Smart Charging for Powerwall and Wall Connector

With a Powerwall and paired Wall Connector, Tesla Home’s Smart Charging features can optimize your vehicle charging to align with your home energy goals.

Note: Smart Charging can only be enabled on one Wall Connector per site.

How Smart Charging Works

Smart Charging creates a plan based on your solar production, home goals and driving needs, then automatically charges your Tesla vehicle or other supported EV at optimal times.

In the Tesla app, select a charging target and departure time to help Smart Charging optimize your vehicle charging and ensure it’s ready to drive when you need it.

Charging Target

Your charging target is the minimum kWh required to charge your vehicle to meet your daily driving needs. When you set your charging target, Smart Charging will deliver at least that amount of energy to your vehicle. Once your charging target is reached, your vehicle will continue to charge with only low-cost energy or excess solar energy produced by your system.

Departure Time

Your departure time is the time you want to unplug your vehicle and start driving. Smart Charging ensures your system has delivered enough energy to meet your charging target before your departure time. Plug in your vehicle as early as possible to allow the system to fully optimize your charging session.

Smart Charging Modes

Smart Charging has two modes, Low-Cost Charging and Charge on Solar. The mode you select will determine how Smart Charging helps you reach your home energy goals.

Low-Cost Charging: Low-Cost Charging uses your utility rate plan and solar production forecasts to deliver enough energy to meet your charging target at the lowest cost. After meeting the target, Smart Charging will continue to charge the vehicle from the lowest-cost energy, including available solar. Your Powerwall must be in Savings mode to use Low-Cost Charging.
Charge on Solar: Charge on Solar uses excess solar energy produced by your home solar system to charge your vehicle as the primary charging source. If sufficient excess solar is not forecasted, Smart Charging will consider other energy sources to reach your target. After meeting your target, the vehicle will charge only from excess solar production. Your Powerwall must be in Self-Powered mode to use Charge on Solar.

How to Use Smart Charging

To set up Smart Charging in the Tesla app for the first time, follow these steps:

Open the Tesla app.
Tap ‘Settings.’
Tap ‘Vehicle Charging.’
Tap ‘Set Charging Configuration.’
Follow the prompts.

Once you’ve set up Smart Charging, you can change your settings in the Tesla app by returning to ‘Settings’ > ‘Vehicle Charging.’

Note: To use Low-Cost Charging, your Powerwall must be in Savings mode. To use Charge on Solar, your Powerwall must be in Self-Powered mode.

Frequently Asked Questions Show All Hide All

To use Smart Charging, you must have:
- Powerwall 2 or Powerwall 3 with firmware version 26.34 or higher
- Wall Connector 3 or Universal Wall Connector with firmware version 26.34 or higher
- Tesla app version 4.57.5 or higher
To use Smart Charging, you must pair your Powerwall and Wall Connector and both devices must be registered to the same site and be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
You must also pair your mobile device to your Powerwall to use Smart Charging. To pair your phone with Powerwall, follow these steps:
1. Open the Tesla app.
2. Switch to your energy site.
3. Tap ‘Configure.’
4. Scroll down and tap ‘Phone Pairing.’
Note: Smart Charging is available for only one paired Wall Connector per site and is not compatible with manual Wall Connector schedules.
No. Low-Cost Charging and Charge on Solar prioritize using different power sources after your charge target is met, so they cannot be used at the same time. Low-Cost Charging focuses on charging your vehicle with energy at the lowest cost, which could be the grid during off-peak pricing or excess solar. Charge on Solar maximizes the use of excess solar energy to charge your vehicle.
Charge on Solar ensures your charging target is met by your departure time. The system will schedule charging to maximize the amount of solar used based on forecasts. However, if there is not sufficient excess solar during the charge period to meet your target, the system will use energy from the grid or Powerwall. If you prefer to charge only from excess solar production, change your charging target to 0 kWh.