Lightning Powers Home During Storm - 25 kWh/day

[flyct]

Other than the Ford Charge Station Pro, what other equipment is required to enable the use of my 24 ER Lariat to power my home?

We have a setup that is designed for a typical portable gas generator.

1- A 30 amp generator inlet connection
2- A generator interlock kit to prevent grid and truck from powering the panel at the same time
3- A 30 amp generator cable to connect the truck to the inlet connection.
Be aware that if the ground connection is not disabled from the truck to the inlet the truck will throw a ground fault. It’s debatable whether this is code compliant.




An electrician installed Transfer Switch that also switches neutral will work with the Lightning without any modification. Not all transfer switches switch neutrals.

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[Cobalt Blue]

We have a setup that is designed for a typical portable gas generator.

1- A 30 amp generator inlet connection
2- A generator interlock kit to prevent grid and truck from powering the panel at the same time
3- A 30 amp generator cable to connect the truck to the inlet connection.
Be aware that if the ground connection is not disabled from the truck to the inlet the truck will throw a ground fault. It’s debatable whether this is code compliant.




An electrician installed Transfer Switch that also switches neutral will work with the Lightning without any modification. Not all transfer switches switch neutrals.

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[flyct]

Ok Sounds like we are running the exact same setup. Guess I’m now sold on this Micro Air E-Z

If you decide to install one here is a good video that explains installation

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox?projector=1

 

[flyct]

Correct You can probably make it work on a 4 ton. The home integration/backup would work, but that was a $10K joke that I'm not going to touch.

I have a 14-50 plug that I use on occasion for a portable charger. I use that as my feed into the panel. I know the risks, I've got it well documented for how I engage it and I don't think anyone else in the house even understands it.

After Hurricane Milton I instructed my Daughter and Son In Law how to use their 14-50R outlet with my generator to power their home. I fabricated a 14-50P to a 30 amp generator inlet box so that they could plug a generator cable into it without the prongs on the 14-50P being hot (Suicide cord) from the generator. That got them though about a week without power. They have a Central AC and 3 mini splits. They were able to run everything at their house except the central AC, Hot water heater and electric range with my 5500 watt gas generator.

After the Hurricane emergency was gone I ordered a Interlock kit and a 50 amp gen inlet. They found a inexpensive and unused 12 kw inverter generator on Marketplace from someone who ordered it for the Hurricane and didn't use it. They had their electrician convert the 14-50R to a gen inlet and install the Interlock kit to be safe for the next time. Now they can run all ACs with the 50 amp generator if needed.

 

[sysop1]

I’m going with a Powerwall 3 and expansion pack. It will enable existing AC coupled inverter to island, enabling me to run indefinitely from Powerwall + solar.

Some things i considered is:
* I’m away at work 5 days a week for 10 hours
* It will backup the entire house

 

[Evans]

I'm currently running my house on my '23 Lariat ER. Power went out about 2 hours ago. No word yet when it will return. Last Nov. a big storm knocked power out for 5 days and the truck powered the house the whole time. After a day of driving today, I'm at 50% SOC. My wife is making dinner on the stove. Apart from the furnace, which is not needed at this time of year in the PNW, everything just works. In addition to a fantastic vehicle the ability to power the casa makes short duration power outages nearly a non-event. Ford has nailed with the Lightning.

 

[queuewho]

I’m going with a Powerwall 3 and expansion pack. It will enable existing AC coupled inverter to island, enabling me to run indefinitely from Powerwall + solar.

Some things i considered is:
* I’m away at work 5 days a week for 10 hours
* It will backup the entire house

I've got a dual power wall system with solar. You cannot beat it for simplicity and being completely automatic. That being said, had I already had the truck when I was considering it, I'd have likely thought about the generator inlet + lockout.

I also am near Pittsburgh like Tony, and lost power for a bit more than 24hrs. We were the only house with backup in our neighborhood, all our landscape lights on outside all night, it was pretty funny. I actually charged my truck a bit the following day because the power wall was back to full by 9am and there was nowhere else to dump the solar power.

Even though my standard range truck holds around 4x my two powerwalls combined, my estimate was about 40 hours of backup when we lost the grid, and that wasn't counting the sun coming up the following day.

 

[HI Zeus]

WOW, so you are a to run all that with just the 30 amp plug! That is SUPER encouraging!!

I should be taking possession of my "new" (used 2023 ER XLT) a week from today. The plan is for it to be THE source of power for much of the construction of a new home, and then a significant component of the off-grid setup. Not the primary battery, but likely chipping in way more often than "emergencies," but I really don't see integrating it into the system more than a generator plug, so its really encouraging to see how much just the 30 amps can do.

Also, the links are great info for me. THANKS!

We have a setup that is designed for a typical portable gas generator.

1- A 30 amp generator inlet connection
2- A generator interlock kit to prevent grid and truck from powering the panel at the same time
3- A 30 amp generator cable to connect the truck to the inlet connection.
Be aware that if the ground connection is not disabled from the truck to the inlet the truck will throw a ground fault. It’s debatable whether this is code compliant.




An electrician installed Transfer Switch that also switches neutral will work with the Lightning without any modification. Not all transfer switches switch neutrals.

