Opinions on Installing The Enphase Solar Inverter Below?

[uwquigman]

https://enphase.com/installers/storage/generator

I tried to go with SunRun but they were not priced competitively.....I saw on another board that the home integration system is going to cost about $7K and got a call from SunRun this AM for the Power Pro install and they confirmed that pricing (depending on what they see).

However, I want to get solar installed here at my home ASAP and this is what my installer recommended.....Does anyone have one of these and have an opinon on if it might work with the Ford Lightning? It looks like it's limited to a few generators and I tried calling up Enphase but could get an exact answer.....Any feedback opinions would be appreciated...

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[Bandit216]

I have a similarly designed solar\battery\generator setup. It's a Schneider rather than Enphase system that has been installed for two years. Rather than using the expensive auto backup power option Ford and Sunrun offer thru the bidirectional Ford charger, I'm planning on using the Lightning's Pro Power to supply 240v\30a power to the 240v\30a generator transfer switch input of the Schneider inverter. If the commercial power outage lasts so long the Lightning's battery becomes too depleted, I'll just disconnect the power from the Lightnings Pro Power feeding the inverter's transfer switch and connect the generator.



This kind of system will only work if you have a generator transfer switch option (and associated gen input) on your inverter and your solar array has it's own battery backup that provides backup power to a dedicated critical circuits panel. If commercial power fails, it is the solar battery backup providing power and surge control to the house. The Lightning Pro power only provides recharging for the solar battery backup when there is insufficient solar energy to recharge the battery.



NO, this is approach is not necessarily cheaper than installing the standalone Ford\Sunrun automatic power backup option. However, if you are planning to install solar anyway, the additional cost of an inverter generator option and battery backup will be largely\totally offset by the 24% IRS alternative energy credit. There will be no IRS credit for installing the Ford\Sunrun bidirectional system. For my solar system, I received a $12,500 IRS tax credit (27% in 2020). The cost of the LiFePO4 battery, generator option, and the cost of installing the extra circuit to the connect the Lightning Pro power came to about $11,000. With this kind of system you can also take the Lightning to work without losing power to the house - assuming you get back before the solar backup battery runs out .



The one thing I'm unsure about is whether the Lightning can run continuously to provide continuous Pro Poore of if there is an runtime limit before an auto-shutdown. I have a build date so by summer, I should be able to answer any questions about if\how this will work.

 

[VTbuckeye]

I have a similarly designed solar\battery\generator setup. It's a Schneider rather than Enphase system that has been installed for two years. Rather than using the expensive auto backup power option Ford and Sunrun offer thru the bidirectional Ford charger, I'm planning on using the Lightning's Pro Power to supply 240v\30a power to the 240v\30a generator transfer switch input of the Schneider inverter. If the commercial power outage lasts so long the Lightning's battery becomes too depleted, I'll just disconnect the power from the Lightnings Pro Power feeding the inverter's transfer switch and connect the generator.

This kind of system will only work if you have a generator transfer switch option (and associated gen input) on your inverter and your solar array has it's own battery backup that provides backup power to a dedicated critical circuits panel. If commercial power fails, it is the solar battery backup providing power and surge control to the house. The Lightning Pro power only provides recharging for the solar battery backup when there is insufficient solar energy to recharge the battery.

NO, this is approach is not necessarily cheaper than installing the standalone Ford\Sunrun automatic power backup option. However, if you are planning to install solar anyway, the additional cost of an inverter generator option and battery backup will be largely\totally offset by the 24% IRS alternative energy credit. There will be no IRS credit for installing the Ford\Sunrun bidirectional system. For my solar system, I received a $12,500 IRS tax credit (27% in 2020). The cost of the LiFePO4 battery, generator option, and the cost of installing the extra circuit to the connect the Lightning Pro power came to about $11,000. With this kind of system you can also take the Lightning to work without losing power to the house - assuming you get back before the solar backup battery runs out

The one thing I'm unsure about is whether the Lightning can run continuously to provide continuous Pro Power of if there is an runtime limit before an auto-shutdown. I have a build date so by summer, I should be able to answer any questions about if\how this will work.

I wonder if you are generating more power than you are consuming and your home battery is full could you have an EVSE on the critical circuit panel so that the other excess power goes to the truck battery that can later be put back into the house system.

 

[Bandit216]

That's how I have my EVSE set up for my Mach E. It will be interesting to see if you can output thru the Lightnings onboard pro power at the same time you are charging.

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