SpiceWare's Blog

Yep, I agree. In addition because the interface is "intuitive" they don't bother with documentation. So we the users are left hunting for how to access the information, change the configuration or otherwise make the app do what we want it to do.

 

And the developers aren't doing themselves any favors either. Someone still has to take the time to create those "hidden" functions and test them. But because the majority of users never encounter those functions, they really aren't field tested properly.

Based on performance I am really curious of how long does it take to recover the cost of the entire setup as well as replacement.

My father has a solar setup and when the last hurricane blew through his power went out and his solar cut off leaving him with nothing.

So regardless of going off the grid he has to stay connected to the grid to use it.
I heard the same thing about Tesla that you have to be connected to the internet to even operate.

Can you fill me in before I make the investment?

The screen changed from Performance -> Impact and now clearly shows I overproduced. Additional info added to blog entry.

Based on performance I am really curious of how long does it take to recover the cost of the entire setup as well as replacement.

Depends upon how expensive power is where you live. In Texas electricity is cheap so payoff is longer than in states like California.

 

$29,670 Solar

$11,103 Powerwall

 

After the 30% Federal Tax Credit that's:

 

$20,769 Solar

$7,772 Powerwall

 

My annual electric bill is $2000, so if the panels cover 90% of my power (as projected) the savings will have paid for the panels in 11-12 years, and another 4 to cover the Powerwall.

 

My father has a solar setup and when the last hurricane blew through his power went out and his solar cut off leaving him with nothing.

Battery backup is required for solar to work without the grid. There's many sites that cover that, such as this one.

 

I heard the same thing about Tesla that you have to be connected to the internet to even operate.

Hadn't heard that though it doesn't seem likely that it'd be required to function, just to see system status. I do know it has cellular for fallback (images added). Most likely there's a way to see status without the app, such as using telnet to connect to the gateway. I'll have to do some research on that.