Powershare whole house backup not possible

[santoshm]

I have the Cyberbeast. Today electrician assigned by QMerit came over for site survey and told me that Xcel energy my provider has not approved the components necessary for a whole house backup and so if they install the system as a whole house backup, it will not be operational till Xcel approves the components. Tesla has also told them not to quote for the whole house power share backup install. Instead I will have to select 10-12 circuits to backup. A new electrical sub-panel will have to be installed for those circuits and the powershare will backup and power only those circuits in case of a power loss. Additionally since this involves the installation of a subpanel, the installation costs will be higher.

I am in Colorado in the Metro Denver Area.

Has any one else experienced this?

Should I wait for Xcel to approve the components and then get the powershare installed?
OR
Just install with how they are suggesting for now?

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[Maxt95]

Got the same from my installer as well. Their reasoning is that if your load is higher than what the truck can provide when the power flips then it won't be able to come back on without you flipping breakers etc. They're all recommending a sub panel

 

[carsly]

same. the sub panel should be required equipment. I don’t know of many (or any) homes where the Cybertruck’s 40 amps out would comfortably power the whole house.

 

[Jager]

Same here.

The truth is, if you add up the active breaker capacities inside the panels of most American homes, you'll find them to exceed the 200-amp service that has been the norm for some time (some newer homes have 400-amp service, and some older homes still have 100-amp service, but it's fair to say that the majority of homes have a 200-amp panel capacity).

In some cases, the local utility won't approve a whole-house PowerShare backup (not unlike some utilities won't approve the GenerLink solution https://www.globalpowerproducts.com/transfer-switches/generlink-transfer-switch/). But many will.

Of course, there's the upsell opportunity with the "light-duty, sub-panel" Powershare option. So there's that.

At the end of the day, the Powershare is nothing more than a very nice transfer switch. And you can have a transfer switch installed for a whole lot less than Qmerit/Qmerit-subcontractor are quoting.

I'm hoping that Tesla sees the light at some point and terminates the monopoly arrangement they've established with Qmerit. In the meantime, my plan is to simply use the 240v outlet in the Cybertruck's bed and connect that to a conventional transfer switch.

What you lose with that solution is 2 kW (11.5 kW w/Powershare vs 9.5 kW with the 240v outlet in the bed); and having to reset the bed outlet every 12 hours. What you gain is a simpler - and far cheaper - way to power your house.

 

[mongo]

same. the sub panel should be required equipment. I don’t know of many (or any) homes where the Cybertruck’s 40 amps out would comfortably power the whole house.

Our current setup is a manual transfer switch and breaker based load shedding. It can run off of a 5.5kW genset. So Powershare, even with manual switchover, is an improvement with double the available power.
Adding a few disables for the big loads (AirCon request interrupt) would let it be automatic without requiring a second panel.

 

[Carlos Thomas]

I have an Interlock Kit installed on my main panel + a generator inlet box so I can power my home with the Cybertruck as the generator leveraging the 240v plug in the truck bed.

Less than $1,000 for parts + labor if you have an electrician to a proper install with a permit.

 

[Stuck4ger]

Honestly, just as if you had powerwalls, you probably don’t want everything backed up because you don’t know how long the power will be out. You do know you don’t want the food to spoil or to be too uncomfortable but do you need the whole home glowing brightly so you run down the backup power 3X faster than required?

 

[Jager]

Honestly, just as if you had powerwalls, you probably don’t want everything backed up because you don’t know how long the power will be out. You do know you don’t want the food to spoil or to be too uncomfortable but do you need the whole home glowing brightly so you run down the backup power 3X faster than required?

The point of the Powershare "Whole Home" backup option is not to power the entire home - the Cybertruck doesn't provide enough power for that.

The point of the "Whole Home" Powershare option is that it is a far simpler, far cheaper solution than the "Light Duty, Sub-Panel" option. With the caveat that the homeowner then must have some sense for what the current draws are of the various things within their home.

For the electrically ignorant homeowner - I don't mean that as a pejorative - the Light Duty Sub-Panel option makes more sense.

 

[carsly]

The point of the Powershare "Whole Home" backup option is not to power the entire home - the Cybertruck doesn't provide enough power for that.

The point of the "Whole Home" Powershare option is that it is a far simpler, far cheaper solution than the "Light Duty, Sub-Panel" option. With the caveat that the homeowner then must have some sense for what the current draws are of the various things within their home.

For the electrically ignorant homeowner - I don't mean that as a pejorative - the Light Duty Sub-Panel option makes more sense.

Sure, in theory Powershare should be simpler and cheaper.

But what I, and many others, are finding is that Qmerit and their cabal are jacking up installation prices. I'm looking at a quote of $6,652 to install Powershare and the UWC with me, obviously, supplying the equipment. That's due primarily to a need for a sub-panel to run the Powershare-only designated loads as well as their profiteering.

Meanwhile, I had the same electrician referred by Qmerit quote installation of a 50 amp generator inlet with lockout and that's $1,225. I can run a $300 cable from the 240v out on the Cybertruck and I'd be good to go for $1,500, or 75% less expensively than the "far simpler, far cheaper" Tesla Powershare. Yes, I may need to flip off a couple breakers or not use some equipment in the event of an outage, but I'd think about that anyway in the event of a power failure. Meanwhile the $5,400 saved would power my truck for over 10 years!

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