Tesla to launch its EV “charge on solar” Powerwall product in Australia on Friday

A long awaited part of the Tesla app will finally launch in Australia on Friday, allowing owners of Tesla Powerwall batteries to charge their EVs with excess solar from their power system.

‘Charge on Solar’ in the Tesla app will allow owners to set up their Tesla EVs in a number of ways to include solar power from their roof.

Owners can top up to a preset amount using any type of power (grid, battery or solar) and then will charge further only when excess solar is available. For example, an owner may set their car to charge to 40% on grid, and then charge only with solar after that.

The app will also set a charge location, so it will remember your settings every time you charge there.

However, not everyone will be able to use this new feature. To make Charge on Solar work, owners require a Tesla Powerwall with solar connected, as well as any Model 3 or Y, or a Model S or X purchased from 2019.

TheDriven estimates that with 70,000 Powerwalls installed, and 100,000 Tesla EVs purchased, there’s approximately 20,000 people who can take advantage of this system.

To get the new features. ensure software on the Tesla app is at least version 4.22.5.

Tesla suggests that for people who are interested in doing this, whenever they are home they should plug in their Tesla, as entirely solar can be slower than pulling energy from the grid.

“Solar power and home loads are variables so if you ever want to charge faster, you can simply increase the lower charge limit to a desired range,” the Tesla team explain.

“Your vehicle may delay the start of charging until there is at least 1.2kW of stable excess solar to maximize efficiency and lifetime of your charging equipment.”

The system will adjust the charge power in 10 second increments, to ensure it’s not pulling power away from other appliances in the home.

The app also allows people to charge with solar up to a certain time of day. This would be particularly helpful for peak demand power – as owners can charge with solar until the demand price lowers for the day, and energy is cheaper.

There are a number of other apps that can also do similar things –  ChargeHQ can be used if connected to an approved inverter, while the Zappi charger does this with an external meter.

However, for those that have both the Tesla Powerwall and a Tesla car, this system is a no-brainer to allow more autonomy to charge cheaply and with renewable power.