You have confirmed my estimates.
We stayed on TOU-B even though we have 2 Teslas because we have been working from home for 5+ years and will likely stay that way. So we only need to charge a car every other week.
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Glass is more than half full... PV+ESS is the bomb.
- Thread starter holeydonut
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We stayed on TOU-B even though we have 2 Teslas because we have been working from home for 5+ years and will likely stay that way. So we only need to charge a car every other week.
IMO, PG&E makes all this super complicated on purpose haha. But to paraphrase what I think you're dealing with... your PV system broadly offsets your normal home annual consumption. So you're fine on E-TOU-B. As a result, your Powerwalls are primarily a resiliency thing because you aren't on EV2-A and your "TOU polarization" is minimal.
But if you are planning to get an EV, your solar won't be enough to offset your EV charging. So at that time, you should consider EV2-A (or whatever EV rate is available at that time). Edit: Or you can try to add a bunch more solar panels. For that future version of you, the Powerwalls could be super valuable to manage the TOU.
My rule of thumb is that peak EV2-A is 2.5x more than off-peak EV2-A. But with PG&E changing rates every year who knows what is "right" haha. I think we can all agree that TOU rate variations will never be in the homeowners favor, so the batteries are super nice since they make you agnostic to TOU.
One last thing... since you have batteries... I don't think you should view getting a EV as a break-even exercise with your PV. It makes more sense to consider the opportunity cost of paying Big-Oil for gasoline instead of paying Big-Monopoly for grid energy. Your grid energy cost will be lower on EV2-A vs E-TOU-B unless you can add a bunch more solar panels on your roof.
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Thats great if you have gas heat. But try you analysis with electric heating like I have when one has basically no winter solar, so the batteries for a lot of time will either be dead, or I have to put them on backup only mode for a power outage. All because Tesla will not let me charge the batteries in the winter from the grid.
Yeah, I'll take a look at some NW facing panels someday. I just want to bask in this solar goodness for now.
I am only trying this now, since I assume with NEM3, if one were to add more panels, then it would force one off NEM1 or NEM2. So, its now or never to try.
Lol, I think if my install went better, my wife would be open to it. But PG&E has beat us up so good for over a year ... we're not going to do anything for a while.
Didn't you get your PWs for free? And now you want to charge them from grid at off peak to off set your electric heat pulling from grid at Peak?
I have to cycle the batteries 52 times a year, for 5 years. So, if I cannot use the batteries in the winter, because solar cannot charge them when I am using 30 to 60 kwh per day for heating, I am screwed. AND, it is legal by both PGE's reports and SGIP's to charge from Grid. So yes, I would like Tesla to follow the law and allow be to meet the legal SGIP requirement I signed getting these batteries. Is this too much to ask. For folks, with is most, who have gas heating, you have no idea how big of a deal this is!
I looked at that cycle requirement and you be able to easily meet that. Didn't you make the choice to go to electric heat?
I really don't follow how you are "screwed". Over the course of a year you'll be generating more than you consume, even during TOU-C peak. Also, even in winter, there's a lot of solar generation. It appears that our 8kW system will average during November-January more than 15kWh per day.
Heat pumps do consume a lot of juice during the heating season, so with our 2 PW system, there's a number of days in which we can't even make it until 9PM on the PWs. Still, we're already in surplus generation for the year.
So why do you need to charge the PWs from the grid? I don't see a financial justification for it.
Yes but I had no ability after the remodel to go with ducted propane. Things would not have fit again. So yep, the electric heat matches the solar. What it does not match, IMO, is ev2-a rate plan.
I had plenty of 5kw total for solar during winter, and this winter was as mild as it gets w/o much rain.
I just have a different view from others, who are not in my shoes.
Maybe I am missing something, but isn't it pretty easy to cycle the batteries 52 times?
I think I've cycled them 52 times since February.
Also, h2of, I didn't see whether you have an EV. I have three PWs and two EVs (a Model 3 and eGolf).
Since the car capacity is 100Kwh and the batteries are only 40, given some reasonable amount of driving I can cycle them easily.
Without EVs 65Kwh of PWs is not as easy to cycle.
You could also spend a couple thou on an electrically heated jacuzzi. That would solve it.
I have one of those as well. Ha!
You wont have any issue cycling your batteries the required number of times, especially since you are enjoying being "off the electrical grid" since your install. That part of your complaint is really a non issue, but until you see it for yourself (after an entire year) you likely wont believe anyone else that says different.
Sort of similar to the different opinion it appears you have about powerwalls from when you started participating here till now, you will find that this is really not that much of an issue. You will set your reserves in winter to a higher number than they are now (or not, because you dont have to worry about "resiliency" because you have a generator), and you wont be in any way, shape or form screwed on anything.
I think it's tough for people to relate with your shoes since you are getting like $40,000 of PW's through subsidy.
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