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Powerwall 2: Installation

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#161
Happy to report that the first A/C Powerwall 2 in Oregon got installed today..in my garage :) I have to say, the Solar City/Tesla Energy team was outstanding. Start to finish, these guys were pros. Showed up on time and knocked it out without a single issue. Took about 6 hours total and I was very pleased with their attention to detail and they were very aware of how it would look on the wall, etc. They took the time to listen and make sure everything was just the way I wanted it and was perfect. I have it backing up my entire panel (no solar), and then I'll manage which circuits not to use, etc. What I was not aware of was how fast the transfer is! They flipped my main breaker off and it was milliseconds when it switched over to battery. Not a single thing in the house shut down or rebooted. Very impressive. I'm attaching a few photos and a short video if you're curious how they get it up on the wall mount. Overall I have to say, they and it has exceeded my expectations in every single way! Now I'm thinking of using white plasti dip on the gray boxes to match the PW!


1.jpg 2.jpg 3.jpg 4.jpg 5.jpg 6.jpg 7.jpg 8.jpg

Video of wall mount:
20170601_180603000_iOS.MOV
 
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#162
pdxrunr said:
I have it backing up my entire panel
Click to expand...

If it is backing up your whole panel, what is the panel to the left of your main panel for?

Also, I thought that a single Powerwall couldn't handle backing up an circuit larger than 20A, and that if you have any circuits greater than 20A you either need multiple Powerwalls, or you have to setup a critical load panel without them.
 
#163
Right, I should clarify. The panel to the left contains the circuit for my A/C and Tesla wall charger, so those can't be used under battery power. I was told that the single PW can handle 30A, so everything left in the main panel that doesn't use 30A can be used. The gateway/transfer switch is the box to the right of the main panel.
 
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#164
pdxrunr said:
Right, I should clarify. The panel to the left contains the circuit for my A/C and Tesla wall charger, so those can't be used under battery power. I was told that the single PW can handle 30A, so everything left in the main panel that doesn't use 30A can be used. The gateway/transfer switch is the box to the right of the main panel.
Click to expand...
Ok, so what they actually did was make the new panel on the left the "Main Panel" and made your original panel the "Critical Loads" panel.

The guy from Swell Energy told me that it could transfer without computers rebooting and I wasn't really sure I believed him. Thanks for the confirmation.
 
#165
pdxrunr said:
Happy to report that the first A/C Powerwall 2 in Oregon got installed today..in my garage :) I have to say, the Solar City/Tesla Energy team was outstanding. Start to finish, these guys were pros. Showed up on time and knocked it out without a single issue. Took about 6 hours total and I was very pleased with their attention to detail and they were very aware of how it would look on the wall, etc. They took the time to listen and make sure everything was just the way I wanted it and was perfect. I have it backing up my entire panel (no solar), and then I'll manage which circuits not to use, etc. What I was not aware of was how fast the transfer is! They flipped my main breaker off and it was milliseconds when it switched over to battery. Not a single thing in the house shut down or rebooted. Very impressive. I'm attaching a few photos and a short video if you're curious how they get it up on the wall mount. Overall I have to say, they and it has exceeded my expectations in every single way! Now I'm thinking of using white plasti dip on the gray boxes to match the PW!


View attachment 229299 View attachment 229300 View attachment 229301 View attachment 229302 View attachment 229303 View attachment 229304 View attachment 229305 View attachment 229306

Video of wall mount:
20170601_180603000_iOS.MOV
Click to expand...

Couple questions:
Does OR have TOU pricing on your grid services?
Will you be taking the federal tax credit on this installation?
Or are you using a leasing program?
Does OR have a rebate on batteries?
 
Last edited:
#166
miimura said:
Ok, so what they actually did was make the new panel on the left the "Main Panel" and made your original panel the "Critical Loads" panel.

The guy from Swell Energy told me that it could transfer without computers rebooting and I wasn't really sure I believed him. Thanks for the confirmation.
Click to expand...

Yes! That's exactly what they did. There are still some high load breakers on the critical loads panel because of a sub panel that contained things I needed, so we agreed that I would just manage the loads myself.

The speed of the transfer is good. Today I'm going to shut off the grid power and do some run time testing now that the app is showing the PW, etc. I'm curious how many hours I can get on a single PW with just a few lights, the network, and the fridge running.
 
#167
bonaire said:
Couple questions:
Does OR have TOU pricing on your grid services?
Will you be taking the federal tax credit on this installation?
Or are you using a leasing program?
Does OR have a rebate on batteries?
Click to expand...

1. OR does have TOU pricing, but for my usage it doesn't make any sense to use it. We are lucky to have very cheap electricity here, so I have not worried about it after doing the initial analysis with PGE.
2. I was not aware there was a federal tax credit for a battery only that wasn't tied into solar. If you have a link, that would be appreciated!
3. Paid cash for the PW and install.
4. I'm not aware of any OR program that provides any incentives for a stand alone battery that gets charged from the grid, but I will look into that as well!

At the end of the day, we purchased the PW because we live in a area with above ground utilities and wind storms knock out power 2-3X every winter. I work from home and this purchase was to keep our home network up and running along with the fridge, a few lights, and the furnace blower (gas heat) to keep the temperature tolerable. We were without power for 3 days this past winter, so it will be nice having the PW. If the run time isn't 24-30 hours for the loads I need, I'll likely invest i a second one. As far as tax write offs go, can't see why I can't claim this as a business expense for one large battery backup for my home office :)
 
#168
pdxrunr said:
1. OR does have TOU pricing, but for my usage it doesn't make any sense to use it. We are lucky to have very cheap electricity here, so I have not worried about it after doing the initial analysis with PGE.
2. I was not aware there was a federal tax credit for a battery only that wasn't tied into solar. If you have a link, that would be appreciated!
3. Paid cash for the PW and install.
4. I'm not aware of any OR program that provides any incentives for a stand alone battery that gets charged from the grid, but I will look into that as well!

