Pre-Purchase Guidance and Thinking Points

[pullinggs]

Sounds like providing power out of the truck not as simple and plugging it into the truck and into a power inlet in the house and hitting go.

Well, it's almost that simple. Add a transfer switch to your system (search/read up on the "bonded neutral" thing first) with an inlet plug. When you need power, just plug in, turn on the truck, and hit the switch. Bob's your uncle.

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[flyct]

Well, it's almost that simple. Add a transfer switch to your system (search/read up on the "bonded neutral" thing first) with an inlet plug. When you need power, just plug in, turn on the truck, and hit the switch. Bob's your uncle.

not complicated at all.

here is my truck plugged into my cabin during one of the many power outages due to downed trees taking out overhead power lines

 

[97WhiteCobra]

not complicated at all.

here is my truck plugged into my cabin during one of the many power outages due to downed trees taking out overhead power lines

Thanks much. I’ll ask my electrician about it. The pics will help.

 

[97WhiteCobra]

not complicated at all.

here is my truck plugged into my cabin during one of the many power outages due to downed trees taking out overhead power lines

I’m curious, can you run your entire house, HVAC off the Lightning? I understand it will consume power faster, I was just wondering if you have and how long the truck maintained it?

 

[Henry Ford]

Thanks much. I’ll ask my electrician about it. The pics will help.

What the pics aren't showing is that the ground has been removed from the power inlet box or the extension cord in order to make it work. This removes the ground fault protection the truck provides.

If you want to keep the truck's ground fault protection you'll need a neutral switching sub-panel like the Generac 6852. This is a more involved install and limits back-up power to 10 circuits maximum.

There is a lot written about both options. I wouldn't worry about it until after you buy the truck.

 

[Henry Ford]

I’m curious, can you run your entire house, HVAC off the Lightning? I understand it will consume power faster, I was just wondering if you have and how long the truck maintained it?

I can provide a data point.

I don't have my A/C on my backup panel. I don't recall if it was even possible or just not possible with everything else I wanted powered. At any rate, I deemed refrigerators, freezers, furnace, Internet, and TVs to be more important for my situation. My truck can power my house for days. The longest the power has been out is two day and that was before I installed the backup panel.

It should be noted that a Lightning can't power your house if it's not there. My truck is frequently parked at an airport parking lot. This doesn't do my wife much good if the power goes out.

...we have alternative plans in the unlikely instance the power is out while my truck is unavailable.

 

[97WhiteCobra]

I can provide a data point.

I don't have my A/C on my backup panel. I don't recall if it was even possible or just not possible with everything else I wanted powered. At any rate, I deemed refrigerators, freezers, furnace, Internet, and TVs to be more important for my situation. My truck can power my house for days. The longest the power has been out is two day and that was before I installed the backup panel.

It should be noted that a Lightning can't power your house if it's not there. My truck is frequently parked at an airport parking lot. This doesn't do my wife much good if the power goes out.

...we have alternative plans in the unlikely instance the power is out while my truck is unavailable.

Thanks much. Good points all around. My house is currently ready for a power generator to be plugged into the panel where I can control the powered areas. I just need my electrician to confirm the truck can use the input.

 

[97WhiteCobra]

It can potentially run your entire house but there are two things to consider.

Total power draw is one. Specifically peak draw. If suddenly your electric heater and your electric water heater fire up at the same time it will likely trip the breaker. Its important to note here that the 240v off the truck can only supply 7200w of electricity, not the 9.6kw of the full system.

The second is motor startup inrush current. Most motors have a huge spike when they start. For big motors, like HVAC, this can trip the breaker on the truck. You likely will need a soft start for your HVAC system to run.

Thanks much. 7200w is a great watchpoint. Kind of does rule out running a full house at the same time.

 

[flyct]

I’m curious, can you run your entire house, HVAC off the Lightning? I understand it will consume power faster, I was just wondering if you have and how long the truck maintained it?

You have to manage power for sure as with any small portable generator. The Lightning will run a good 2-3 days managing power.

At our cabin I can run most everything except I have to only use one of the 240v appliances at a time. The AC, the Hot Water Heater, the well pump etc. So for example, When I need to heat the water in the hot water tank I turn off the AC and the well pump breakers. Once the water is hot I turn off the HW breaker and turn on the well pump to take a shower.

The Central AC was initially an issue since the compressor start up amps exceeded the Lightning capacity and caused the Lightning to trip its breaker. I initially put a window AC in the Master BR and didn't use te Central AC. . Later I installed a MicroAir Easy Start https://www.microair.net/products/easystart-flex-home-ac-soft-starter on the Central AC condenser that reduced the start up amps and allowed the Central AC to run on the Lightning.

