Backup Reserve: Avoid setting the reserve lower than 20%. You want to avoid draining it down to empty on a regular basis.
Monthly Checkup: Once a month, check your battery to ensure that no leakage, corrosion, or signs of excessive heat are evident. Call TFS immediately if you notice any of these things.
Try to use as much of your solar energy as possible as it is produced.
Charge your electric vehicle during the day, if possible. It is less efficient to put energy into your battery during the day and charge your vehicle at night.
Storm Watch: You can choose whether or not to use this feature. Storm watch keeps your battery full, and will not discharge energy unless grid power goes out. In normal operation, this will keep your battery from operating. Without Storm watch turned on, the system may be at your backup reserve setting when an outage occurs due to a storm. So this is an easy way to have a full battery at the most likely times for an outage. On the other hand, your system will not operate in self consumption mode anytime the Storm watch feature is activated. Please contact the Customer Communications team (520-740-0736) to discuss if turning on Storm Watch is right for your battery situation.
Turn off electrical devices when not in use. The best way to save energy is not to use it in the first place!
Unplug devices with power adapters when not in use. There is still energy use going on when plugged in.
Use a central power strip as a turn off point. This will let you know that devices are truly off. Avoid plugging in devices with a digital clock that you will need to reset.
Shut down computers and monitors when not in use.
Use LED bulbs instead of incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs.
Check your Tesla app to see if there are sudden increases in energy use. Sometimes items get left on accidentally, and sometimes timers fail, such as on pool pumps. If you see a new consistent energy draw, see if you can figure out what is causing it.
Grid tied PV systems produce energy during the middle of the day. This causes utilities to have to ramp up energy generation rapidly in the late afternoon as solar production decreases and loads increase. Particularly in the spring and fall, there are diminishing returns for the solar produced mid-day (with regards to CO2 savings). By storing some of that mid-day solar energy for use in the evening, battery systems reduce the strain on the utilities and reduce reliance on fossil fuels for energy production. Ultimately, we cannot build a 70 - 100% renewable grid without installing significant amounts of storage.
It is important for you to note whether you are getting a battery system that features a Tesla Switch, or a system that features a Powerwall 2 with a Critical Loads Panel, as the process is slightly different for each.
On page 2 of your contract under the “Materials” section, it will note “Tesla Switch” if applicable. If your contract does not list a Tesla switch, please refer to the timeline for Powerwall2 and Critical Loads Panel Installation.
A Tesla Switch is not possible for all battery situations. If you have questions about the configuration of your battery system please reach out to our Customer Communications team (520-740-0736).