Solar

[Pic] About Tesla's Autobidder

Interesting news about Tesla’s Autobidder, “a real-time trading and control platform that provides value-based asset management and portfolio optimization” which apparently has been in use for a while but we’re just learning about it now. Tesla has said in the past they want to become a massive distributed electric utility, and this would be one of the key pieces that would allow them to achieve it.

A detailed look at the new Energy App in update 2022.36

We mentioned the (needed) revamp of the energy app a week or two ago, now we can see some images and a video of it in action. There we can see how the new app shows the consumption per category (driving, climate, battery conditioning, etc) and a deviation from tri projection. Good work Tesla.

A drivable solar array to self-charge your car

This Tesla owner has developed his solar array to self-charge his car when parked. The system weighs 165 lbs (75 kg) and, when expanded, fits a standard parking spot. With five hours of sun, the system can add about 20 miles (32 kilometers) of range. While I don’t see myself using it, it’s cool seeing others tinkering with these ideas. It may be a viable option for those who want to spend time off-road without access to a charger.

An inside look at the components that go into a Tesla solar roof installation

I have to say that Tesla’s solar roof looks amazing, I hope Tesla can speed up the testing. Here is an interesting article about the components of one of Tesla’s solar roofs.

Read more: CleanTechnica

Battery Day & Tesla's Shareholder Meeting tentatively scheduled for Sept. 15th

Tesla’s Shareholder Meeting usually takes place in June but, due to the global pandemic, Elon Musk just recently shared on Twitter that it has tentatively been pushed to September 15th. And as a bonus surprise, it will be the same day as Battery Day. My question- which I asked on Twitter but hasn’t received and answer yet- is if by owning Tesla stock you’d be allowed to attend both. That’d be super cool!

Read more: Twitter

Buying a house with a Tesla Powerwall already installed

If you’re ever buying a house with Powerwalls, you may realize there isn’t much information about how to set it up yet. Reddit user u/SetsChaos has shared their experience, thank you for making it easy for the rest of us! I recommend reading the whole post, but here’s a quick summary:

• Get your gateway online (once you get WiFi in the new house, and here’s a guide
• Call Tesla support to request a transfer of the Powerwalls ownership. Make sure you have the following 1) copy of your home’s deed 2) name of the previous owners
• Register or re-register in the Tesla app (you’ll receive an email to do so)
• You should be able to log into the app using the info you just provided

Charge on excess solar

New strings added to the App seem to indicate that Tesla will be adding the option to charge your car on excess solar, which is great for those without Powerwalls. The description text says “Plug in your vehicle at home during the day to charge using the excess clean energy generated by your solar system”.

Charge on Solar

With this new feature, your Tesla can charge using only the excess solar energy produced by your Tesla solar panels or roof. This is a fantastic feature that highlights the value of vertical integration in these products. Instructions on how to enable it and what software versions are required can be found in the article.

Drew confirms VPP in Texas and Puerto Rico

Responding to several tweets, Drew Baglino, the SVP of Powertrain and Energy at Tesla, confirmed that the VPP will soon be available to owners in Puerto Rico and Texas.

Everything you need to know about version 3 of Tesla’s new Solar Glass Roof Tiles

Last Friday - October 25 - Tesla presented the third version of its solar roof. Kyle Field did this nice write-up about it, here are my highlights:

• The price of the Solar Glass Roof is less than a new roof plus solar panels. It doesn’t make sense to get it if you don’t need a new roof but if you do, consider this option
• With this version, Tesla has dramatically reduced the number of parts and sub-assemblies by more than half
• Power output and weatherization are covered for 25 years
• Tesla has two teams competing with each other trying to find the best possible way of installing it. Elon was saying that Tesla is targeting to lower the installation time to eight hours, imagine leaving in the morning and coming back from work to a brand new Solar Glass Roof

Read more: CleanTechnica

First electric bill post-Tesla solar/Powerwall installation

A Reddit user shared their first electric bill after installing solar panels and Powerwalls. The cost of the system was $30k and in the first month, the bill went from $692 to $110. Even not sustaining these savings year-round, they should be able to pay back the system in under ten years!

First Tesla Powerwall+ images and specs released

This is the first major update to the Powerwall 2 since it was introduced in 2016. The Powerwall+, this is how Tesla is calling it, it has now a top power of 9.6 kW, which went up from 5 kW continuous and 7 kW peak.

Get your Powerwall referral credit

If you have the Powerwall referral reward and haven’t used it yet or you don’t know what to do with it because getting a Powerwall is not in your plans, it seems like Tesla is offering $5,500 of credit instead. This credit can be used towards service, vehicle accessories, as well as new Tesla vehicles.

