Will Cybertruck PowerShare damage my home?

[DECO]

So the way I understand it, if I have the Cybertruck plugged in and we have a power outage and it automatically switches over then it can potentially cause damage (to home loads) when you have solar.

I say this because if you test the system and go off grid you have to manually shut off your solar breakers to prevent damage per instructions.

Sounds like I better not have the truck plugged in when the power goes out or bad things can happen right?

This seems to negate the whole purpose of having the system or am I missing something?

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[Art138]

The System is designed to trip the 60amp fuse in the gateway before of an overload. The installers allowed me to leave both of my 3.5 ton ACs on. When we switched they over powered the gateway fuse (60amp connected to power wall)and the system never even attempted to crank up the ACs .An overload driven by your solar power amperage should be no different.

 

[cybercricket]

I don't see how home loads can be damaged. Bigger concern is the damage to the Cybertruck and/or the solar inverter. If the Cybertruck's Powershare feature isn't designed to be bi-directional, then the solar inverter will be pushing against an unmatched load which grid-tied inverters are typically not designed to do. Note that I don't know if Powershare does support micro-grid style operation, I'm just saying if it doesn't that would be a problem but not for the house.

Edit: the message in the app seems to suggest Cybertruck will operate as a micro-grid (solar being synced to the sinewave of the Cybertruck output). The wording about damage to home loads could be just legalese. Solar inverters should respond to any disruption of the sine wave by going to sleep for a few minutes until the sinewave stabilizes again.

 

[OG_Cyber_]

Per Tesla PowerShare team:
To clarify:
- **Off-Grid Mode**: Requires solar disconnection *before activation* because it operates independently of the grid and requires full system isolation for safety and stability.
- **Normal PowerShare (during outages)**: Solar does **not** need to be manually disconnected. The system is designed to automatically manage solar integration during standard backup operation, provided your configuration includes the necessary safety devices (e.g., a Tesla-approved hybrid inverter or compatible gateway).

 

[DECO]

Per Tesla PowerShare team:
To clarify:
- **Off-Grid Mode**: Requires solar disconnection *before activation* because it operates independently of the grid and requires full system isolation for safety and stability.
- **Normal PowerShare (during outages)**: Solar does **not** need to be manually disconnected. The system is designed to automatically manage solar integration during standard backup operation, provided your configuration includes the necessary safety devices (e.g., a Tesla-approved hybrid inverter or compatible gateway).

That’s good to know, Thanks

 

[mongo]

So the way I understand it, if I have the Cybertruck plugged in and we have a power outage and it automatically switches over then it can potentially cause damage (to home loads) when you have solar.

I say this because if you test the system and go off grid you have to manually shut off your solar breakers to prevent damage per instructions.

Sounds like I better not have the truck plugged in when the power goes out or bad things can happen right?

This seems to negate the whole purpose of having the system or am I missing something?

Per Tesla PowerShare team:
To clarify:
- **Off-Grid Mode**: Requires solar disconnection *before activation* because it operates independently of the grid and requires full system isolation for safety and stability.
- **Normal PowerShare (during outages)**: Solar does **not** need to be manually disconnected. The system is designed to automatically manage solar integration during standard backup operation, provided your configuration includes the necessary safety devices (e.g., a Tesla-approved hybrid inverter or compatible gateway).

My understanding of the issue is that the solar can be outputting more power than your house is using. If you just flip off the grid connection via the off grid setting, then that can result in an overvoltage or other condition on your house's electrical system.

In an actual outage, the grid is still connected when it goes out so the solar power has some place to go. Then the solar inverters self disable due to loss of 60Hz. After the Gateway switches to off grid and the Cybertruck starts exporting power, the solar comes back on line.

Electrical version of water hammer.

 

[cybercricket]

My understanding of the issue is that the solar can be outputting more power than your house is using. If you just flip off the grid connection via the off grid setting, then that can result in an overvoltage or other condition on your house's electrical system.