There is one other hiccup using the Lightning with a Interlock bypass kit. While a portable generator will function plugged into the generator inlet the Lightning will sense a ground fault and trip it's breaker. If the ground is not connected from the Lightning to the Gen inlet it will not trip. Installing a transfer switch with Neutrals switched eliminates this issue. A Licensed electrician can advise.

Here is the Micro Air installed on my AC

 

[flyct]

Thanks much. Good points all around. My house is currently ready for a power generator to be plugged into the panel where I can control the powered areas. I just need my electrician to confirm the truck can use the input.

I will send you a DM.

 

[RipInPepz]

My opinion is that you might be able to make it to your vacation homes without stopping. If you drive 55-60 while towing, you should be able to get 1.5 or 1.6 mi/kwh, which equates to 196-222 miles on a full charge. If you have a level 2 charger at both homes, you'll be golden. Worst case scenario is you have to stop and charge for 5-10 minutes. Get the NACS to CCS1 adapter so you can use the Tesla Superchargers.

On to the battery, obviously you'll want the extended range, but make sure you get the 131kwh battery. Most 2025 flash trims are 123 kwh, I got lucky and have the 131kwh because it was a January 2025 build date, and they were still putting the 131kwh in the flash like they did for 2024. So if i were you, I'd look for a Lariat ER, or try to find a Flash with the 131kwh battery. It will be on the window sticker and advertise 320 mile range instead of 300 miles.

 

[WXman]

While I think having the *option* to power my house with my truck is great, and I did purchase the appropriate NEMA 15' cord to run from my truck to my fuse panel transfer switch inlet on the outside of the house, I'm not sure how often I'll actually use the truck. I may just continue to use my portable generator anyhow.

Reason being is that if I use my truck to power my house for 2 or 3 days until my truck is dead, then how do I make it out of my rural location to town? At some point my truck is dead AND my house is dead.

If I just use my portable generator, I can always make it to town to purchase more gasoline if needed.

 

[97WhiteCobra]

I will send you a DM.

thanks much, let me know if you need my email.

I run my entire home including central hvac the way I have mine connected thru a solar inverter.

There is a dedicated connection inside the inverter for a generator, it'll auto switch a regular gen to provide power based on how you decide, in my case it's simply to add to an already present battery array in my garage. I have it set to allow energy from the truck into the home based on battery voltage, can also set it for battery SOC, when it falls to a certain level of my choosing, it tells the generator to wake up and get busy, in my case it starts allowing current flow from the truck to help recharge those batteries that are also getting recharged from the PV array in the back yard.

I could opt for it to just use only the generator/truck as the main power source, (if I had no battery array).

Things I've found that help longevity of charge is the replacement of the regular water heater and clothes dryer with the newest heat pump technology. We avoid using the oven and cook top, both electric as they suck the power up real quick. We have a gas grille for cooking if needed during a power outage.

thanks and what a cool set up. I have a gas water heater, stove/oven, and heat pump. So I have that going for me. No solar yet though. You have definitely given me food for thought.

 

[97WhiteCobra]

While I think having the *option* to power my house with my truck is great, and I did purchase the appropriate NEMA 15' cord to run from my truck to my fuse panel transfer switch inlet on the outside of the house, I'm not sure how often I'll actually use the truck. I may just continue to use my portable generator anyhow.

Reason being is that if I use my truck to power my house for 2 or 3 days until my truck is dead, then how do I make it out of my rural location to town? At some point my truck is dead AND my house is dead.

If I just use my portable generator, I can always make it to town to purchase more gasoline if needed.

Good point.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

Some great discussion here.

To add my two cents

Go to www abetterroutplanner.com and get familiar with it, or get the app. From that plan your trips and see how the charging lays out.

The default efficiency configuration in ABRP is pretty good for the regular truck (SR or ER) but you will want to adjust your baseline consumption for towing. There is a towing efficiency thread here that can help estimate when you pull your boat.

I just did two road trips in the Mach E (MD to SC and AR) and one in the Lightning (MD to western NC) in the last 5 weeks. ABRP did a great job of planning and highway routing. However, remember to switch to some other navigation for close in. I had it miss my navigation to my destination twice.

ABRP is still inadequate for pulling a trailer behind my Lightning though. Ditto for Apple Maps. Ford Connected Navigation is best for that. Now if they would only add Tesla chargers to Ford Connected Navigation. Any progress on that one Brian / @Ford Motor Company ? I'm not paying for Ford Connected Navigation again until it includes Tesla chargers.

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