Tesla Powerwall 2, one month in.....

[Westie]

Just as a thought - so many things these days "need" the Internet to function properly that having the Internet off screws with the Powerwall's brain.

Thats very true. we purchase these 'must have' IoT devices now and we may still enquire about 'Warranty' but how many of ask for how long the cloud based server be maintained that providing most of the 'smart' functionality.   It's something that consumer legislation has yet to address........  How many manufacturers will use that server power switch as a way to boost sales for the next generation product ? 

[sbchapman]

Listened to a bit of "Start the Week" on R4 this morning. Very interesting piece on surveillance capitalism and references to Nest: apparently, effectively you need review 1000 privacy contracts to understand where the data from it will  be used ...

[dickster]

So the Tesla is behaving itself generally, now Solaredge is being naughty. A couple or 3 times I've had to reboot after a comms issue and all was well, now for the 2nd time I have a LAN disconnected message. Last week it fixed itself after a couple of days, this time the installer emailed to see what was going on as 3 days of no generation was being reported. The PV and Solaredge are all working perfectly well on the generation side of things.

I've reported back explaining the LAN disconnected issue. It uses the same cat5 cable as the Tesla, which continues to communicate normally. No doubt it is my 2 or 3 times a day switching the broadband off that it doesn't like, but we shall see.

[dickster]

So, now I've got a Powerwall 2 that I can tell when to charge from the grid, it makes sense to get an economy 7 type meter installed. Recently moved to Ecotricity, told that I can have an E7 meter, but not an old type, will have to be a Smartmeter. I say we haven't got mobile phone reception, they say, Ok you'll have to give us the monthly readings. I say OK. Will be fitted this afternoon.

Never thought I'd be getting one. Let's see what happens.....

Result!

Meter man turned up, says there's no phone signal, why do I want a smartmeter? I say I don't, but I'm told that that's all that is available. He says he's got a brand new old style digital meter in van. One phone call and hey presto!, Stupidmeter is installed.

Good bloke, who then states the obvious. E7 Smartmeter needs to phone home to know what the time is, so wouldn't have worked anyway.

Interestingly, the new meter's clock is 30 minutes fast. Set the Powerwall for a 2 hour charge (6.8 kWh) from 1-3 am. (cloudy today). All worked well.

Solaredge comms still out, but otherwise working just fine.

[dickster]

So now charging PW2 from off peak as and when necessary.

Based on using 2000 kWh per year, the rounded up approx and very simplistic forecasted sums are as follows.

4 months darkest time, use 3 kWh from off peak per day average @10p per unit = £36.00  (probably more than this)

365 days @ 0.35 standing charge (ouch)                                                   = £127.00

VAT @5%                                                                                                =£8.00

TOTAL                                                                                                   £171.00

2000 units @3p per unit FIT                           = £60.00

1000 units deemed export @ 5p per unit           = £50.00

TOTAL                                                        =£110.00

Difference = £61.00 annual cost, a quid a weekish.

Prior to install of PV and PW2, annual cost £480.00 (Ecotricity estimated), rose tinted glasses savings per year £400.00.

Cost of installation, c/o dead friend's legacy, £11,500.00. Sunpower 2.33kWh, Powerwall 2, Solaredge.

Payback time (nothing goes wrong, still alive at the age of 92), 29 years.

But at least we got on and did, time's running out!

[Fintray]

Keep the updates coming Dickster, I'm waiting for my Powerwall to be delivered so good to see what it is like to have one.

[dickster]

Forgot to add that I'm leaving satellite broadband on 24/7. This seems to have helped the PW2 settle down, but at the cost of 1 kWh extra consumption per day. Doh! might go back to bad old habits when the dust has settled to see what happens.

[Scruff]

Figures may vary when corrected for actual efficiency and power consumed as an atmospheric heater...

[dickster]

Figures definitely may vary!

So, a gorgeous weekend of sunny weather, maximum yesterday 8.9 kWh, with sun now just skimming tops of trees. Used electric oven (roast lamb), did 2 loads of washing. Battery at 30% SOC this morning, guessing +8 kWh in, maybe 6 out, expect SOC to be around 45% tomorrow morning. With sunshine forecast to Wednesday, might have a full battery for when dull hits us on Thursday. Perhaps I'll try reducing energy hungry practices ( bowls of soup, dirty clothes, etc. )over this dull period to see how long we can last.

[dickster]

So end of sunny weather, averaged 8.8 kWh generation over last few days, brilliant! It's forecast cloudy today (Friday):

Last night, 8 pm, set the PW2 (around 40% SOC) to load 1.5 hours of off peak electricity overnight and 2 hours per night for Saturday and Sunday. (We're away, dog sitters at home)

Problem. House starts using peak grid electricity immediately, should be using battery. Fiddled about, couldn't stop it. Decided to wait awhile, as other users have said that it can take up to a couple of hours to actually   start using the new settings. It paid off, after using 400 Wh of peak, it went back to using battery power and then successfully charged as instructed.

I've no idea why it did what it did.

Off to the Isle of Wight in a bit, plenty bad weather for return ferry trip on Sunday.

[dickster]

Ferry back was fine ,

Whilst on the island, used the Tesla app to check on battery, noticed that our dog sitters got up and made a brew at 7.05 am as evidenced by the peak in usage graph.

So that's how private having a Powerwall 2 is....NOT!

[dickster]

10 weeks into the year and, as secretly hoped, we are now going along without using the grid (bright one day, dull the next, Powerwall 2 allowing us to bridge the gap) with the sun now spending the majority of the day above tree tops. No doubt it will now rain for a fortnight!

The PW2 is behaving itself, I would give it 8 out of 10. Suspect efficiency is well below my initial assumption, maybe 75%, will report back after a more in depth work through.

One worrying thought. What happens if and when Tesla goes bust?!

[RIT]

10 weeks into the year and, as secretly hoped, we are now going along without using the grid (bright one day, dull the next, Powerwall 2 allowing us to bridge the gap) with the sun now spending the majority of the day above tree tops. No doubt it will now rain for a fortnight!

The PW2 is behaving itself, I would give it 8 out of 10. Suspect efficiency is well below my initial assumption, maybe 75%, will report back after a more in depth work through.

One worrying thought. What happens if and when Tesla goes bust?!

As the PW2 has a 10 year warranty it is worth checking the paperwork to see if the warranty is backed by a third party.

[dickster]

Not too bothered about warranty, it seems like a cracking bit of kit. More concerned that if Tesla goes down, so will their servers and I will not be able to control PW2 using phone app.

Also don't understand the following. 7 Sunpower panels rated 333 Whp each, = 2.331 kWhp for system. I presumed this would be attained on the sunniest day in mid summer, but I have already got to 2.3 kWhp on a couple of occasions. Don't understand.

[Tinbum]

The colder the panel the higher the output.