If you lost grid power, could you charge a Tesla? Today we find out. ►Ready to buy a Tesla Vehicle / Solar / Powerwall? Use my referral link to help both of us out! : ts.la/jeremy49819
Great test! It is cool to be able to use an EV as extra backup during peak solar production! When our powerwalls get full, I try to plug in a car, or do a load of laundry. I'd rather use it than sell it to the grid for 3 cents a kWh honestly. It's that time of year in Arizona, when we are starting to get more clouds for monsoon season, with temps still above 110⁰. We don't remain off grid 100% like we did in the winter, thru May. I am able to stay off grid when peak pricing hits, 20-25 cents a kWh, between 2-8 pm. But our powerwall usually depletes just in time for our super-off-peak pricing to kick in, at 11 pm, at 6 cents a kWh. Then the sun is back up around 5-5:30 am, restarting the cycle. I did plan for that to happen, just for June-August. I would need 30% more panels and 1-2 more powerwalls to get thru the extreme days grid-use-free. Just not possible. Keep up these vids! I don't have the skills or talent to make these videos, so I live thru yours! Haha
@@KrustyKlown My solar panels and powerwalls have eliminated my power bill and the power company owes me money every month. Is always connected for the brown outs or blackouts so when I am at work the family is always covered. Not so much if I used the truck for backup power.
@@That-Guy_ When the grid power does down for days .. having the option of using Vehicle to grid power would give you like 5X the "Power Wall" backup. Tesla needs to get this tech into their vehicles, they keep falling behind in this, and autonomy, voltage, charging rates, etc.. What is your "payback" time for your system?? IMO, with the avg length of home ownership at 7 years .. many people aren't going solar until the price comes down to a 3-4 year payback, for that is just human nature.
@@KrustyKlown My system got me through the 44hr Houston blackout and I have run a test were it ran the house for a week straight so we should be fine. With net metering it would have been about 14yrs but with the time of use plan I have now it's about 9yrs and if I include it saving from charging my Tesla for free it's even better. I will be here for at least 8 more years. Once the kids move out the plan is (assuming it's within the budget) to build a home to the passive house standard that will last the rest of my life and beyond. Put a new solar/powerwall system on it. I have a CyberTruck preorder and it will most likely have VtoG or at least VtoL. They are ahead on general autonomy other companies can only run in premapped areas. 400v is fine for the 3 and Y, they will probably do 800v for CyberTruck and semi. There are a few cars that can charge faster(if you can find a station to output at that rate) but the supercharger experience is still superior.
I'm asking my other Power Wall RU-vidrs if they noticed a charging strategy change this week. I'm out of town, and so my PWs are able to charge up to 100%. For a few days now, I noticed the charge rate decreased at/around 80%. Even though the PWs aren't full, some power goes to the grid. Have you noticed this?
So if 2 powerwalls is 27kwh of storage, and I’m averaging about 50kwh a day to charge my model 3, would that be enough storage? I’m pretty sure I’m doing that math wrong and I know kW and KwH have different meanings across the board. But if I have 2 full powerwalls when the sun goes down and I get home from work to plug in my Tesla. I can only charge up to 27kwh (less depending on backup reserve) and the rest from the grid ? I was told 2 powerwalls should be plenty for charging my EV but the math doesn’t add up. If someone could help explain I’d appreciate it!
can you charge your tesla without a gear selector? mine has fallen off about 15 times now and i'm tired of having to put it back in and having to bike everywhere while my big toy car charges
Tesla charged with 15 kWh of energy. House usage varies a lot depending on what we are doing. But typically in the summer I can generate 60 kWh of solar on a good day.
I really don't have that much more room. Tesla optimized the space pretty well. If I did put more on the roof they wouldn't get good sun. If you check my old solar videos I show the whole setup.
Nice test, however 90% == 90% != COMPLETELY != FULL Thank you for stressing that it was the Powerwalls doing the direct charging, not the solar panels; IE, battery-backup reservoir is essential. Did I hear correctly that both powerwalls are routinely charged to 100%? If so, I am curious why you preserve the car battery longevity by not exceeding 90% but you take the powerwalls to 100%? I read talk that some apps might have an element of built-in protection by claiming to charge to 100% but the physical reality is less than that, obfuscated from the owner.
@@alanmay7929 It's definitely better for new construction. That way, the roof can be designed and constructed optimally for a solar roof (whether that be Tesla or other manufacturer). I get that a lot of people would want to convert their existing roofs, but due to that difficulty, Elon may have been better off "selling" to home builders first. There's a crap ton of new home construction everywhere. If all those houses were designed for solar roofs and built with them (and a Powerwall or two), he would have surpassed his goal for number of installations long ago. If Lennar and Pulte (2 of the top home builders in the country) utilized Tesla solar in all their new neighborhoods going up everywhere, we'd have a ton more solar homes than we currently have. It wouldn't take much for their architects to redo the drawings of their floor plans to accommodate a solar roof more adequately. Not every house of their's would need to get one as it could still be an option. Though, with the builders buying in bulk and having their own certified crews, that option would be much less expensive than an individual converting their existing roof.
You should never charge an EV with one of these high frequency, transformerless inverters, because they provide absolutely no galvanic isolation between its DC boost stage and its AC output. Without galvanic isolation, all it would take would be for a single MOSFET or IGBT to short to ground and this inverter can pass high, high amperage DC current straight though your EVSE and on to your EV's onboard charger, and that can not only damage your EV's onboard charger, but can even set your EV on fire. If you want to safely charge your EV with solar, you should be using a low frequency, transformer based inverter instead.
I'm surprised that you think "that it's even possible" to charge off grid. I would think that's the best and ideal way to charge. Having a solar roof (or panels) and Powerwalls, you shouldn't need much if any electricity coming to your house from the grid. If your local electric company allows for it, you should be selling them your excess.
You have a very costly system with 30 solar panels and two 13 kWh battery packs. Your question was, can you charge with solar? It wasn't could you use 27 kWh of battery storage to keep a house going and also partly charge a Tesla. You started charging in daytime; a very unlikely senerio for most people coming home from work. You also only have 1 car; most people have 2. It will be night and you'd be totally dependent on your 27kWh packs to put 20kWh in your car leaving just 7kWh for the house. By morning; you'd have used all your battery power. If it was a cloudy day in Seattle; you'd get nearly no sun to charge your batteries and you're house will be out of power; when you get back home your car would be out and you'd be dead in the water with nothing working. Even this assumes your power walls were 100% charged; if they were at 50% you'd run out that night; not achieving enough charge even 1 car to commute. So you didn't answer the question. The answer is totally about how much sun you have and how many solar panels you have.
@@jeremyjudkins wow, isn't that too small? I haven't done much research but i thought u could hook up as many batteries as possible and have stored energy for alot of time. Like they used in Australia and Hawaii I believe?
@@aiman1562 I have two, so 27 kWh. My solar panels can product 60+ kWh on a good day. My house uses a lot and so does my Tesla. No need to store that much when the sun can make more.
If you want to take this to the next level take a look at ru-vid.com he has a power wall and a model s. He did a cool video where he connects to the api of his model s and alters the charging rate so that the car will charge to use all the excess solar power so the house is always using 100%
