Sense monitoring and Powerwall with Solar?

[Story]

Surely someone on here must have installed the Sense power monitoring box alongside a solar + Powerwall 2 installation, plus EV chargers that are on the grid side (outside) the Powerwall-backedup circuits.

My installer says that Sense support says that they will bundle the solar and powerwall into one, using one set of clamps to see its inflows and outflows. And they then said i will not be able to see my 2 HPWCs, which are of course not backed up by the Powerwalls.

I want to be able to monitor total energy use, including HPWC charging, because otherwise Sense is only seeing what the powerwall sees.

Anyone successfully install a Sense device alongside solar+powerwall?

 

[Ampster]

I have a Sense and it is all about where you put the CTs. I Grid Tied solar and a Hybrid Inverter that has some of the functionality of a PowerWall. I put the Sense main CT on the feed from my meter to the main panel buss and the solar CTs on the breaker from my Grid Tie inverter that same panel. I don't know the layout of your panels but I think you would want to see the net effect of the PowerWalls and let the Tesla app give you the details of production. That means put the Sense main CTs between the meter and main panel breaker and the solar CTs on the breaker going to the subpanel where the PowerWalls and Solar are combined. The Sense will see the HPWCs since they are downstream of the main breaker. Of course I am assuming that is how the PowerWalls and your solar are connected.

By the way, the brains and sensing of the PowerWalls is a Neurio which is very much like a Sense but the CTs are placed to monitor and give feedback to the PowerWalls. I have one of those too and I measure both the Grid Tied Solar and some extra micro inverters by looping both production wires through the CTS.

 

[NuShrike]

As Support says, don't do it. I have Sense + 2 PWs, and it's just another pile of disappointment on the Sense fire.

If you clamp your Solar and PWs together, you loose all ability to track your solar production via Sense. It's also a question of how to clamp them together as PWs can be spread over 2 breakers independent of your solar breakers. It's better to have a custom install with a combiner box (for PWs + Solar breakers) just to cater to Sense.

Sense refuses to put out a 6-CT device that would easily solve this. One solution I saw was to buy another Sense monitor just to monitor PWs. It may aggregate the date from multiple Sense devices, but check the forums for caveats.

If you don't clamp your Solar and PWs together, Sense looses ability to accurately track consumption AND will randomly auto-calibrate in a way to think your PWs is solar, and your Solar as consumption. The only way to fix it at that point is to delete your Sense account in order to factory-reset it, losing all historical data.

 

[Pale_Rider]

I just ignore the powerwalls but since mine are backup only it’s not really an issue.