Tesla Systems - Knowledge Hub

One of the benefits of a Tesla system is reduced energy consumption from the grid, resulting in lower energy bills. Having an accurate rate plan helps your Tesla solar system to maximise savings. Rate plans, also known as energy tariffs, generally determine how much you pay for your electricity from your energy supplier. The Tesla app allows you to add your energy tariff for more accurate value calculation estimates and system optimisation. Without this, issues can occur with the charging patterns of your system.

How it works:
The Tesla app uses your set energy tariff to accurately calculate your energy consumption. Time-based control uses your tariff to optimise how your Powerwall charges and discharges. This helps maximise the value of energy generation and lower the cost of energy consumption, often referred to as load shifting.

Setting up a custom tariff:
You can build a custom tariff in the Tesla app. Elements of a custom tariff are outlined in the information below:

• Flat Rates: Some tariffs use flat rates where the cost of your energy does not change based on the time of day.
• Time Periods: Your electricity price differs throughout the day based on energy supply and demand. Periods are typically referred to as Off-Peak, Super Off-peak, Peak or Mid-Peak.
• Seasons: Energy suppliers may adjust electricity pricing across seasons to account for energy supply and demand shifts.
• Weekends: Some tariffs may have special weekend schedules, such as super off-peak periods, used when energy is at the lowest demand during the week. Weekends refer to Saturday and Sunday.
• Pricing: Your tariff will have the cost of importing (buying) or exporting (selling) energy. Selling price corresponds to the export FIT or the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) from your retailer.

To get started, open your Tesla app and follow these steps:

• 1. From the home screen, open the Settings menu.
• 2. Tap Utility Rate Plan.
• 3. Tap Start or if your system already has a tariff, tap Start over.
• 4. Tap More options.
• 5. Tap Customer rate plan.
• 6. Enter your energy supplier name and rate plan name.
• 7. Select either Time of Use or Seasons depending on your rate pricing structure.
• 8. If your tariff uses Time of Use, tap Rate periods and drag the slider to edit time periods. Tap Add Time Period to add a new period. Multiple peak periods are supported.
• 9. Repeat this step for weekends.
• 10. If your tariff uses Seasons, set your season using the handles. Use + or – to remove Seasons. Up to three seasons are currently supported. Enter the rate pricing for this season. You can set a unique buy and sell price for each time period, depending on your tariff. The sell price corresponds to the export FIT or the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) from your retailer.
• 11. Repeat steps eight and nine to account for all time periods and seasons.
• 12. Review the summary screen and then tap Save.

Feature Availability:
Adding a tariff, viewing Energy Value cards and using Time-Based control mode for tariffs requires Tesla app version 4.2.0 or later. Additionally, some tariffs have elements that require Powerwall Firmware 21.39.

Whilst we do not have the access or capacity to set this up remotely for you, we are able to remotely log on and check that you have set this up correctly. For any remote checks we make, you will have to ensure service mode is enabled. To do this:

• Click Settings and then Manage access.
• Click Mobile service access.

You will then see a notification/banner confirming that service mode is now active.

For any further questions, please do reach out to Tesla on 01628 450630.

The backup reserve allows you to determine how much of your Powerwall’s stored energy will automatically be saved for backup power. With the ability to adjust your backup reserve in the Tesla App, you can control the level of energy security that your Powerwall provides during a grid outage.

Your backup reserve represents a portion of your Powerwall’s stored energy. The remaining portion is allocated for self-powered mode or time-based control mode. During an outage, your backup reserve becomes available and Powerwall begins discharging to power your home. Depending on the duration of the outage, your Powerwall may discharge below your set reserve percentage.

When the outage is resolved, your Powerwall will prioritise charging above your reserve percentage before resuming normal operation. To use the battery reserve setting, open the Tesla app and follow these steps:

• From the energy home screen, click Settings.
• Adjust the slider according to your preferred backup reserve.

Important Considerations:

• Setting a backup reserve of 100% prevents use of self-powered mode or time-based control. This will negatively impact the potential economic benefits of those modes and increase your reliance on the grid.
• If you prefer to reserve more energy for use during a grid outage or if your area is more prone to outages, you can set a higher reserve percentage.
• If you prefer to optimise your Powerwall’s performance in self-powered mode or time-based control, you can set a lower reserve percentage.
• If you set your reserve percentage below 20%, a low backup reserve indicator will be displayed and your Powerwall may not have enough stored energy to provide backup support during an extended grid outage.

For any further questions, you can always reach out to Tesla through either your app or by calling them directly on 01628 450630.