(Austin, Texas) This evening I’m listening to the sound of rolling thunder, the skies are filled with lightning and I’m watching my Texas flag flapping in the wind outside.

In moments like this, I like to sit back and think about the significant things of the week. One significant thing that I do not want to let fade into history is the response I received on Twitter from Drew Baglino.

At Tesla Shareholder Day with Elon Musk, Baglino let investors and others know about the importance of his role at Tesla by describing intricate parts of Master Plan 3. As SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering at Tesla, he holds a lot of responsibility. On June 14, Baglino tweeted a message of thanks to utilities that are working to approve the Tesla backup switch in their territory.

What is a Tesla Backup Switch? 

This is the question I posed to Baglino on Twitter because my Tesla Solar System has a large and elegant white Gateway with the Tesla logo on it.  It is beautiful, and I understood it to also be an advanced switch system.  I asked if the backup switch replaces Gateway. The Tesla Gateway is considered an engineering marvel, however, it is much bigger than a backup switch.  Could Backup Switch do everything Gateway does in such a small package?

The answer is yes! Baglino graciously attached a schematic of backup switch and explained the purpose, saying, 

“Yes, the backup switch is a meter socket adapter that provides the metering and automatic grid disconnect functionality of the Tesla Energy Gateway.” (see image)

My Power Went Down and my Powerwalls Took Over

I had to pull away from writing this article for about an hour as a severe storm warning was in effect for Austin, Texas. When this happens, I walk outside, bring in the dry clothes from the line, secure lawn chairs and make sure the car is parked in the garage. I love watching storms roll in, the sky in shades of grey, the wind rushing all around the tall trees, and the earthy smell of the storm. 

Meanwhile, my Tesla Powerwalls, like sentry guards against the weather with their backup storage, started to fill with power from the grid, and eventually, power from the grid went down. 

The Powerwalls started to power up the house.  Hail started to hit our home. I ran out to the porch to watch the falling hail and smell the earthy air of a summer storm.  

This was the Tesla Gateway in action.  Backup switch can do the same task, only it is more efficient by 30%.  

Tesla says of the switch, “Powerwall installs with Backup Switch are 30%+ faster and use less equipment.”  

Baglino also explained, “Powerwall+ contains the cellular and WiFi capabilities of the Tesla Energy Gateway. So there is no need for an Energy gateway when you install Powerwall+ with a Backup Switch.”  

Tesla Engineers Are Relentless in the Pursuit of Improving Products

Tesla Energy engineers built an incredible product called the Gateway. Gateway would have been a great place for Telsa to stop, but it was not good enough for Tesla, so they engineered backup switch. 

I get excited when I see Tesla advancing through smart engineering this way. I know that it’s important to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy as fast as possible, and this is a beautiful, sublime way of doing it.

From Tesla’s incredible engineering in their vehicles, to how their systems seamlessly protect families from power outages, safety seems to be the top priority in every aspect.

I hope you, dear reader, will benefit from clean energy where you live, you may not have Powerwalls, but someday you may have solar or wind power that is sold to the grid near where you live, powering your home. We have a lot of work to do in the USA and around the entire world. My cup is half full, I am optimistic, as long as there are good-hearted people, I believe that Tesla Master Plan 3 can be achieved.

Addendum: Five More Reasons Backup Switch is So Amazing

Here are more amazing facts about the Tesla Backup Switch taken from the Interconnection Reform to Accelerate Residential Solar and Storage by Arushi Sharma Frank 

• Installs in under an hour and allows for safe disconnects and whole-home backup with the battery when the grid is in an outage

• Tesla Backup Switch reduces project costs
• Compliant with National Electric Code
• Certified to UL 414, UL 2735, UL 916, UL 1741 PCS
• Less intrusive for customer & easier installs on diverse property sizes

^{This article written by Gail Alfar, please credit accordingly. With special mention to TESLA ENERGY & Drew Baglino.  Thank you to Tesla Energy for being amazing. Thank you to Elon Musk for giving Masterplan 3 to the people of earth.  Images Courtesy Tesla, Inc.}