If you liked what you saw and are considering joining Amber Electric, please consider using my referral code of TESLASTRAYA30 which will provide you with $30 of billing credits. If you'd like a one month trial of TeslaFi versus the usual two weeks, please consider using my TeslaFi referral code - www.teslafi.com/signup.php?referred=teslastraya If you'd like an extra month of credit when signing up for Teslascope please consider using my referral code - tsla.is/r/tslastraya
To whom it may concern, or anyone that works or cares at Amber I am writing after 17 days trying to get meaningful help. Amber was super fast on 1 occasion. We filled in the form on the 20/9/23 at about 15:30 and at 16:30 we got a confirmation that we were with Amber already (so Amber could start charging us from the 20/9/23). Amber could not (and still can not) connect us fully. It took 8 days to get a reply from somebody actually working at Amber. I was told the problem is now with “battery experts”. Now, 9 days and many calls and emails later I am told the same (by email, nobody called back) I have tried to get meaningful answers (not form automated replies) but from employees of Amber. After now more than 40 emails and 30 calls to Amber, we still are not properly connected but we already got the first bill and it is incorrect.
Great deep dive review Adam👍. I have recently returned to Amber after being with Powershop for 12 months . Have 11kw Solar with 10kwh SolarEdge battery. 12 months ago SmartShift was very clunky for SolarEdge batteries and the 2-way Tariff was not offered. However, this time around SmartShift has been optimised for SE and the 2-way 26c bonus tariff (Ausgrid area) means around $6 per day in earnings 💰. Negative FiT export curtailment works perfectly with SE battery/inverter. Currently charging our M3 & MY using Charge HQ to soak up excess solar prior to the 2pm grid exports. Look forward to Amber EV software and eventual V2G.
Thank you so much! Remember when you get on board to start the registration process for SmartShift. I definitely can’t wait for the EV charging product! Game changer!! Thanks for watching as well!
Hey Adam, This is an awesome video. Thank you for this. Now that you’ve been with amber for over 12 months and you’ve seen all of the different seasons, would you consider doing another video like this? I am considering refinancing my home to get one or two powerwalls and I’d love to see how much you’d save/make over a period of 12 months.
If you consider the cost of the Powerwalls at roughly $14k installed and that the warranty is only 10 years and less I think if you cycle them fully every day and that interest rates are currently quite high then I strongly suspect that borrowing money to buy a Powerwall is what we call a bad idea. So 2 powerwalls = $28000 - you would have to save about $3720 a year just to pay off the Powerwalls within the warranty period (calculated at 5.78% finance P&I reducible loan = $310 per month). If you had the spare cash and you want to do it - that's a different thing.
I queried Amber Energy for my AlphaESS system back in July but it wasn't supported then. I just checked again and they do support it now, but they never got back to me from my earlier query. Oh well since at the time I couldn't join Amber I found a plan with AGL that gives me $240/year rebate so I'm sticking with them for the 2 year duration. FiT is still only a miserable 5 cents so definitely a sore point there. Will definitely be interested in Smartshift after that and hopefully can still use your referral code then.
It would be interesting doing the sums again now it’s supported. I think you’ll probably find the savings on Amber will outweigh your AGL credit. I did the same before I moved to Amber as an existing AGL customer but your mileage may vary based off location, usage etc. Glad to hear that your battery is now supported, that is great news!
Thanks for the video! I'm glad you are having a good experience with Amber and Smartshift. I also tried Amber for a couple of weeks last month, but my experience was not as positive as yours. I like what Amber is doing though, and I do hope they succeed! My home intallation is a little different from yours - I have a SolarEdge inverter + batteries (DC-coupled behind the inverter). I charge my car from a 32 amp circuit in my carport using the Tesla mobile connector that came with the car (with a 32 amp tail from EVSE). I used to use the "it's sunny so start charging" method, but in recent times the most promising ChargeHQ app. My most unfortunate "mistake" was that I joined Amber during a period when power prices in SE QLD turned out to be mostly negative during the day, so I was paying to export my excess solar😞. Not Amber's fault in any way, but a situation that may become more common as rooftop and large-scale solar generation increases. The second issue was with discharging my batteries: I have a 5kW export limit (thankyou Energex). Unfortunatly when Amber was discharging to the grid, there was around a 50% overhead (for each kWh going to the grid around 1.5 kWh was being discharged from the battery - not good for the battery or the economics 🤥). Amber are aware of this and I'm sure will be able to address the issue.
Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m a huge fan of ChargeHQ and the integration is amazing. Hope you might be able to give Amber another try in the future!