In order to do so, reach out to Tesla ([email protected]) and Tesla energy, and they should be able to take care of it.

Home solar installation, cost, positives, and negatives

In this video, DirtyTesla shares his experience installing solar panels in their home in Michigan, with Solar King. Even though this isn’t a Tesla product, because Tesla doesn’t offer Solar panels (only Solar roof) in this state, we wanted to share this great video for those of you trying to figure out if you should go solar or not.

How Tesla Powerwall saves you during a power outage

Dirty Tesla explains how his two power walls are still powering up his house after many days without power.

Is Tesla becoming a threat to the world’s biggest utilities?

By aggregating the solar generating capacity and the storage capacity of Tesla Energy Plan households, Tesla can create a virtual power plant, and it is starting to do so in places like Texas and the UK where it has applied or partnered with others to become a retail energy provider. What do you think, would you switch to Tesla Energy?

Join the Tesla Virtual Power Plant (Beta)

The future of energy is distributed and works via solar panels and batteries in many homes. Now, with this initiative from Tesla, you can help the grid when it is in critical need of additional power: “Opt-in to the Tesla Virtual Power Plant (VPP), and Tesla will dispatch your Powerwall when the grid needs support while continuing to maintain your energy security.”

Learn about Tesla's Solar Roof

Great resource to learn about Tesla’s Sola Roof, Powerwall, and sustainable energy systems, from the perspective of an owner.

Read more: Resource

More about vehicle-to-grid

Last week, we highlighted a video talking about vehicle-to-grid. This video from Ingineerix debunks the theory that current cars are capable of vehicle-to-grid.

NEM-3

The California Public Utilities Commission is proposing a Solar Tax that includes a fee of $8/kW of installed solar per month as well as reducing the value of credits given by producing energy and sending it to the grid. Our friends from EveryAmp have included their response in the article linked, in case folks want to use it for inspiration. If you are a California resident, make your voice heard!

New solar and powerwall install with monitoring

By now, you probably know that we are big dorks ;) We truly like people doing stuff like this. This one is a dashboard built with a Raspberry Pi to monitor the solar and powerwall installs. Read the Reddit thread to learn all the details about it.

Read more: Reddit

Off-Grid Tesla charging from solar and Powerwall

Our friends at Living Tesla have just published a very interesting video showing how to charge your house and Tesla Model 3 from solar during a power outage. Very informative and nicely put together!

Powerwall by itself should be possible end of year

Currently, you can’t order a Powerwall directly from Tesla unless you ordered solar panels or the solar roof as well. According to Elon, the production of Powerwalls could pick up by the end of the year and change it. Note: If you already have solar and are in the marker for Powerwalls, check your local distributors, they often install them without the need of installing panels as well.

Powerwall Direct

I know many of you have been waiting for this: now you can order a Powerwall without the need to order solar panels simultaneously. Tesla will ship it directly to you, and you can reach out to one of their certified installers for installation. Tesla is listing one Powerwall for $9,200, two for $17,200, and three for $25,200, not including taxes.

Powerwalls now require to purchase a Solar Roof or Tesla Solar Panels

Powerwalls are a really popular product and Tesla has decided to only allow clients purchasing the Tesla Solar Roof or Solar Panels to purchase them. I’m sure that in this configuration the installation and the system are better, but I know several people who had panels from other companies that just wanted to add Powerwalls to make their house not depend on the grid.

Revamped Tesla Solar configurator

This week, Tesla revamped their Tesla Solar configurator, allowing customers to select future needs such as more electric vehicles, home additions, pools, etc. The new system suggests a system for your home based on these selections. Good job, Tesla team!

Solar batteries from recycled Model S Modules

Jason Hughes, a famous Tesla tinkerer, shared his solar batteries recycled from Tesla Model S modules. They have the equivalent cycles of driving ~250k miles and show degradation of 5.2%, with 3% of it happening in the first 2 years. Pretty good if you ask me! Note, the photo is sideways.

Solar panel cleaning

In this video, our friends at Living Tesla share their experience cleaning their solar panels after a year of grime and ash from fires and how that translates to extra money generated.

Solar panels updated: ~10% bigger and 20% cheaper

Tesla has upgraded its solar panels from 315w to 340w, giving a 10% capacity upgrade for each size. The downside is that the Powerwalls installation got more expensive (less discount for the combined install). Overall, the largest system is still the same price as before the latest update when combining Solar and Powerwall.

