This is a free, open-source HomeSeer plugin that enables monitoring of a Tesla Powerwall system. This plugin is written natively for HS4.
It is also available for HS3 via the HomeSeer plugin updater, although the HS3 version is not receiving any new updates.
This plugin is available in the HomeSeer plugin updater.
This plugin communicates with the Tesla Gateway over the LAN. Consequently, it does not require Internet access nor does it require your Tesla Account credentials. However, your Gateway must be connected to your local network (either via Wi-Fi or wired connection), and must have a static IP address configured.
In Gateway firmware version 20.49.0, Tesla mandated a login in order to view energy metrics on the LAN. Therefore, you will need to configure your customer credentials in the plugin settings, which are different from your Tesla.com account credentials. If you do not know your customer credentials, they may be reset from the Gateway web panel by navigating to https://your.gateway.ip and clicking through the security warning.
You may configure a static IP address either in your router's control panel by assigning a static DHCP lease (this feature is not available on all routers), or directly in the Gateway's web control panel.
The Tesla Gateway can connect to the Internet in three ways:
- An internal cellular connection
- A Wi-Fi connection provided by the site
- A wired Ethernet connection provided by the site
If possible, a wired connection is recommended for best results. If unavailable, a strong Wi-Fi signal will work as well. If your Gateway is installed outdoors, it may not have good Wi-Fi reception, so you may need to install an access point or repeater closer to the Gateway. While the internal cellular connection will enable you to monitor your system via the mobile app, it will not work with this plugin.
Tesla encourages you to configure both wired Ethernet and Wi-Fi if possible, but the plugin will only be able to work with one of these connections, since both connections cannot use the same IP address and this plugin can only work with one IP. therefore, if you have both connections configured, you should configure your static IP on the wired Ethernet interface and use that IP in the plugin configuration.
To configure a static IP via the Gateway's web control panel, first log into the Gateway. If you know your Gateway's LAN IP address already, you can type it directly into your web browser to access the control panel.
If you do not know your Gateway's LAN IP, you can connect to the Gateway's Wi-Fi signal, which is named "TEG-###" where ### is the last 3 characters of the Gateway's serial number. The Wi-Fi password is on a sticker inside the Gateway cabinet's door. If there is no password on the label, then the password is "S" followed by the full serial number of the Gateway. Once connected to the Gateway's Wi-Fi signal, visit https://192.168.91.1 into your browser.
Regardless of how you connect to your Gateway, you will need to click through the privacy warning given by your browser. Since you will be communicating with your Gateway over your internal network, you needn't worry about the implications of this warning.
Click "Network" in the control panel and sign in with your Powerwall password. This is separate from your Tesla Account password. If you don't know your Powerwall password, you may reset it by following the instructions in the control panel. Make sure you're logging in as Customer rather than Installer.
Once signed in, select either Ethernet (for a wired connection) or Wi-Fi (for a wireless connection). First take a note of the information currently displayed, then select "Static" and enter that same information into the form. Finally, click "Connect".
Once you have your static IP configured, open HomeSeer and select Plug-Ins > Tesla Powerwall > Settings. In the form that appears, enter the IP address you configured in your Gateway and click Done. The plugin will automatically connect to the Gateway and will create a set of status devices to indicate the status of your system.
If you do not see the status devices, make sure that your filters are set properly. The type of the devices is "Tesla Powerwall". You may also need to adjust your floor/room filters as the devices do not have these values configured by default.
Here are the values that are monitored by the plugin. Each value is available as a separate status device.
- System Status (default name is your Gateway name): Indicates whether the system is running or stopped
- Tesla Connection: Indicates whether the Gateway is connected to Tesla
- Grid Status: Indicates whether the utility grid is up or down
- Powerwall Charge: Indicates the current state of charge of your Powerwall network
- Total Site Power: The instantaneous current draw from all sources (grid, solar, and Powerwall)
- Powerwall Power: The instantaneous current draw from all your Powerwall units combined
- May be negative if Powerwalls are currently charging
- Solar Power: The instantaneous current draw from your solar source
- Grid Power: The instantaneous current draw from your utility connection
- May be negative if you are currently exporting solar power to the grid
Please note that power values are in Watts, but are displayed in the HomeSeer UI as a rounded kW value. Therefore, when creating events comparing power usage, you will need to work in watts. For example, if you wanted an event to trigger when you draw more than 5 kW from the grid, you will need this trigger:
IF This device had its value set and is greater than... Grid Power is greater than a value in the range... (value) W the value, using values from -1000000 to 1000000 is 5000.
Please note that this event will trigger every two seconds while power is over 5 kW, so you will likely also want to check the status of the device you want to control in response to power draw.
Additionally, please note that solar power may be negative. Under normal circumstances, the UI will not show negative solar power due to rounding, but during the nighttime, your inverter will draw current from the grid to stay awake, which will register a few watts in the negative direction. Therefore, if you want an event to trigger when solar is not producing, you should check whether solar power is less than 1 W rather than checking if it's 0.
Should you ever need to delete your Backup Gateway from HS4, which you may need to do if your Gateway's IP changes, as this will create a new set of devices in HS4, first disable the plugin and then manually delete the device and all its features.
At the top-right of the Devices page is a button which looks like a checklist. Click this button to enable bulk device editing. Then select the checkbox next to the Gateway device, which should also automatically select all of its features. If the features are not automatically selected, manually select each one. Then scroll back to the top of the page and select Bulk Action > Delete.