@ca2997 you mean the API limit issue causing issues with discharge? I believe they’ve put some solutions in place but it isn’t 100% fixed. It has only impacted me once though and supposedly their solution is working around it pretty well.
Great video, very informative. Do you think you’d see the same savings without an EV? Though I’m tempted to get one, I think I’ll go a battery first… maybe 😂
Hey Adam. Old PL4 watcher here! Great video mate! Just 2 questions re. battery cycling - how much long term battery depletion from continuous cycling and how long do you expect it to take to pay off exorbitant battery outlay using Smartshift (as compared to no Smartshift)? I've been with Amber for about 18 months now (since watch Chris V's video interview) and and now starting to consider a battery. Cheers Dave
Hey Dave, thanks for watching and commenting! To be honest I don’t think there will be much change. Tesla generally state a battery cycle per day is fine and has been tested and I find I basically complete this single full cycle per day. I’ve been an early adopter of batteries, first one installed in 2017 and the other in 2018. Right now per 30 days I’m averaging $350 to $400 per month in bill credit which in my opinion is pretty crazy money that I can withdraw as I need to. I am lucky that for the next year or so I am on a very favourable two way tariff which is working hugely in my favour.
Great video! Thank you! Is it equally easy to discontinue if say one wanted to try it out for a few months? No hidden fees / lock in contracts etc? Thanks!
Hi Adam, I followed your guidance and switched over Amber and it’s working well. I’m now looking to install a second Tesla PowerWall 2. I think I understand correctly that the power company caps export to the grid at 10kW per phase. So I’m planning to connect the second PowerWall to a different phase, effectively doubling my potential to export up to a total of 20kw to the grid. I just want to know if my understanding here is correct? Best, David
David, I’m super interested in how it goes. I had 2 x PW2 installed in 2022, and had them on the same phase on purpose so I could use them both in a blackout (with a strong memory of the days of blackout in 2021 for my suburb). But after a few months Tesla in Nevada reacted to a little alarm for which, to this day, they haven’t explained. But without telling me, they crippled my system and demanded that my installer move the PW2 batteries to different phases. So now I have only one battery backing it up - but it’s fine because my original mindset of “get independent of the grid!” has changed to “the grid needs YOU!” and I make way more money and way more bragging from that, than any kind of wild-west cowboy scenario. It took 12 months of harassing Tesla but my installer now believes you need 4 batteries, 1 on each phase, before you can have 2 batteries on one phase. So bottom line: - nobody knows jack, trust me, it’s a black hole of knowledge, on the tip of a tip of expertise - you’re already on the right track, and will make loads Each battery is 5 kW export only of course! But with the phases set up this way, you can have periods of importing or exporting >10 kW at a time. Either the solar can export at the same time as the batteries during a price spike, or you can import AND consume during a price crash. Either way I’ve seen it go beyond 11, 12 kW for a period.
Great to get this insight. I’m new to Amber and have a couple of questions.. 1. If I’m in manual import control and the sun is shinning does my house consume solar, battery or grid power? 2. I have just installed 2 x PW2. I’m confused as within hit Tesla app it shows one PW2 only? I can’t seem to find anywhere which details the set up that I have?
Do you mean manual import in the Amber app? Manual import in the Amber app means “charge the battery” you’ll charge the battery at full rate in preference by solar if available whilst also covering house load. The delta will come from the grid. The Tesla App should show the quantity of Powerwalls. On my mail screen where the Powerwall is shown I see Powerwall x2
Adam, do you have solar curtailment software as part of your Amber app? I own a Tesla PW2 as well, and I'd love to be able to curtail sending kWs to the grid when the price is negative. Just wondering if you do this with Amber?
Hey, I do not as I use an Enphase system and I don’t believe there is anything around to curtail these systems. I’m lucky to be on the Ausgrid two way tariff trial so the slight negative impact gets blown away by the 30+c FIT later in the afternoon.
@@TeslaStraya sorry, I got a little confused by your reply. Do you or do you not use an Enphase inverter system? I have Enphase inverter too but live outside Ausgrid zone.
I do use an Enphase system but there doesn’t appear to be any real solution for curtailment using Enphase. I’ve seen some people do some random automations using grid profiles to remove export when negative and switch the grid profile back when positive but I don’t feel this is a reliable solution as grid profile propagation can take some time to hit all the Microinverters.
Hi Adam. This was a really informative video. Thank you. Does that mean you have moved away from Evergen then? Does the Amber smart shift take weather forecasts into account in their algorithm as far as you are aware? Gordon.