Read more: Reddit

Solar Roof now available with financing

I got an email from Tesla earlier this week, their Solar Roof is now available with financing. Tesla’s Solar Roof is certainly not cheap but the price is very competitive and if you could get it for less than what you are paying PG&E per month, would you? If you’re in the market for solar (roof or panels) and we have been helpful in any way, please consider using our referral code to get $100 of credit.

Solar Roof VLog series 📹

If you’re considering installing Tesla’s Solar Roof, here’s a vlog series by Weddle And Sons Roofing covering the whole installation process and answering a ton of questions about design and functionality.

Watch video: YouTube

Solar tax credit drops at the end of this year

If you’re thinking about purchasing solar panels for your home, the federal solar tax credit is dropping from 26% to 22% at the end of the year, so you may want to purchase your solar before then. If we have been helpful in any way, please consider using our referral code when you purchase your Tesla solar panels/roof http://ts.la/ignacio9266 to get $100 of credit.

Solar Tesla charger for $1,200

This Reddit user just build a 4.8 kWh storage with 1.3 kWh panels Tesla charger that’s portable. With the current setup, they are able to add 39 miles of range in 6 hours during the date, or charge the batteries during the day and get 12 miles of range at night. Cool!

Tesla announces Powerwall 3 details and new cheaper unit

Tesla enhances its home energy storage offerings with the Powerwall 3, featuring key upgrades such as an 11.5 kW continuous power output and a high 30 kW peak power output. An upcoming ‘DC Expansion’ unit will enable easier and more cost-effective stacking for larger energy capacity needs, at $1,000 less than the full Powerwall 3, which includes LFP cells for improved longevity. If you want a $500 discount on your order, you can use our referral code http://ts.la/ignacio9266

Tesla cumulative energy impact

For those who still think Tesla is a car company, here’s another piece of proof that it is not, it’s much more! In the past decade, Tesla solar panels produced more than enough clean energy to power every Tesla factory and every vehicle during that time. Gimme some ☀️.

Tesla cuts prices of solar systems to counter drop in federal rebate

On January 1st the tax credit for residential solar systems went from 30% of the solar system cost to 26%. Cleantechnica reports “Tesla responded to the smaller federal incentive by slashing prices across its four options — small, medium, large, and extra-large out-of-the-box solar systems. For example, the after-rebate price of Tesla’s small 3.8 kW solar panel system was slashed from $8,342 to $7,770, a 6.9% drop compared to the price of the system just last week.”

Remember that next year the federal rebate will go down to 22% and it will go away in 2022. If you are purchasing a new solar system from Tesla you can use our referral code to get $250 off the price http://ts.la/ignacio9266

Read more: CleanTechnica

Tesla cuts the cost of Solar Roof with a new $500 referral bonus

It seems like Tesla is pushing hard for their Solar Roof by adding a new $500 referral bonus, making it the only remaining referral bonus at the moment in Tesla’s referral program.

Tesla doubles its referral reward for solar roof and panel installations

Last week, Tesla doubled the reward for people referring to new solar panel installations in a new push to accelerate its energy business. The prize is nows $400 for each solar referral- plus a brand new Powerwall after 10 solar referrals- and $100 award for the buyer.

Tesla Electric customers report making as much as $150 a day

Tesla Electric customers in Texas are cashing in, with some Powerwall owners reporting earning up to $150 a day selling electricity back to the grid during recent heatwaves. This is thanks to Tesla’s virtual power plant program, which now boasts over 6MW of capacity in the state. Through the Tesla Electric interface, homeowners can monitor their earnings in real-time, making it look like they’re running their own mini electric utility with their solar panels and Powerwalls.

Tesla has launched Powerwall 3

The Powerwall 3 boasts a higher output of 11.5kW, a significant increase from the 5.8kW of the Powerwall 2. This implies it can intermittently power most homes. Elon highlighted in a tweet that the Powerwall 3 has been optimized for easier installation. While Tesla’s official website hasn’t yet announced its launch, a member from the Tesla Motors Club forum has reported having it installed this week.

Tesla is reducing Solar+Powerwall prices by $1,000 for those affected by wildfire power outages

As simple as that, Elon posted it on Twitter. He also clarified that Tesla doesn’t make a lot of money from that product so $1,000 means a lot for the company. Honestly, thanks to Tesla and thanks to Elon, you are amazing!

