Sunrun customer says Powerwall shows 'grid outage,' leaving home dark for 8 to 24 hours at a time

A homeowner said a Sunrun solar system paired with a Tesla Powerwall has started leaving their house without electricity about once a week, with outages lasting anywhere from eight to 24 hours even when the battery appears fully charged.

The issue has also become expensive, the homeowner said, forcing the cancellation of three home showings and driving away two interested buyers while the property remains on the market.

Here's what to know

In a post on Reddit's r/solar, the homeowner said the battery app repeatedly surfaced alerts including "Grid Outage," "Powerwall unable to power load," and "Grid outage detected. Powerwall has been unable to restart after multiple attempts." 

The OP described a two-year-old system that has become less reliable over time: what used to happen about once a month now happens about once a week. They said nearby homes still seem to have utility service during the outages even as their own house loses power.

The OP said, "These are NOT neighborhood grid outages, but that app says thats what the issue is. Grid voltage issue. My neighbors have power. The utility grid is up, but for some reason my system thinks the grid is down and disconnects my house from it CONSTANTLY."

Service technicians have visited roughly four times, according to the homeowner, but the result has allegedly been the same each time: the system "looks fine." The OP added that a software update did not fix the issue, and the system reportedly went down three more times after that visit.

Another Reddit user steered the discussion toward the contract rather than just the hardware: "Do not pay an electrician before you read your agreement," and added, based on company filings cited in the comment, that the provider handles monitoring and operations at no cost to the customer and includes maintenance in both lease and PPA agreements.

More background

The homeowner said the property had been listed for three months in a "desired area," but the power problems had already disrupted several sales opportunities. According to the post, the homeowner canceled three showings because the home had no electricity, and two other interested families lost interest after hearing about the solar arrangement.

Rooftop solar paired with battery storage is often sold on the promise of backup power and lower utility bills. But the homeowner said one failure happened while the battery showed a 100% charge, yet "my house had no power."

Because the provider appears to handle service and troubleshooting, the homeowner said they have been dependent on the company for repairs and diagnosis. The OP also said support suggested hiring an electrician despite the repeated visits, while complaining of "having their reps come out for 20 minutes and saying everything is fine."

One user said the financial impact depends on the type of agreement. Under a PPA, "you are billed for each kilowatt-hour produced, so hours with no production already lower that bill." 

But if the setup is leased, the commenter said, the monthly payment stays the same and any credit would depend on the performance guarantee.

What can be done?

The user added that the homeowner should document the problem by sending "the outage dates and hours to [the provider] in writing" and citing the contract's operations and maintenance clause. That same user also said the performance guarantee section could matter, particularly if the arrangement is a lease rather than a PPA.

For homeowners still comparing solar options, EnergySage offers free tools to curate competitive bids from local installers without sharing your contact information unless you choose to move forward. That can help shoppers compare ownership structures, warranty terms, and service obligations before signing.

"My wife is 6 months pregnant and we cant be having power outages one full day per week, and have them raising their rates year after year. And not returning phone calls. And having their reps come out for 20 minutes and saying everything is fine. This is ridiculous."

Where can I learn more?

For more on the Tesla Powerwall and home battery systems mentioned here, these articles offer a useful starting point. They cover how Powerwall backup works, what it costs, how widely it has spread, and how other homeowners think about battery storage during blackouts.

• Tesla has marketed home backup during outages as a way to keep families powered.

• Homeowners weighing Tesla storage have had to scrutinize the value of Powerwall before signing.

• Tesla has pushed half a million installations worldwide as Powerwall adoption keeps climbing.

• Battery rivals now tout next-gen alternatives to Tesla as blackout concerns reshape the market.

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