Tesla Powerwall2 on Two Phase installation

[Jay Gatsby]

Ok so I’m not sure many Americans might understand these questions or issue (Do ya'all have 2 phase power over there?) ...but I’ll give it a shot. Maybe there will also be some other Aussies out there…(as well)

I have two phase power.

When it comes to solar and battery installs, trust me not even many engineers (let alone installers) know much about it : 2 phase is basically a complete PITA....

This is entirely why I am rolling out my solar bit by bit... learning along the way...

Think of each single phase like trouser legs dropping down from a metered belt buckle! The meter sees what going on measuring the energy flow in/out right at the waist - the belt opening. My Solar array and powerwall are on one leg (phase). The other leg has no solar or battery.

Now when the sun shines down here- it really shines! Sun was up at 6.30am and she was already charging by 7am- (We just hit max Summer Solstice I think its' today...so she;s really pumpin'...) The power wall was like fully charged from 10% to 100% by 10am yesterday!

Now the problem is whilst the PW was sucking all my solar collected, loads on my other “phase” ( the non green trouser leg) were sucking power off the grid. Normally without the powerwall (when the sun was up) , this didn’t happen. The solar (effectively) powered that phase. At least that’s what was balanced at the meter.

So how do I rectify this?

Do I install a wireless Tesla Gateway monitor at my main board? (All the Tesla monitoring is on the sub board - ie only one of the trouser legs)

Can I drop the charge rate on the PW somehow so the darn thing doesn’t charge up so quick? - ie spread the solar power collection a bit. There doesn’t seem to be a setting in the app for this?

Should I just put up some more panels on the other phase?

Eventually I intend to put in a Powewall3 on the other phase (with more panels) - so that’s the long term “solution” to this issue however they are at least 18 months away here I’d reckon. 3 months to ship the 15,000km on a coal steamer... at least the 6 months wait at the docks to unload... and what with all the inevitable rules and regulations here an’ all …

And I don’t want to spend money on extra equipment and truck rolls etc that won’t be needed in the long run…

So are there any short term fixes I can tweak in the interim?

Thanks!

 

[BGbreeder]

Ok so I’m not sure many Americans might understand these questions or issue (Do ya'all have 2 phase power over there?) ...but I’ll give it a shot. Maybe there will also be some other Aussies out there…(as well)

I have two phase power.

When it comes to solar and battery installs, trust me not even many engineers (let alone installers) know much about it : 2 phase is basically a complete PITA....

This is entirely why I am rolling out my solar bit by bit... learning along the way...

Think of each single phase like trouser legs dropping down from a metered belt buckle! The meter sees what going on measuring the energy flow in/out right at the waist - the belt opening. My Solar array and powerwall are on one leg (phase). The other leg has no solar or battery.

Now when the sun shines down here- it really shines! Sun was up at 6.30am and she was already charging by 7am- (We just hit max Summer Solstice I think its' today...so she;s really pumpin'...) The power wall was like fully charged from 10% to 100% by 10am yesterday!

Now the problem is whilst the PW was sucking all my solar collected, loads on my other “phase” ( the non green trouser leg) were sucking power off the grid. Normally without the powerwall (when the sun was up) , this didn’t happen. The solar (effectively) powered that phase. At least that’s what was balanced at the meter.

So how do I rectify this?

Do I install a wireless Tesla Gateway monitor at my main board? (All the Tesla monitoring is on the sub board - ie only one of the trouser legs)

Can I drop the charge rate on the PW somehow so the darn thing doesn’t charge up so quick? - ie spread the solar power collection a bit. There doesn’t seem to be a setting in the app for this?

Should I just put up some more panels on the other phase?

Eventually I intend to put in a Powewall3 on the other phase (with more panels) - so that’s the long term “solution” to this issue however they are at least 18 months away here I’d reckon. 3 months to ship the 15,000km on a coal steamer... at least the 6 months wait at the docks to unload... and what with all the inevitable rules and regulations here an’ all …

And I don’t want to spend money on extra equipment and truck rolls etc that won’t be needed in the long run…

So are there any short term fixes I can tweak in the interim?

Thanks!

Tesla should have configured your setup with a current monitor on the non-solar, non-backup side to do exactly what you want.

FWIW: Three phase deployments in Australia are the same way, with exports from one phase making up for the draw on the other two, as relatively few Aussies a) have loads evenly divided across the three phases and b) rarely put in three Powerwalls, at one per phase. The challenge becomes if and when the grid goes down, you may end up with only one phase powered.

All the best,

BG

 

[Jay Gatsby]

Tesla should have configured your setup with a current monitor on the non-solar, non-backup side to do exactly what you want.

FWIW: Three phase deployments in Australia are the same way, with exports from one phase making up for the draw on the other two, as relatively few Aussies a) have loads evenly divided across the three phases and b) rarely put in three Powerwalls, at one per phase. The challenge becomes if and when the grid goes down, you may end up with only one phase powered.

All the best,

BG

Thanks. I will get them onto it. cheers

 

[Jay Gatsby]

can you add a second gateway - with associated clamps over the main board (instead of a Neurio wifi monitor) so it basically functions in the app as a the power monitor?

 

[BGbreeder]

can you add a second gateway - with associated clamps over the main board (instead of a Neurio wifi monitor) so it basically functions in the app as a the power monitor?

To what end? i.e. what is it that you are trying to achieve?

All the best,

BG

 

[Jay Gatsby]

To what end? i.e. what is it that you are trying to achieve?

All the best,

BG

To use a second gateway as a simple monitor of all loads in/out of the house (rather than a Neurio) until the PW3's arrive (which I would then place on the other phase - connected to that second gateway) Cheers

 

[Jay Gatsby]

I'm sorry for all the messages - I really am - but this is just not working as it should. The smarts I'm talking about.. without sensing on the main board. without sensing "Net metering" as it were... Ya'll in the US need to understand the drill over here... most people over here don't know a thing about Tesla... (let alone what on earth is going on in that smart AI algo of theirs!) As for getting help, or getting an electrician to do anything anything ...heck even turn up.. let alone when they do - without going thru some sort of regulatory or OH&S hoop is a total PITA...Forget it! I could be waiting months.. months without this being resolved . It might just be simpler to get another gateway installed...

 

[BGbreeder]

No worries. Once the conversation drifts into three phase, my experience has been that even fairly experienced electricians can stumble on occasion, even for routine things, and I wouldn't file this as routine. Lots of folks have trouble with square root three math and phase offset or sequencing.

As I mentioned above, Tesla is perfectly capable of monitoring all three phases to get to net import/export. Based on the folks in the US who have two gateways, I suspect that having a second gateway is going to be a bit cumbersome as you would need to look at two gateway screens and then perhaps the meter to get to A+B+C math on net import/export.

If it were me, I would think about doing something different; I would look for a three phase device approved for Australia that can get you the level of monitoring that you desire.

All the best,

BG