If you are going to buy solar from Tesla, you can use our referral code for a $100 discount https://ts.la/ignacio9266

Read more: Twitter

Tesla is removing the $1,500 cancellation fee for the Solar Rental during the rest of September

At least the cancellation fee is going to be gone the rest of September, if you are in a situation where renting makes sense - thinking about moving in a few years or just don’t want to make the longer financial commitment - take a closer look at it now because we don’t know what Tesla is going to do in October.

Read more: Twitter

Tesla issued a 'storm watch' alert ahead of PG&E's planned power cutoffs

Storm Watch is the alert that Tesla issues every time that some areas might lose power (e.g. because of a hurricane). If Storm Watch is activated, all the Powerwalls in that area immediately start charging to full using the grid so they can be ready to back up the house. In the US, during normal operations, Powerwalls connected to a solar installation can’t take energy from the grid. During normal circumstances, they are only allowed to charge from solar.

Read more: Twitter

Tesla launches 'Tesla Electric' to become an electricity retailer

Tesla has recently expanded its portfolio of renewable energy solutions with the launch of Tesla Electric, an electricity retailer that utilizes its Powerwall infrastructure to manage excess electricity for residential customers. This expansion builds on the success of Tesla’s virtual power plant (VPP) program, which utilizes a network of distributed energy storage systems to provide energy back to the grid and help stabilize it. The VPP helps avoid brownouts by drawing power from Powerwall systems enrolled in the program, while Tesla Electric is focused on maximizing profits for Powerwall owners by intelligently deciding when to use or sell excess electricity back to the grid. Currently, Tesla Electric is available to Powerwall owners in Texas, with plans to expand to other markets in the future.

Tesla launches new virtual power plant that pays Powerwall owners to help end brownouts

In a partnership with PG&E, Tesla has launched a new feature that will pay Powerwall owners to help stabilize the electric grid and end brownouts in California. Tesla had released an earlier version of this feature, but it didn’t offer incentives to folks helping PG&E.

Tesla Megapacks power new battery storage project in Alaska

Alaskan utilities Chugach Electric and Matanuska Electric have installed 24 Tesla Megapacks in a $63M battery project to reduce gas reliance and emissions. Coming online in 2024, the system follows a 37 Megapack installation already saving its utility millions and cutting gas use 10%. The Megapack projects showcase the cost and efficiency benefits of battery storage for Alaskan power companies and consumers.

Tesla Powerwall 40kWh DIY project

Because Tesla Powerwall is not available in Romania, this Reddit user decided to build their own, custom made and based on Model S modules. Here are two time-lapse videos (part 1, part 2) showing the installation of this ‘Tesla Powerwalls’ 40kWh DIY project. Part 2 is the one showing how the Model S batteries are mounted and wired to a 48V system.

Tesla Powerwall installations reach 600,000 worldwide

Tesla recently celebrated a significant milestone with the installation of the 600,000th Powerwall, illustrating the growing demand for their energy storage solutions. The pace of Powerwall installations has dramatically increased, with the latest 100,000 units installed in just seven months, compared to the five years it took for the initial 100,000. With the Powerwall 3 featuring a 130% capacity increase and improved stackability, Tesla Energy’s impact is set to expand, especially as they move into untapped markets and enhance home energy resilience.

If you are in the market for Tesla Solar, a new Tesla car, or even scheduling a demo drive, please consider using our referral code http://ts.la/ignacio9266

Tesla Solar details from someone who ordered it

Tesla released their “Rent Solar” program this past week in a few states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Mexico), an option that is going to attract people who had reasons to not do a long term investment in solar. If you want to know more about reasons to jump on “Rent Solar” vs buying, Athabascad shares very helpful information going through his reasons.

Read more: Twitter

Tesla Solar Glass V3 installation

Here is a preview of the installation of a Tesla Solar Glass Roof in San Ramon. As a curiosity, and according to the owner, this is taking Tesla around six days to do the installation.

Tesla Solar Inverter

This last week Tesla released their own solar inverter. Up until recently, Tesla was using a 3rd party inverter for their solar installations. Tesla’s inverter is built on Powerwall 2 technology and comes with Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and cellular connectivity as well as over-the-air updates.

Tesla Solar panels and Powerwall system after a year

This Twitter user highlighted a few benefits of their system:

• In the last year, it generated $869.37 in revenue independently.
• They have become their own energy providers.
• They possess backup power for several days.

Tesla solar panels zero'd my electric bill

Reddit user u/cheqsgravity electric bill averages $200/month until he installed Tesla’s solar panel in April 2018. Since then, his electric bill has been $0. In his Reddit post, he explains a few interesting details, the most interesting one to me is that the maintenance on the panels is just watering them every couple of months to keep them clean of dust and pollen.

