Storm Watch

Severe weather is the leading cause of grid outages. Storm Watch ensures that your Powerwall has enough stored energy to power the home in the event of a grid outage. You can maximize savings by keeping a low backup reserve percentage in Self-Powered or Time-Based Control mode, while still having peace of mind that Powerwall will automatically react to protect you during a severe weather event.

Currently, Storm Watch is currently available for the U.S., United Kingdom, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

How It Works

Storm Watch mode is triggered only during severe weather events that are more likely to damage power lines and cause power outages. Storm Watch mode activates when the weather event has advanced in severity, and one of the following watches or warnings has been issued in your local area:

When Storm Watch is activated, you will receive a push notification, and Powerwall will charge to maximum capacity to automatically maximize your protection from grid outages. This remains active until the weather event ends, and your system will return to its normal behavior afterward. If Storm Watch hasn’t activated based on your local weather conditions, and you prefer additional energy security, set a higher Backup Reserve in advance of an anticipated grid outage.

Note: To better prepare yourself for everyday weather events or other grid instability, visit your utility provider’s website for updates. If your system has been affected by a natural disaster, learn more about what to do following a force majeure event.

How to Use It

Setting Up Storm Watch

Although you cannot manually activate Storm Watch or adjust its behavior, you can enable or disable Storm Watch altogether. To get started, open the Tesla app and follow these steps:

From the home screen, tap ‘Settings’ > ‘Storm Watch.’
Enable the toggle next to ‘Storm Watch.’ You can disable or re-enable Storm Watch at any time.

Note: Once enabled, your system will continue to operate as normal, and your Powerwall will begin monitoring for severe weather events that may impact your home.

Updating Storm Watch Location

Storm Watch uses your home location to determine if a weather event will impact your home. You can verify and update your home location in the Tesla app by following these steps:

From the home screen, tap ‘Settings’ > ‘My Home Info.’
Review the information in ‘My Address’ and verify that your listed address and pin on the map are accurate. If not, tap ‘Edit’ and follow the screens in-app to update your address.

Opting Out of a Storm

You can also opt out of a Storm Watch during a severe weather event by following these steps in the Tesla app:

From the home screen, tap the ‘Storm Watch’ banner.
Tap ‘Opt out for this storm.’ Storm Watch mode will deactivate during the current weather event, and your system will return to its previously selected mode.