Configuring your Powerwall in the Tesla App
A quick overview for new Sunrun solar and battery customers.
What's best for you?
The best Powerwall setup for you depends on your utility rate structure and local net metering policies, as well as your personal preferences. If you're not sure what's right for you, it's a good idea to discuss your app setup with your Sunrun consultant.
Time-Based Control
Self-Powered
Backup Only
Time-Based Control
Overview:
- Time-Based Control is a mode that leverages utility rate structures where energy prices may vary depending on the time of day, the day itself, the month, or the season. These structures are often called Time-of-Use plans.
- In this mode, your battery can provide power to your home and export to the grid at certain times based on your utility rate. For customers on a Time-of-Use rate plan with 1:1 net metering, this is often a good choice.
- We recommend new SCE, PG&E, or SDG&E solar customers to follow the CA IOU-specific instructions below when configuring their Powerwall to optimize bill savings.
Self-Powered
- Self-Powered is an operational mode where the battery prioritizes sending stored power to the home whenever solar generation is insufficient to meet the home's demand, or during the night when the sun isn't shining.
- This mode is generally the default.
- We especially recommend new Hawaii and Illinois solar customers to choose this option and a backup reserve around 20% to optimize utility bill savings on the islands.
Backup Only
Overview:
- Powerwall can also be configured to reserve 100% of power for outages, by selecting Self-Powered mode and maximizing your backup reserve.
Important note: regardless of which setup you choose, if you have Powerwall 3 or Powerwall+, be sure that "Permission to Export" under "Advanced Options" is set to "Yes."