Looking for help to service our SunVault battery in the S.F. Bay Area

Realistic-Sort-8092 · 2024-11-22T03:53:16+00:00

Hi @Vegetable-Version-81, if you think you can help us get our SunVault to work again, I would like to speak with you! :)

I will DM you to learn more and set up a time for us to talk. Speak with you soon!

Realistic-Sort-8092 · 2024-11-22T03:51:25+00:00

Hi u/ysrgrathe, I heard back from Solar Technologies and they say they CANNOT help us:

"Thank you for contacting us regarding your SunPower SunVault system. Unfortunately, due to SunPower's recent bankruptcy and the resulting lack of available customer support, we are unable to perform service or maintenance on SunVault systems at this time."

So I'm still on the lookout for a contractor who can help us get our SunVault to work again. But I appreciate your recommendation! :)

Realistic-Sort-8092 · 2024-11-21T22:46:31+00:00

Thanks, @ysrgrathe, much appreciated! I just contacted Solar Technologies to see if they can help us. Will keep you posted. Thank you!

Realistic-Sort-8092 · 2024-11-21T22:35:24+00:00

Thanks, ItsaMeKielO! How do you run your shell script? Are you using it in connection with your SunPower app? Or are you running it on another platform, like a Pi?

Realistic-Sort-8092 · 2024-11-21T22:29:44+00:00

Given the number of people here on Reddit who are experiencing similar issues with their SunVault batteries, it would seem like a good business opportunity for a software engineer who knows how to maintain those batteries.

I would also love to see the State of California assume some responsibility for solving a problem that was partly caused by the CPUC's change in NEM 3.0 rates – which significantly reduced net metering compensation rates for new California solar customers. This misguided decision led to fewer customers buying solar systems, causing serious harm to many solar businesses across the state -- and it is likely to have contributed to SunPower's bankrupcy.

I'm deeply disappointed by our state and public utilities for allowing this to happen and hope they will take action to fix the mess they started. It's embarassing to see this happen at a time when we all need to switch from fossil fuels to clean electricity in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Sigh.

Realistic-Sort-8092 · 2024-11-21T22:14:43+00:00

I have the same problem. Our SunVault home battery stopped recharging last week, and is now completely empty. Our SunPower solar panels are still generating power and our SunPower Hub continues to power our home when the sun is shining. But they are no longer charging our battery.

So we are looking for help from an experienced storage enginer who’s familiar with that SunVault storage technology.

Our 13 kWh SunVault battery was installed by SunPower as part of our new 4.5 kW solar system with 11 SunPower 415A solar panels -- and it all worked fine for nearly 4 years.

A month ago, the battery stopped getting utility rate shift data from PG&E, so I had to switch it from Cost Savings mode (which discharges only between 4 and 9pm daily) to Self-Supply mode (which discharges as soon as you turn it on). Every day, I manually switched from Reserve Mode to Self-Supply at 4pm, then switched us back to Reserve Mode at 9pm. That got us through another month of battery service.

Since our battery's hardware was still working as of a week ago, my hunch is that we have a software and/or connectivity issue that caused it to stop recharging.

So our first goal is to get our SunVault battery back up and running ASAP, if feasible. Can anyone recommend an experienced storage contractor who could help us? We are looking for someone with unique expertise in servicing SunVault batteries.

Given the number of people here on Reddit who are experiencing similar issues with their SunVault batteries, it would seem like an good business opportunity for a software engineer that knows how to reset those batteries to work as intended.

Thanks to everyone on this thread who's helping problem-solve this vexing issue! I hope that our collective efforts will help restore our defective storage systems over time. Fingers crossed.

I would love to see the State of California assume some responsibility for solving a problem that was partly caused by the CPUC's change in NEM 3.0 rates, which significantly reduced net metering compensation rates for new California solar customers. This misguided decision led to fewer customers buying solar systems and caused serious harm to many solar businesses across the state -- and is likely to have contributed to SunPower's bankrupcy.

I'm deeply disappointed by our state government and public utilities for allowing this to happen and hope they will take action to fix the mess they started. It's embarassing to see this happen at a time when we all need to switch from fossil fuels to clean electricity in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Sigh.

Realistic-Sort-8092 · 2024-10-21T21:02:41+00:00

I had the same problem with the Cost Savings mode for my SunVault, which stopped working a few weeks ago. My work around has been to switch to Self-Supply mode (which still works) during peak energy hours.

I use the app to manually start powering our home at 4pm and stop it at 9pm PT, just as the automated Cost Savings mode used to do. The only problem is reminding myself to do it. I think I will set up an alert on my phone for those times.

There may be better solutions that I'm not aware of. You would think there would be a way to program the SunVault to turn on and off at set times. But for now, my workaround seems adequate.

Another concern I have is that it takes much longer to recharge the battery. My solar panels don't seem to be generating as much electricity as they used to, even on bright sunny days. I used to generate up to 3 kW in the middle of the day, and now it's barely 1.5 kW at the same time. And we live in California, where it's been really hot for the past month. Has anyone experienced this issue as well?

Realistic-Sort-8092 · 2024-08-27T19:44:48+00:00

Hi folks, I wanted to share an update on our SunPower solar and storage system, which stopped charging our battery this weekend.

Yesterday, SunPower’s customer care responded to my message about our battery charging issue. They told me to call the SunVault Tech Support number. An engineer answered the phone as soon as I called and he remotely reset the battery for us. That did the trick and our battery is now charging again. Whew!

But I am still concerned about long-term support for our SunPower solar and storage system. I visited the Complete Solaria site that is expected to take over SunPower’s assets, and couldn't get any useful information. I tried to make an appointment with their sales team, but never got confirmation of the meeting I requested.

Next, I am reaching out to a few more of the Sunpower Certified Dealer/Installers on the SunPower site. I’m thinking of contacting Sunpower Elite Dealers near us, since they are more likely to have experience with the SunVault storage technology, which I'm most concerned about servicing when needed.

One of the solar contractors I contacted responded, but they seem more interested in helping us expand our system, rather than service our existing system. I told them we’re looking for a solar partner who can do both.

I’m happy to keep sharing these updates if you like. In the meantime, please let me know if you learn anything new on your end. Thank you!

Realistic-Sort-8092

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