Hi Gordon, thanks for the feedback. Yes, I moved away from Evergen as I joined Amber. Amber are working on both solar forecasting and I believe weather forecasting to further improve their logic. However right now it works well without it because it can see the current production, generation and wholesale costs so it can already make massively smart decisions that works in the owners favour.
Hi Adam, I moved away from SmartShift and back to Evergen about 5 months ago because SmartShift was not forecasting solar production and also predicted load based on last 24 hours. Because I only charge every few days, that seem to stuff up plans. Also, smart shift seemed to make bad decisions.
Writing a cheque to you? Net profit? Tell me if that was retail tariff or wholesale tariff. I’d also be interested to know if it had any kind of “bonus” feed-in reward - the way to tell that is if it’s in any way temporary, or if it applies during midday. If you’re getting rewarded anything at all for exporting at midday - which I really don’t know the answer to? - then it’s reliant on artificial subsidies.
@@whophd We are on a Premium feed-in-tarrif 68 Cents - only 5000 residents with solar could get the tarriff but it ends at the end of '04. They would automatically deposit the funds to my account. No no special awards just the standard P-fit.
Hi Adam, I’ve recently signed up with Amber after having been with GloBird for the last 12 months. I have a Tesla PowerWall 2 and an Enphase 28 panel array with microinverters. I’ve also recently adjusted my electric HWS to run between 10am-2pm as it uses 80% of the power produced from the solar array at that time. The question I have is how to capture the best FIT at peak times. I’m actually wondering whether the best way to achieve this is to install a 2nd PowerWall 2. What do you think?
Hey Warwick, for me, my most lucrative time to export is between 2pm and 8pm. My primary goal for the day is ensure Powerwalls and car (if it’s neededG are charged prior to 2pm so I can export any excess solar from 2pm until sundown. I also then let SmartShift discharge my batteries down to 20% at night when the prices are high or ideally spiking. Having 2 Powerwalls for sure helps this as I have a decent surplus left to discharge at night. You’d have to do some sums to work out where the payback sits if that’s your main goal of adding a second one. I’m considering a third at the moment!
Thanks for your reply Adam. I’m also wondering, if I add a second PowerWall am I going to be able to charge and discharge both from/to the grid at the same time (especially discharging)?
Hi Mark, I’m not aware of anything specific but are you on a time of use tariff? There was some talk of some good rates in the Amber Users Facebook group.
Good content Adam. Can I ask (sorry if this published elsewhere) what Solar and battery capacity are you using to create these returns? I'm an 18-month long customer with Amber, got the EV charging working out, but looking to a v2H or V2G solution, or plan for one
Hi Matt, all good. I do have some solar videos in the solar playlist but I have 2x Tesla Powerwall 2’s (27kWh) and 16.4kW of solar. I have a Tesla Performance Model 3 and a RWD Model Y that I’ll get early next year (Feb-May window). Cheers, Adam.
@@TeslaStrayaHi Adam Curious if adding a third or even a fourth powerwall would affect your returns? I think your capped at 10kw feed back to the grid yes so curious if you could discharge in time to realise a third power wall adding to the returns or the capped rate of discharge would mean it would be impossible to realise full return on a third or even a fourth powerwall. I ask as I’m in Melbourne and I have 13.2kw solar edge system and in the process of saving for Powerwalls, I want 3 but likely will only be able to afford 2 depending on a few things… if the price stays the same and / or if the chemistry of the power changes in 2023 with the whole NA+ & lithium hybrids coming from big battery manufacturers..either increase capacity or reduce price to buy… In the mean time we have a Bluetti AC500 generator taking some of our excess load for us to use over night. Anyway to my main point I’m wondering if you had an insight of what a third or fourth telsa power wall would do for your returns, if you expanded out you Powerwalls using your current strategy?
Hi Adam. Id love to have a chat with you if thats somehow possible. I have 12 kw of solar panels, a tesla powerwall2 and we are pretty high users at 20-24kw a day. Do you think we would actually save enough money with Smartshift to be able to pay out the AGL VPP system as its $1k to leave it? Im very interested in your opinion. Regards Jason
Hey Jason, if I’m honest $1000 is an awfully big back foot to enter in on with Amber. To be honest and transparent I’d stay on your current VPP until it’s penalty free. Whilst I’m sure you’ll see savings, having to pay back $1k immediately would be a bit of a pain in my opinion! If you had the savings of a second powerwall to be able to dump that to the grid it might make a little more sense but it sounds like with your usage you’d be self consuming most of your solar and stored energy. Where about are you located? Amber have a calculator you can use on their website to try and calculate your savings, that might be a good start.