At the end of the day, we purchased the PW because we live in a area with above ground utilities and wind storms knock out power 2-3X every winter. I work from home and this purchase was to keep our home network up and running along with the fridge, a few lights, and the furnace blower (gas heat) to keep the temperature tolerable. We were without power for 3 days this past winter, so it will be nice having the PW. If the run time isn't 24-30 hours for the loads I need, I'll likely invest i a second one. As far as tax write offs go, can't see why I can't claim this as a business expense for one large battery backup for my home office :)
Click to expand...

Not a CPA, but my understanding is that you can only claim a % of the battery install as a write-off that is equal to the % of "home office" you claim on your taxes.

I.e.:

250 SF Office claimed on home taxes (BTW, I am told this is one of the single largest flags for an audit)
2500 SF total livable space (garage is not included)
Therefore 10% (250/2500) is used for "home office"
You would only be able to write off 10% of the total install price on your taxes as a business expense

But again, I'm not a CPA, so perhaps one can chime in on this.
 
#169
You are correct, and that is what I meant with regards to the home office deduction. It used to be a flag for audit, but not much these days with so many people working from home. They have relaxed it in recent years, but you do still have to follow the rules and if you do, it's not an issue. It's my primary place of business, so it's a bit easier to claim than most.
 
#170
pdxrunr said:
1. OR does have TOU pricing, but for my usage it doesn't make any sense to use it. We are lucky to have very cheap electricity here, so I have not worried about it after doing the initial analysis with PGE.
2. I was not aware there was a federal tax credit for a battery only that wasn't tied into solar. If you have a link, that would be appreciated!
3. Paid cash for the PW and install.
4. I'm not aware of any OR program that provides any incentives for a stand alone battery that gets charged from the grid, but I will look into that as well!

At the end of the day, we purchased the PW because we live in a area with above ground utilities and wind storms knock out power 2-3X every winter. I work from home and this purchase was to keep our home network up and running along with the fridge, a few lights, and the furnace blower (gas heat) to keep the temperature tolerable. We were without power for 3 days this past winter, so it will be nice having the PW. If the run time isn't 24-30 hours for the loads I need, I'll likely invest i a second one. As far as tax write offs go, can't see why I can't claim this as a business expense for one large battery backup for my home office :)
Click to expand...

Good answers, thanks. No, no Fed ITC for use as a backup battery. And you don't sound like you will use for energy arbitrage. It's a battery as a larger UPS for your home office and some additional circuits. I doubt you will be able to use it for 2-3 days. Consider getting a Ted 5000 or similar home energy monitor to determine your standard draw from the grid and you can deduce your backup runtime. UPS with Li-Ion batteries are growing and data centers are looking more and more at using Li-Ion over LA and other solutions for the instant failure-handling that occur when grid services go down.

Had you considered a UPS or using all laptops for home office usage? Family member of mine went from desktop to laptops to handle outage cut-overs in their home-business.

I ran my home business (few laptops and desktop, routers, cable modem) off my EV a year ago when the home's main circuit panel was replaced. Used about 7kWh from the battery through a 120V inverter drawing what appeared to be about 230W full-time for 6 hours. Losses through inversion a few times (from HV battery to DC-DC inverter to 12V and back up to 120V and so on) was enough to burn a lot of excess power. That was a constant draw of well under 1KW. Add in refrigerators and lighting and things add up quickly unless they are LED lighting and high-efficiency refrigerator (about 60-70W continuous when running, some start-up peak loads to get the compressor going).

I'd suggest you "try out an outage". One calm office day, shut off your main grid power. See how long run time is and figure out how you'll do in a grid failure. You may have already thought of this.
 
#171
Good stuff! I ran on the Powerwall for the last 2 hours. The app shows your draw and I was only using 0.7 kW and lost about 4% charge an hour. That was just the fridge, home network, and stuff like DVRs, etc that were on. Not bad. Add in occasional microwave use, etc, it should get 10-15 hours of run time. A second one would be nice for sure. A second PW increases your amp draw to 60A as well, another bonus, which would allow A/C and Tesla wall connector use. I do have all LED lighting and high efficiency fridge.
 
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#172
Given the pricing I've seen it looks like Tesla/SolarCity really doesn't vary the price much at all. I'm guessing they're doing their pricing in bins as supposed to trying to figure out each install down to the mil. Reduce the upfront design cost betting that they win on average. Probably a win for more complex installs.

arnold
 
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#173
I'm scheduled for install in early July. I'm interested in how they'll segment my panel since they want to limit backup to circuits below or equal to 60A.

I was told that the app doesn't currently support time of use shifting or self-storage (purposefully store only excess solar) but that it's coming "soon." She couldn't say if it would be available before my install in July. I told her I've had two Teslas. I know about "soon."
 
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#178
I'm waiting on my Powerwall....I've been given a tentative date of 6/15 by Treehouse, but I'm not optimistic. Panels are on the roof now, but not yet hooked up, that should happen next week regardless of PW. They'll be shuffling around breakers as well (2 breaker boxes, only one will be tied to the PW) so the right circuits are backed up.
 
#179
Nothing new to report here regarding my 2 powerwall install. I asked them yesterday about an install date. They said the multiple powerwall installs are being held up by lack of installation hardware. Supposedly the hardware is due to be here in June but they haven't heard yet. Not putting too much faith into every update given to me now since it sounds like they're just feeding me BS with every update, considering the reason for delay changes every week. Oh well.
 
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