{"id":86817,"date":"2024-09-26T10:50:37","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T01:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=86817"},"modified":"2024-10-01T11:22:14","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T01:52:14","slug":"three-phase-powerwall-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/three-phase-powerwall-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Install The Powerwall 3 On A Three-Phase Home?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Powerwall<\/p>\n

Australians sure are excited about the Tesla Powerwall 3, and we are getting truckloads of queries about it.<\/p>\n

The most common question by far is:<\/p>\n

Can I put a Powerwall 3 on my 3-phase home?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The short answer is:<\/p>\n

Yes. Although the Powerwall 3 is a single-phase battery, it will work perfectly on a three-phase home while the grid is connected, offsetting your electricity bill on all three phases, just as it would on a single-phase home.<\/p>\n

But when the grid goes down, the battery function will be compromised.<\/p>\n

How the Powerwall 3 functions with your 3 phases will depend on how it’s wired into your home. In this post, I’ll go through all the ways this can be done that I can think of, so you can assess which configuration works best for you, or if you’d be better off getting a battery system designed for 3-phase homes from the likes of Fronius, Sungrow, iStore, SigEnergy or others.<\/p>\n

In Australia, Powerwall 3s are installed with a ‘Backup Gateway 2’. The Backup Gateway 2 handles backup switching duties and the measurement of power flows in and out of your house, which the Powerwall control software uses for monitoring and control.<\/p>\n

In all these scenarios, I am assuming you have a 3-phase utility meter, not 3 single-phase meters.<\/p>\n

I also assume your local DNSP allows these configurations.<\/p>\n

Your PW3 can be configured by Tesla to have 5kW, 10kW or 11kW output, depending on your local regulations. I’m assuming a 10kW version here.<\/p>\n

Config #1: Powerwall 3 + Solar on a 3P home (no existing solar)<\/h2>\n

If you want to add a single Powerwall 3<\/a> and up to 20 kW of solar panels to a 3-phase home, the best way to do this is to add the powerwall and solar to one of the three phases like this.<\/p>\n

\"\"

1 Powerwall 3, 1 Gateway 2, all the ‘black’ phase is backed up.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Powerwall 3 accepts up to 20 kW of solar panels. Depending on the software configuration, it can charge the battery using solar, the grid, or both.<\/p>\n

All 3 phases are offset for billing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the Powerwall can only discharge on the black1<\/a><\/sup> phase, the Gateway measures the power flows on all 3 phases, and discharges enough on the black phase to cover the power coming in from the grid across all phases. The 3-phase utility meter subtracts the power flow going out of the black phase from any power coming in on the blue and red phases, and only bills you for the difference. If the battery has enough energy, that will be zero dollars2<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 There is a detailed explanation of this with pictures here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Only the black phase is backed-up<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the grid goes down, the house will lose the blue and red phases. Only the black phase will be backed up, and the solar going into the PW3 will still operate just fine. So, all the essential circuits should be placed on the black phase.<\/p>\n

You can have non-backed-up circuits on the black phase<\/strong><\/p>\n

If there are loads on your black phase that you don’t want to back up (for example one phase of a 3-phase appliance) you can have a non-backed up circuit on the Powerwall phase.<\/p>\n

\"\"

1 Powerwall 3, 1 Gateway, Some loads on black phase are backed up.<\/p><\/div>\n

Config #2: Powerwall 3 on a 3P home with existing single-phase solar<\/h2>\n

If you have existing solar and your inverter is 5kW or less, and you want to retrofit just a battery, you can use a Powerwall 3 as shown.<\/p>\n

\"\"

1 Powerwall 3, 1 Gateway, existing single-phase solar keeping solar inverter<\/p><\/div>\n

The existing solar goes on the same phase as the PW3, and the existing solar inverter can charge the battery with AC power.<\/p>\n

If the grid goes down, the black phase is backed up, and your solar inverter will stay online.<\/p>\n

Ditching your solar inverter<\/strong><\/p>\n

An alternative variant is to disconnect your existing solar array from your old inverter and plug it into the PW3:<\/p>\n

\"\"

1 Powerwall 3, 1 Gateway, existing single-phase solar ditching solar inverter<\/p><\/div>\n

This has many advantages:<\/p>\n