Thanks for the reply Adam. Im in Vic. Yeah l thought as much about the $1000 payout. Id love a second powerwall but cant really justify it as lve put enough into this setup already. Ive only been up and running since July but by the looks for 8 months of the year we will be running a negative bill or very close to it. Might have to be happy with that and work out more ways of using our excess power. Eg electric hot water service etc. Thanks again. 👍
I sympathise, Sam. Back in 2022 I was on the fence about signing up for Tesla VPP with the 12-month period, extended warranty, and the up-front refund. But based on the example of a couple of folks like Tesla Straya, I jumped straight into Amber and the money tap turned on straight away, just amazing. What’s most surprising is how few people know about this! Still! I’ve lost count of the number of people I can tell 10 times that I’m making money with reverse power bills, but NOT UNTIL you literally show them the “Bills” tab of the Amber app, does the penny drop. I’ve seen that look on their faces. And then they’re suddenly “my new best friend” status with me, haha!
Hi Adam Have you worked out if you got a 3rd or 4th powerwall would that increase you take away or would it be impossible to send that much out to the grid given the limit of 10kw. I’m based in Melbourne so curious as I would like to get 2-3 Powerwalls to support my 13.2kw solar edge system
Hey Sarah, each Powerwall can output 5kW so technically if I had a third I could output 15kW. To be honest, I have considered a third Powerwall but there isn’t certainty around how long the trial tariff I am on will star around. It’s meant to stay through 2023. I plan on doing another video to update on my savings as soon as some billing issues are fixed with Amber, unfortunately I haven’t seen a bill since august so have no idea where I sit in regards to credits, but I seek to be sitting on about $350 a month in credit from what I can tell.
@@TeslaStrayaHi Adam I am curious on how often (per day/week) and for how long (time period 1/2 and hour, 1 hour etc ) you have seen the market go negative Tarif for? And what was the lowest Tarif you have seen and did/can you fill up your Powerwalls during that time on as an aggressive setting as selling at peak? if you had the batteries to back a lot of power up at negative Tarif there could be some really good advantages $
Hey Sarah, to be honest I’ve only seen imports in my area show negative for one or two 30 minute blocks since I have been a customer. One instance it was -26c and the PW’s charged at 10kW when the algorithm detected it. I wasn’t home unfortunately so I couldn’t plug car in, turn on aircon etc. However I see
@@TeslaStraya pretty cool 😎 Maybe get yourself a couple of portable batteries (one that you could take in the car or camper van) and set them to charge for 1-2 hrs during the 12-2pm of that negative/ low Tarif catchment window of opportunity. I’m using the Bluetti AC500 until we can afford to get powerwalls and then I will still use the Bluetti units to host the spill over solar (and acting like a UPS back up / backup generator for the Powerwalls as 2nd line of backup). Perhaps also might take advantage of a negative tariff, but unlikely on the negative tariff as we have too much solar generally for that to happen but maybe in winter (if the circumstances align) and 100% with an electric car, for sure! I would egg the car like a fellas at the pub on a hot day haha 😂 I don’t have a telsa but can you plug the Tesla in but not enable charging? Then either turn it on to charge remotely? Ideally it would be great to have integration with the Tesla app and the apis that amber have to auto start charging when the Tarif is good (threshold)
Hi @TeslaStraya Wanted to see how you are going with your Powerwalls? Did you get a third and how as Amber been for you? I just installed two Powerwall 2s myself seems to be doing really well in the dead of winter not using the grid at all. In melb as well.
Rene, you can go on thinking that. Meanwhile the rest of us are banking cheques with real money. But it’s possible someone is paying you to say that, so enjoy it.
If you liked what you saw and are considering joining Amber Electric, please consider using my referral code of TESLASTRAYA30 which will provide you with $30 of billing credits.
If you'd like a one month trial of TeslaFi versus the usual two weeks, please consider using my TeslaFi referral code - www.teslafi.com/signup.php?referred=teslastraya
If you'd like an extra month of credit when signing up for Teslascope please consider using my referral code - tsla.is/r/tslastraya
To whom it may concern, or anyone that works or cares at Amber
I am writing after 17 days trying to get meaningful help.
Amber was super fast on 1 occasion.
We filled in the form on the 20/9/23 at about 15:30 and at 16:30 we got a confirmation that we were with Amber already (so Amber could start charging us from the 20/9/23).
