Some second thoughts on Ford's Intelligent Backup Power

[steven]

Using the Lightning's battery instead of Tesla's expensive PowerWalls is a no-brainer for those of us who don't have $30,000 to invest in something the utility companies say we will almost never need. But Musk's lame defense of refusing to incorporate bidirectional charging in the Teslas his factories are spewing out does have a least a modicum of truth. People should not be forced to choose between essential driving and keeping the lights on.

I believe there is a way to accomplish this without resorting to Ford's questionable SunRun partner - installing a minimal amount of AGM (lead acid) battery backup capability. In addition to being less expensive, it would also free up the lithium those PowerWalls are taking off the market for more, less expensive EV battery production. The key here seems to be finding an automatic transfer switch acceptable to your local electrical utility. For those of us with hybrid inverters, all that appears to be required is a manual transfer switch installed behind the automatic switch currently controlling our systems.

Has anyone done this?

 

[MarkC]

Just read this one after my post on your other thread - what does your hybrid inverter manufacturer say about this schema? If it can recognize the trucks' outlets as a "generator" input to your hybrid, do they say yes, it'll work. Likely say the Lightning is not an approved generator on their list? What you are attempting is interesting for sure as it should allow the solar inputs to to supplement your overall energy usage.

 

[frunk]

Using the Lightning's battery instead of Tesla's expensive PowerWalls is a no-brainer for those of us who don't have $30,000 to invest in something the utility companies say we will almost never need. But Musk's lame defense of refusing to incorporate bidirectional charging in the Teslas his factories are spewing out does have a least a modicum of truth. People should not be forced to choose between essential driving and keeping the lights on.

I believe there is a way to accomplish this without resorting to Ford's questionable SunRun partner - installing a minimal amount of AGM (lead acid) battery backup capability. In addition to being less expensive, it would also free up the lithium those PowerWalls are taking off the market for more, less expensive EV battery production. The key here seems to be finding an automatic transfer switch acceptable to your local electrical utility. For those of us with hybrid inverters, all that appears to be required is a manual transfer switch installed behind the automatic switch currently controlling our systems.

Has anyone done this?

I would like to see a drawing of what you want to do.