerwall 1 user. This system was installed in May of this year with a SolarEdge inverter.

I already had 18 x 270 watt solar panels with a SolarCloud inverter and this was installed in March 2015.

The additional of the Tesla battery means that I have two inverters, while each inverter does its own thing for its chosen installation. The 2nd inverter 'knows' about the 1st installation and can report on both, it also knows what generated power is used or exported.

When the battery was installed, I had a tiny portion of the house wiring re-routed so that it would carry on working during the rare power outage. I don't believe there's enough capacity in the batteries to last longer than a couple of hours and that's limited to the house lights, the water pump and my mancave.

As for the impact on my yearly electricity costs, I would say that they have reduced by as much as 30% each year.... I estimate that I should get to break-even by 2025.

wellygary

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#1920251 15-Dec-2017 15:10

rogercruse:

. I don't believe there's enough capacity in the batteries to last longer than a couple of hours and that's limited to the house lights, the water pump and my mancave.

This Spec sheet says the max draw is 3.3kw, so that should happily run what you describe. With a 6.6kwh capacity, you could run for a full two hours at that rate, but given your described load it should be good for 4-6 hours happily (depending on the size of the TV and Amp in the mancave :)

http://mcelectrical.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tesla_Powerwall-1_Datasheet_v3-3_English.pdf

desultory

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#1920751 17-Dec-2017 11:03

Whats the current Powerwall 2 wait time listed as?

The last I heard from people that had placed orders even 4 months ago was that it could be around 1 yr wait time, and even then who knows if there would be further delays right? After all Tesla does not usually meet it's timeframe deadlines that it announces.

kingdragonfly

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#1920771 17-Dec-2017 13:29

I don't think the PowerWall serves as a backup, unless there's some optional hardware for anti-islanding

Anti-islanding keeps you from killing utility line workers, who are reparing power lines they believed are unpowered.

Ge0rge

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#1920817 17-Dec-2017 17:56

Isn't the backup gateway in your picture providing exactly that protection? Gateway opens when there is a power cut, protecting the workers and allowing the powerwall to power the house, closes again when power is restored?

kingdragonfly

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#1921126 18-Dec-2017 10:14

The backup gateway is an extra optional piece.

It does cost more to install, so I'd be interested if it's included.

It's a bit more complicated than opening a switch when the power goes off.

I believe it provides a sine-wave so the PowerWall has something to sync to.

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kingdragonfly

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#1921587 19-Dec-2017 07:38

From Tesla

The Powerwall system consists of the Powerwall unit and supporting hardware called the Backup Gateway.

For whole home backup, an upgrade to your main electrical panel may be needed to integrate Powerwall.

Tesla will recommend the number of Powerwalls needed to back up your entire home. You can add more Powerwalls to keep your house operational during longer outages.

If your electrical situation doesn’t allow for a whole home backup, you can back up selected essential loads such as lights and outlets. Since these require less power, a single Powerwall will typically be sufficient.

For [partial home] essential load backup, a secondary electrical panel is usually required to separate out the essential loads.

SQLGeek

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#1999485 19-Apr-2018 20:00

Finally received my Powerwall 2 quote, 3 weeks after the onsite inspection. $14,155 installed.

I have decided NOT to proceed, mainly as Tesla has not yet released the firmware update that allows the battery to be topped up from the grid off peak. I just don't have enough spare solar to justify it, I wouldn't fill the battery until late spring!

SumnerBoy

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#1999488 19-Apr-2018 20:03

Good to know re. the update to enable time based topup control. Without that I am in the same boat.

frankv

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#1999543 19-Apr-2018 21:06

SQLGeek:

Like most people I really only have excess supply in the summer. The aim is to top up the battery with cheaper night-rate power at other times.

Solar without a battery you are limited to power retailers who support buy-back. Once the battery is installed I can look to switch to a retailer like Flick which should help reduce my bill even further.TIA

Surely the major benefit of the battery would be energy generated during the day and used that night? The aim isn't so much to top up the battery, but to run off the battery for as long as possible before buying power from the grid?

Without a battery, you're selling excess power to the grid at ~6c/kWh during the day, and buying it at ~30c/kWh at night. Every kWh you can store saves you 24c.

richms

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#1999629 19-Apr-2018 23:00

frankv:

Surely the major benefit of the battery would be energy generated during the day and used that night? The aim isn't so much to top up the battery, but to run off the battery for as long as possible before buying power from the grid?

Without a battery, you're selling excess power to the grid at ~6c/kWh during the day, and buying it at ~30c/kWh at night. Every kWh you can store saves you 24c.

Yeah but you have to have the spare capacity to actually put into the battery during the day. If you are quite good at managing your loads then you will not have much.

Also who is on 30c? Thats madness!

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#1999642 20-Apr-2018 00:33

richms:
frankv:

Surely the major benefit of the battery would be energy generated during the day and used that night? The aim isn't so much to top up the battery, but to run off the battery for as long as possible before buying power from the grid?

Without a battery, you're selling excess power to the grid at ~6c/kWh during the day, and buying it at ~30c/kWh at night. Every kWh you can store saves you 24c.

Yeah but you have to have the spare capacity to actually put into the battery during the day. If you are quite good at managing your loads then you will not have much.

Also who is on 30c? Thats madness!

Everyone who is taking advantage of the low user regulations is paying approx 30c per unit. Which they do so just to get cheaper fixed fees.

These fees are an indirect subsidy for solar power. As the end user saves 30c per unit. Not the 7.5c per unit which is the long term average wholesale power price. And they are also an indirect tax on poor people. As if you have a low income, you are more likely to be living in a household with more people in it to save on accommodation costs. More people means more power usage which means no low user subsidies. And poor people who rent are the least likely to get solar panels installed.

And those low user regulations cause higher carbon emissions. As under those regulations. The easiest way to save money is to convert your hot water to Gas.

kingdragonfly

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#1999698 20-Apr-2018 09:48

I noticed it included the "Backup Gateway" which is $1,000.

This let you use the stored power, when the grid goes down.

Would have been handy in Auckland, recently.