Amber could not (and still can not) connect us fully.
It took 8 days to get a reply from somebody actually working at Amber. I was told the problem is now with “battery experts”.
Now, 9 days and many calls and emails later I am told the same (by email, nobody called back)
I have tried to get meaningful answers (not form automated replies) but from employees of Amber.
After now more than 40 emails and 30 calls to Amber, we still are not properly connected but we already got the first bill and it is incorrect.
Great deep dive review Adam👍. I have recently returned to Amber after being with Powershop for 12 months . Have 11kw Solar with 10kwh SolarEdge battery.
12 months ago SmartShift was very clunky for SolarEdge batteries and the 2-way Tariff was not offered.
However, this time around SmartShift has been optimised for SE and the 2-way 26c bonus tariff (Ausgrid area) means around $6 per day in earnings 💰. Negative FiT export curtailment works perfectly with SE battery/inverter.
Currently charging our M3 & MY using Charge HQ to soak up excess solar prior to the 2pm grid exports. Look forward to Amber EV software and eventual V2G.
Awesome stuff!!
Great video. I sing-in with your promo code. Can't wait when Amber also starts managing EV charging to choose the best price.
Thank you so much! Remember when you get on board to start the registration process for SmartShift. I definitely can’t wait for the EV charging product! Game changer!! Thanks for watching as well!
Hey Adam,
This is an awesome video. Thank you for this.
Now that you’ve been with amber for over 12 months and you’ve seen all of the different seasons, would you consider doing another video like this?
I am considering refinancing my home to get one or two powerwalls and I’d love to see how much you’d save/make over a period of 12 months.
If you consider the cost of the Powerwalls at roughly $14k installed and that the warranty is only 10 years and less I think if you cycle them fully every day and that interest rates are currently quite high then I strongly suspect that borrowing money to buy a Powerwall is what we call a bad idea. So 2 powerwalls = $28000 - you would have to save about $3720 a year just to pay off the Powerwalls within the warranty period (calculated at 5.78% finance P&I reducible loan = $310 per month). If you had the spare cash and you want to do it - that's a different thing.
Nice comprehensive video mate, will use your referral code.
I queried Amber Energy for my AlphaESS system back in July but it wasn't supported then. I just checked again and they do support it now, but they never got back to me from my earlier query.
Oh well since at the time I couldn't join Amber I found a plan with AGL that gives me $240/year rebate so I'm sticking with them for the 2 year duration. FiT is still only a miserable 5 cents so definitely a sore point there.
Will definitely be interested in Smartshift after that and hopefully can still use your referral code then.
It would be interesting doing the sums again now it’s supported. I think you’ll probably find the savings on Amber will outweigh your AGL credit. I did the same before I moved to Amber as an existing AGL customer but your mileage may vary based off location, usage etc.
Glad to hear that your battery is now supported, that is great news!
Thanks for the video! I'm glad you are having a good experience with Amber and Smartshift. I also tried Amber for a couple of weeks last month, but my experience was not as positive as yours. I like what Amber is doing though, and I do hope they succeed!
My home intallation is a little different from yours - I have a SolarEdge inverter + batteries (DC-coupled behind the inverter). I charge my car from a 32 amp circuit in my carport using the Tesla mobile connector that came with the car (with a 32 amp tail from EVSE).
I used to use the "it's sunny so start charging" method, but in recent times the most promising ChargeHQ app. My most unfortunate "mistake" was that I joined Amber during a period when power prices in SE QLD turned out to be mostly negative during the day, so I was paying to export my excess solar😞. Not Amber's fault in any way, but a situation that may become more common as rooftop and large-scale solar generation increases. The second issue was with discharging my batteries: I have a 5kW export limit (thankyou Energex). Unfortunatly when Amber was discharging to the grid, there was around a 50% overhead (for each kWh going to the grid around 1.5 kWh was being discharged from the battery - not good for the battery or the economics 🤥). Amber are aware of this and I'm sure will be able to address the issue.
Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m a huge fan of ChargeHQ and the integration is amazing.
Hope you might be able to give Amber another try in the future!
Hi! Do you know if amber ever fixed this issue with the 50% overhead when discharging to the grid?
@ca2997 you mean the API limit issue causing issues with discharge? I believe they’ve put some solutions in place but it isn’t 100% fixed. It has only impacted me once though and supposedly their solution is working around it pretty well.
Great video, very informative. Do you think you’d see the same savings without an EV? Though I’m tempted to get one, I think I’ll go a battery first… maybe 😂
Thanks! I think you’d see the most savings with solar first, followed by a battery and then an EV. So your thinking is definitely correct!