 

[GDN]

WOW, so you are a to run all that with just the 30 amp plug! That is SUPER encouraging!!

I should be taking possession of my "new" (used 2023 ER XLT) a week from today. The plan is for it to be THE source of power for much of the construction of a new home, and then a significant component of the off-grid setup. Not the primary battery, but likely chipping in way more often than "emergencies," but I really don't see integrating it into the system more than a generator plug, so its really encouraging to see how much just the 30 amps can do.

Also, the links are great info for me. THANKS!

You'll be surprised at how efficient many things have gotten. I have a gas cooktop, water heater and HVAC. The blower on the HVAC is only 110, so if it is winter I'm set, it runs easily. I can run lights (they are all LED these days), TV, internet gear and the Oven from the truck. The pool pump will run and the clothes dryer too, albeit not at the same time. It's pretty simple to run what is needed at different times of the day. In summer it's different, not being able to get my AC running, but many can if it is small enough or you have two units. Just trade off which one is running every hour or so.

 

[Tony Burgh]

WOW, so you are a to run all that with just the 30 amp plug! That is SUPER encouraging!!

I should be taking possession of my "new" (used 2023 ER XLT) a week from today. The plan is for it to be THE source of power for much of the construction of a new home, and then a significant component of the off-grid setup. Not the primary battery, but likely chipping in way more often than "emergencies," but I really don't see integrating it into the system more than a generator plug, so its really encouraging to see how much just the 30 amps can do.

Also, the links are great info for me. THANKS!

That’s 30 amps at 240 volts, 7200 watts. That’s a lot of power for household purposes. Plus another 2400 watts in the frunk.

 

[sean7512]

We had some severe storms roll through western PA Tuesday night leaving a quarter million without electricity. I didn’t anticipate losing electricity and the SOC was under 70%.

We plugged in Tuesday night and ran easily through Friday night. 2 refrigerators, a freezer, lights and furnace were all powered as usual.

I unplugged late Friday and made a run to a Tesla DCFC of the local interstate. It took about an hour to charge to 90% then back home to reconnect. We’re now good for few days until projected repairs May 6.

I won’t act like this was a life saver especially since some local people have lost their lives from trees and downed high tension wires. But it sure made life a little easier.

Thanks, Ford.

Hello, fellow Duquesne Light customer! Same boat here. Power was out from Tuesday at 5pm and came back Sunday morning at 1am -- 104 hours in total! I have a Generac 6852 set up with 10 circuits and ran my truck as backup the entire time. It was absolutely amazing!

Did you get power back yet?

 

[Tony Burgh]

Hello, fellow Duquesne Light customer! Same boat here. Power was out from Tuesday at 5pm and came back Sunday morning at 1am -- 104 hours in total! I have a Generac 6852 set up with 10 circuits and ran my truck as backup the entire time. It was absolutely amazing!

Did you get power back yet?

I got a text at 5am today, a day ahead of schedule.
Will probably avoid low SOC for the rest of storm season. Just in case.

 

[Galactus55]

I just went simple if power goes out I plug in the truck. Low cost setup.

Works no problem with the trucks GFI
FYI I turn down the Ford Pro charge station to setting #5=48 amps. wired direct to panel with 60amp breaker. When I have the $4,000 for the Sun Home Auto integration system then will set that up. This setup cost me about $800.00. I just need to plug truck in and turn it on.

 

[Galactus55]

Reliance Controls 30 Amp 7500W 10-Circuit Indoor Transfer Switch Kit
Model # 310CRK|Store SKU # 1001061741 Canadian Home Depot US unit maybe different.
I took the generator connector plug out of the remote outside box, and installed it in the optional position in the transfer switch panel. Since the Lightning has no gas fumes I kept the system all in the garage. The reason it works with the truck's GFI is the ground from the truck is not connected to the transfer panel. Some people have technical issues with that.


There is a thread that a Lightning owner purchased the Reliance Control panel that works with GFI generators.

XRC1005D Panel/Link® X Series
The New Reliance Panel/Link X Series is a double-pole manual transfer switch with an exclusive third-pole for the neutral that switches sequentially. The X Series is perfect for use with generators having GFCI protected outlets, bonded neutral generators and installations requiring a separately-derived system.
On GFI protected generators, the X Series will prevent a ground fault which will, in turn, prevent the circuit breakers on the generator from nuisance tripping.

 

[Scorpio3d]

I’m going with a Powerwall 3 and expansion pack. It will enable existing AC coupled inverter to island, enabling me to run indefinitely from Powerwall + solar.

Some things i considered is:
* I’m away at work 5 days a week for 10 hours
* It will backup the entire house

I had solar with a Powerwall 3 installed last July after purchasing my truck in March, I don’t know where you live or your AC size but I’m not sure I could make it overnight here in Texas in the summer heat but I do have two 5ton units so…
I am looking to add one expansion pack and maybe a few more panels this year, I oversized a few panels thinking that would cover the truck, but I guess I drive too much and the Lightning is using a bit more than I had anticipated!
I wish the Tesla Powerwall/expansion packs were not so expensive! I could add a few EG4 batteries for the cost of one powerwall.

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