Powerwall not charging or discharging when you expected?

Tesla's strength is automated optimisation. That also means its behaviour may not resemble a simple fixed charge/discharge schedule.

1. Check the operating mode

Powerwall supports Self-Powered and Time-Based Control behaviour. If your goal is tariff shifting, confirm the system is using the tariff-aware mode rather than pure solar self-consumption.

2. Check Backup Reserve

Powerwall exposes a configurable backup reserve. Energy below that reserve is intentionally held for outages and is not available for ordinary tariff shifting.

3. Understand forecast-driven behaviour

Tesla documents that Powerwall forecasts solar production and household consumption. In low-solar periods it may charge from cheap grid electricity to offset expected peak usage, while at other times it may choose not to charge because its forecast predicts enough solar or insufficient benefit.

4. Check grid-charging availability

Tesla documents grid charging where permitted. Availability can depend on local rules, configuration and participation arrangements, so the app may not expose identical controls in every installation.

5. Check VPP / aggregation participation

If enrolled in a Tesla VPP or another aggregation program, external grid-support events can change charge/discharge behaviour relative to what you expected from normal tariff optimisation.

Tesla Australia — Powerwall advanced settings → · Tesla Australia — Time-Based Control / VPP behaviour →