Hey Adam. Old PL4 watcher here! Great video mate! Just 2 questions re. battery cycling - how much long term battery depletion from continuous cycling and how long do you expect it to take to pay off exorbitant battery outlay using Smartshift (as compared to no Smartshift)? I've been with Amber for about 18 months now (since watch Chris V's video interview) and and now starting to consider a battery.
Cheers
Dave
Hey Dave, thanks for watching and commenting! To be honest I don’t think there will be much change. Tesla generally state a battery cycle per day is fine and has been tested and I find I basically complete this single full cycle per day.
I’ve been an early adopter of batteries, first one installed in 2017 and the other in 2018. Right now per 30 days I’m averaging $350 to $400 per month in bill credit which in my opinion is pretty crazy money that I can withdraw as I need to. I am lucky that for the next year or so I am on a very favourable two way tariff which is working hugely in my favour.
Great video! Thank you! Is it equally easy to discontinue if say one wanted to try it out for a few months? No hidden fees / lock in contracts etc? Thanks!
Thanks Sam! Definitely no contracts, you can come and go as you wish.
Awesome! Thanks for that! Might give it a try then. Thanks again
Hi Adam, I followed your guidance and switched over Amber and it’s working well. I’m now looking to install a second Tesla PowerWall 2. I think I understand correctly that the power company caps export to the grid at 10kW per phase. So I’m planning to connect the second PowerWall to a different phase, effectively doubling my potential to export up to a total of 20kw to the grid.
I just want to know if my understanding here is correct?
Best, David
David, I’m super interested in how it goes. I had 2 x PW2 installed in 2022, and had them on the same phase on purpose so I could use them both in a blackout (with a strong memory of the days of blackout in 2021 for my suburb). But after a few months Tesla in Nevada reacted to a little alarm for which, to this day, they haven’t explained. But without telling me, they crippled my system and demanded that my installer move the PW2 batteries to different phases.
So now I have only one battery backing it up - but it’s fine because my original mindset of “get independent of the grid!” has changed to “the grid needs YOU!” and I make way more money and way more bragging from that, than any kind of wild-west cowboy scenario. It took 12 months of harassing Tesla but my installer now believes you need 4 batteries, 1 on each phase, before you can have 2 batteries on one phase.
So bottom line:
- nobody knows jack, trust me, it’s a black hole of knowledge, on the tip of a tip of expertise
- you’re already on the right track, and will make loads
Each battery is 5 kW export only of course! But with the phases set up this way, you can have periods of importing or exporting >10 kW at a time.
Either the solar can export at the same time as the batteries during a price spike, or you can import AND consume during a price crash. Either way I’ve seen it go beyond 11, 12 kW for a period.
Great to get this insight.
I’m new to Amber and have a couple of questions..
1. If I’m in manual import control and the sun is shinning does my house consume solar, battery or grid power?
2. I have just installed 2 x PW2. I’m confused as within hit Tesla app it shows one PW2 only? I can’t seem to find anywhere which details the set up that I have?
Do you mean manual import in the Amber app? Manual import in the Amber app means “charge the battery” you’ll charge the battery at full rate in preference by solar if available whilst also covering house load. The delta will come from the grid.
The Tesla App should show the quantity of Powerwalls. On my mail screen where the Powerwall is shown I see Powerwall x2
Adam, do you have solar curtailment software as part of your Amber app? I own a Tesla PW2 as well, and I'd love to be able to curtail sending kWs to the grid when the price is negative. Just wondering if you do this with Amber?
Hey, I do not as I use an Enphase system and I don’t believe there is anything around to curtail these systems.
I’m lucky to be on the Ausgrid two way tariff trial so the slight negative impact gets blown away by the 30+c FIT later in the afternoon.
@@TeslaStraya sorry, I got a little confused by your reply. Do you or do you not use an Enphase inverter system? I have Enphase inverter too but live outside Ausgrid zone.
I do use an Enphase system but there doesn’t appear to be any real solution for curtailment using Enphase.
I’ve seen some people do some random automations using grid profiles to remove export when negative and switch the grid profile back when positive but I don’t feel this is a reliable solution as grid profile propagation can take some time to hit all the Microinverters.
@@TeslaStraya thanks. Do you think Amber app could incorporate this fix, is it an inverter issue?
Hi Adam.
This was a really informative video.
Thank you.
Does that mean you have moved away from Evergen then?