In an actual outage, the grid is still connected when it goes out so the solar power has some place to go. Then the solar inverters self disable due to loss of 60Hz. After the Gateway switches to off grid and the Cybertruck starts exporting power, the solar comes back on line.

Electrical version of water hammer.

If that were an actual problem, then operating any of several disconnects that a typical grid-tied solar system may have would cause inverter damage. That isn't the case though. A grid-tied inverter has to tolerate a rapid disconnect regardless if there are loads or not. What it can't tolerate is unmatched demand, which could be the case with a generation source such as a uni-directional inverter or a generator. Or think about it this way... would a solar system blow up if a tree knocks down the city power line branch to the specific house ?

 

[Deleted member 22486]

So the way I understand it, if I have the Cybertruck plugged in and we have a power outage and it automatically switches over then it can potentially cause damage (to home loads) when you have solar.

I say this because if you test the system and go off grid you have to manually shut off your solar breakers to prevent damage per instructions.

Sounds like I better not have the truck plugged in when the power goes out or bad things can happen right?

This seems to negate the whole purpose of having the system or am I missing something?

The Powershare system has damaged my circuit breaker panel. It has never worked. Here’s the latest response from Tesla after almost a year…

“Hello,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Cleveland Burrell, and I am a Residential Energy Customer Support Supervisor. I've been informed by Corey about your concerns regarding your breakers tripping during Powershare backup events. Thank you for your continued patience as we work through the issue affecting your PowerShare system.

I want to be transparent about where things stand. Our Tier 2 team has escalated the case to our Tier 3 engineering team, and it’s been determined that a firmware update will be required to fully resolve the problem. This type of development work is complex and, unfortunately, we do not yet have a timeline for when it will be completed.

We understand how disruptive this situation is, especially during backup events, and I want to assure you that our teams are actively working on reproducing the issue in a lab environment to better understand and address the root cause.

After almost one year, there is no action I or my team can take to accelerate the process. I know this is frustrating, and I’m truly sorry we’re not able to provide a more immediate solution. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we appreciate your patience.

Thank you,

Tesla Residential Energy Customer Support”
—————
Yea ?

 

[mongo]

If that were an actual problem, then operating any of several disconnects that a typical grid-tied solar system may have would cause inverter damage. That isn't the case though. A grid-tied inverter has to tolerate a rapid disconnect regardless if there are loads or not. What it can't tolerate is unmatched demand, which could be the case with a generation source such as a uni-directional inverter or a generator. Or think about it this way... would a solar system blow up if a tree knocks down the city power line branch to the specific house ?

What is a rapid disconnect if not unmatched demand?
Higher level, the inverter isn't likely to damage itself by disconnecting, it's all the things connected to the inverter during a load dump that might be. Like you mention, flipping the inverter breaker is ok even though it's a larger load dump than disconnecting the grid.

 

[cybercricket]

What is a rapid disconnect if not unmatched demand?
Higher level, the inverter isn't likely to damage itself by disconnecting, it's all the things connected to the inverter during a load dump that might be. Like you mention, flipping the inverter breaker is ok even though it's a larger load dump than disconnecting the grid.

Well, I believe you're mistaken.

 

[not_elon_]

Does the Powershare device have built in whole house surge protection ?

 

[mongo]

Does the Powershare device have built in whole house surge protection ?

Nope, our installer added whole house surge suppression to both main panels (400A service to dual 200A)

 

[mongo]

I think I figured it out.
I *think* the Powershare Gateway actively switches the neutral forming transformer in/out of circuit when it disconnects from the grid. If this is a break (grid) before make (auto transformer), then there is a time period when there is no neutral reference. UL 1741 requires inverters to shut off within 2 seconds of loss of grid, so they can be outputting during this transition period (when manually triggered). If the 240V solar is active without a transformer in circuit, you could get upwards of 240V on one leg and ~0V on the other. It's unlikely to be that bad, but voltage depends on the relative split phase loads.
The same thing could occur during a power failure, but only if the failure is between the home and the transformer. This happens sometimes when a house loses the neutral line to the transformer. Then you get lights changing brightness depending on load (morso in the incandescent days).

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