Read more: Reddit

Tesla Solar Roof - What happens when it snows?

In this video, you can see that the Tesla Solar Roof gets rid of the snow pretty quickly, as quickly as the next morning after the snowfall. In a reply on Twitter to a different video, Elon commented that the Solar Roof is “slightly hydrophobic, so water, snow or ice slide off easily”.

Tesla Solar Roof install time-lapse

A pretty cool time-lapse video that shows the installation of a Tesla Solar Roof over 4 days in one minute. If you’re thinking about getting solar (roof or panels) and we have been helpful in any way, please consider using our referral code http://ts.la/ignacio9266 to get $100 of credit.

Tesla Solar Roof is becoming unbeatable by competitors

It took a bit to start a serious ramp of but the Tesla Solar Roof is here and it’s here to stay. Compared to high-end roof options and traditional solar systems, not only it looks awesome but it also presents great savings. The Tesla Solar Roof is estimated to cost about $2.11 per installed watt while competitors stand at about $7 per installed watt. Pretty amazing especially if you think about how this contributes to a more sustainable future.

Tesla Solar Roof Review: Was it Worth It?

Really detailed video by MKBHD about his Tesla Solar Roof installation and experience. Despite the premium Tesla Solar Roof costing $90,000 after tax incentives, he is still expected to break even in less than 10 years. If you live in a place where you can install a solar roof or solar panels, receive enough hours of sunlight annually to cover your bill, and can switch appliances to use electricity, the shift to solar is a no-brainer. Not to mention the added bonus of one or two batteries providing peace of mind during blackouts.

Tesla Solar Roof V3 Installation

A few weeks ago we included a sneak peek of this Solar Glass V3 installation in San Ramon, California. Now, here is the full video.

Read more: Reddit

Tesla solar van could have solar panels

The fact that Tesla is not close to launching a van yet doesn’t mean that Elon Musk won’t publicly share his thoughts about it. Just recently, in an interview with Joe Rogan on the comedian’s podcast, Elon indicated that a van’s design would be more favorable to equip solar panels for stationary charging. How could that be?

Tesla Virtual Power Plan

A couple of Tesla Energy Engineers, Colin Breck and Percy Link, explore the evolution of Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant and talk about how Tesla’s Autobidder software and Energy platform are designed to solve the bigger problem.

Tesla’s Autobidder software surpasses $330 Million in profits

Tesla’s Autobidder, a platform connecting energy hardware like Powerpacks, Powerwalls, and Megapacks, has generated over $330 million in trading profit since its inception. Autobidder uses machine learning to optimize energy hardware usage and monetization, allowing real-time trading and operational strategy configuration. The platform’s portfolio has grown from 1.2 GWh in 2021 to 7 GWh in 2023.

Tesla’s fleet has driven 7.2 billion miles and its energy products produced 10.3 billion kWh

For Earth Day, Tesla released some interesting data about its fleet of electric vehicles and its energy products via its Instagram account. See below:

Read more: Electrek.co

Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant in California has over 1,200 homes participating

According to an owner who signed up for the service, once they signed up there were over 1,200 homes in the program.

Vehicle-To-Grid + Autobidder = Game changer for Teslas

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about Autobidder, Tesla’s not so well-known “real-time trading and control platform that provides value-based asset management and portfolio optimization”. Well, thanks to HyperChange, we’re now learning that Tesla’s new 1M mile battery cells will be capable of vechicle-to-grid charging. That’s huge! As Gali said, combine the two and “you’ll get paid as your Tesla transforms into an AI-powered energy day trader” 🤯

Virtual Power Plant in action

With the heatwaves all over the US, we are seeing more of these virtual power plant events, in this one, the owner is being paid $28 an hour to discharge the Powerwalls to the grid for three hours. For those who aren’t familiar, the virtual power plant is a feature recelently released by Tesla where your utility can pay you for your stored energy so they don’t have to use the most expensive and poluting generators.

What is inside the Tesla Powerwall 2?

Nice picture (not new) from the components inside a Powerwall 2.

Why is Tesla killing and saving solar?

Great video by our friends at EveryAmp about where they think Tesla is pushing the future of Solar flipping the game on the utilities. Storage is going to be part of the equation, the question is how to make it fair, and is renting storage from the grid going to be a good option?

Why Tesla Solar is so cheap

Elon explains it: “The other solar companies spend heavily on salespeople, advertising and complex financing instruments. We do not.” Tesla is well known for not advertising, they have created a really strong brand based on its strong referral program, and well, for having a very active CEO on Twitter.