Does the Amber smart shift take weather forecasts into account in their algorithm as far as you are aware?
Gordon.
Hi Gordon, thanks for the feedback. Yes, I moved away from Evergen as I joined Amber. Amber are working on both solar forecasting and I believe weather forecasting to further improve their logic.
However right now it works well without it because it can see the current production, generation and wholesale costs so it can already make massively smart decisions that works in the owners favour.
Hi Adam, I moved away from SmartShift and back to Evergen about 5 months ago because SmartShift was not forecasting solar production and also predicted load based on last 24 hours. Because I only charge every few days, that seem to stuff up plans. Also, smart shift seemed to make bad decisions.
I was with AGL getting anything from $150 - $200 credit a month. first month with Amber will be interesting if its even better. Solar only.
Writing a cheque to you? Net profit? Tell me if that was retail tariff or wholesale tariff. I’d also be interested to know if it had any kind of “bonus” feed-in reward - the way to tell that is if it’s in any way temporary, or if it applies during midday. If you’re getting rewarded anything at all for exporting at midday - which I really don’t know the answer to? - then it’s reliant on artificial subsidies.
@@whophd We are on a Premium feed-in-tarrif 68 Cents - only 5000 residents with solar could get the tarriff but it ends at the end of '04. They would automatically deposit the funds to my account. No no special awards just the standard P-fit.
Hi Adam,
I’ve recently signed up with Amber after having been with GloBird for the last 12 months.
I have a Tesla PowerWall 2 and an Enphase 28 panel array with microinverters.
I’ve also recently adjusted my electric HWS to run between 10am-2pm as it uses 80% of the power produced from the solar array at that time.
The question I have is how to capture the best FIT at peak times. I’m actually wondering whether the best way to achieve this is to install a 2nd PowerWall 2. What do you think?
Hey Warwick, for me, my most lucrative time to export is between 2pm and 8pm.
My primary goal for the day is ensure Powerwalls and car (if it’s neededG are charged prior to 2pm so I can export any excess solar from 2pm until sundown.
I also then let SmartShift discharge my batteries down to 20% at night when the prices are high or ideally spiking. Having 2 Powerwalls for sure helps this as I have a decent surplus left to discharge at night.
You’d have to do some sums to work out where the payback sits if that’s your main goal of adding a second one. I’m considering a third at the moment!
Thanks for your reply Adam. I’m also wondering, if I add a second PowerWall am I going to be able to charge and discharge both from/to the grid at the same time (especially discharging)?
How u doing?~enjoyed!excellent video~
Thanks very much!
Anyone aware of two way tariffs in the Qld Energex area?
Hi Mark, I’m not aware of anything specific but are you on a time of use tariff? There was some talk of some good rates in the Amber Users Facebook group.
Good content Adam. Can I ask (sorry if this published elsewhere) what Solar and battery capacity are you using to create these returns? I'm an 18-month long customer with Amber, got the EV charging working out, but looking to a v2H or V2G solution, or plan for one
Hi Matt, all good. I do have some solar videos in the solar playlist but I have 2x Tesla Powerwall 2’s (27kWh) and 16.4kW of solar. I have a Tesla Performance Model 3 and a RWD Model Y that I’ll get early next year (Feb-May window). Cheers, Adam.
@@TeslaStrayaHi Adam
Curious if adding a third or even a fourth powerwall would affect your returns?
I think your capped at 10kw feed back to the grid yes so curious if you could discharge in time to realise a third power wall adding to the returns or the capped rate of discharge would mean it would be impossible to realise full return on a third or even a fourth powerwall.
I ask as I’m in Melbourne and I have 13.2kw solar edge system and in the process of saving for Powerwalls, I want 3 but likely will only be able to afford 2 depending on a few things…
if the price stays the same and / or if the chemistry of the power changes in 2023 with the whole NA+ & lithium hybrids coming from big battery manufacturers..either increase capacity or reduce price to buy…
In the mean time we have a Bluetti AC500 generator taking some of our excess load for us to use over night.
Anyway to my main point I’m wondering if you had an insight of what a third or fourth telsa power wall would do for your returns, if you expanded out you Powerwalls using your current strategy?
Hi Adam.
Id love to have a chat with you if thats somehow possible.
I have 12 kw of solar panels, a tesla powerwall2 and we are pretty high users at 20-24kw a day.
Do you think we would actually save enough money with Smartshift to be able to pay out the AGL VPP system as its $1k to leave it?
Im very interested in your opinion.
Regards Jason
Hey Jason, if I’m honest $1000 is an awfully big back foot to enter in on with Amber. To be honest and transparent I’d stay on your current VPP until it’s penalty free. Whilst I’m sure you’ll see savings, having to pay back $1k immediately would be a bit of a pain in my opinion!
If you had the savings of a second powerwall to be able to dump that to the grid it might make a little more sense but it sounds like with your usage you’d be self consuming most of your solar and stored energy.
Where about are you located? Amber have a calculator you can use on their website to try and calculate your savings, that might be a good start.
Thanks for the reply Adam. Im in Vic.
Yeah l thought as much about the $1000 payout.
Id love a second powerwall but cant really justify it as lve put enough into this setup already.
Ive only been up and running since July but by the looks for 8 months of the year we will be running a negative bill or very close to it.
Might have to be happy with that and work out more ways of using our excess power. Eg electric hot water service etc.
Thanks again.
👍
I sympathise, Sam. Back in 2022 I was on the fence about signing up for Tesla VPP with the 12-month period, extended warranty, and the up-front refund. But based on the example of a couple of folks like Tesla Straya, I jumped straight into Amber and the money tap turned on straight away, just amazing.
What’s most surprising is how few people know about this! Still! I’ve lost count of the number of people I can tell 10 times that I’m making money with reverse power bills, but NOT UNTIL you literally show them the “Bills” tab of the Amber app, does the penny drop. I’ve seen that look on their faces.
And then they’re suddenly “my new best friend” status with me, haha!
Hi Adam
Have you worked out if you got a 3rd or 4th powerwall would that increase you take away or would it be impossible to send that much out to the grid given the limit of 10kw.
I’m based in Melbourne so curious as I would like to get 2-3 Powerwalls to support my 13.2kw solar edge system
Hey Sarah, each Powerwall can output 5kW so technically if I had a third I could output 15kW. To be honest, I have considered a third Powerwall but there isn’t certainty around how long the trial tariff I am on will star around. It’s meant to stay through 2023.
I plan on doing another video to update on my savings as soon as some billing issues are fixed with Amber, unfortunately I haven’t seen a bill since august so have no idea where I sit in regards to credits, but I seek to be sitting on about $350 a month in credit from what I can tell.
@@TeslaStrayaHi Adam
I am curious on how often (per day/week) and for how long (time period 1/2 and hour, 1 hour etc ) you have seen the market go negative Tarif for?
And what was the lowest Tarif you have seen and did/can you fill up your Powerwalls during that time on as an aggressive setting as selling at peak?
if you had the batteries to back a lot of power up at negative Tarif there could be some really good advantages $
Hey Sarah, to be honest I’ve only seen imports in my area show negative for one or two 30 minute blocks since I have been a customer. One instance it was -26c and the PW’s charged at 10kW when the algorithm detected it. I wasn’t home unfortunately so I couldn’t plug car in, turn on aircon etc.
However I see
@@TeslaStraya pretty cool 😎
Maybe get yourself a couple of portable batteries (one that you could take in the car or camper van) and set them to charge for 1-2 hrs during the 12-2pm of that negative/ low Tarif catchment window of opportunity.
I’m using the Bluetti AC500 until we can afford to get powerwalls and then I will still use the Bluetti units to host the spill over solar (and acting like a UPS back up / backup generator for the Powerwalls as 2nd line of backup).
Perhaps also might take advantage of a negative tariff, but unlikely on the negative tariff as we have too much solar generally for that to happen but maybe in winter (if the circumstances align) and 100% with an electric car, for sure!
I would egg the car like a fellas at the pub on a hot day haha 😂
I don’t have a telsa but can you plug the Tesla in but not enable charging?
Then either turn it on to charge remotely?
Ideally it would be great to have integration with the Tesla app and the apis that amber have to auto start charging when the Tarif is good (threshold)
Hi @TeslaStraya
Wanted to see how you are going with your Powerwalls? Did you get a third and how as Amber been for you?
I just installed two Powerwall 2s myself seems to be doing really well in the dead of winter not using the grid at all. In melb as well.
Seems abit crap that there are no abilities to set time of day for dispatch, charge etc.
Or even to set prices to trigger export or charge.
Amber is a ripoff pure and simple. Classic bait and switch.
Not sure how you come to that conclusion but perhaps it didn’t work out for you.
I’m about to withdraw another $3,000 of account credit 🤷🏻♂️
Rene, you can go on thinking that. Meanwhile the rest of us are banking cheques with real money.
But it’s possible someone is paying you to say that, so enjoy it.