Ready For The Ford 80A Charge Station Pro

[Maquis]

Taxman,
Is this the hardware that Sunrun is going to sell us for intelligent back up? If so, where did you get it? Thanks!

I don’t think so. The diagram shows the only connection to the EV through an EVSE. There is no D.C. connection to the battery in the EV shown.
The final solution may be a derivative of this, but it can’t be this exactly as it’s depicted.

Sponsored

 

[TaxmanHog]

Taxman,
Is this the hardware that Sunrun is going to sell us for intelligent back up? If so, where did you get it? Thanks!

Yes, starting with the email you got yesterday, find this link:
Sunrun Details

The web page that pops up, scroll to the bottom, click this link:
https://shop.sunrun.com/ford/order/diy/

Find this section of the next webpage, click this link:
https://aeeexpress.com/crs/storeus/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?productId=0000000664

 

[TaxmanHog]

I don’t think so. The diagram shows the only connection to the EV through an EVSE. There is no D.C. connection to the battery in the EV shown.
The final solution may be a derivative of this, but it can’t be this exactly as it’s depicted.

I could be wrong, but think the Pro EVSE and the HIS will switch out the AC current lines to carry the 400vDC back to where it will be inverted to 240vAC, another switch out relay [MID] diverts the inverter output to the critical load side transfer panel.

https://aeeexpress.com/crsdocroot/content/images/products/large/5ef673625c9abfdf1c9560f8f6462872.pdf

 

[pstansel]

Holy crap 3700 just for the hardware?? I'll just use the 14-50 then thanks, already have a generator setup with a manual transfer switch that can be used here.

 

[hturnerfamily]

I find it interesting about the question of whether a utitlity company can somehow 'shut down' your EVSE, or something similar, as a concern. While I certainly don't think they can, without some very dedicated and specific equipment, years ago we had a pitch at a City Meeting about the 'future' of Internet thru the Electric Cables, and into our homes, where any 'wifi' type device only had to 'plug in' to the power and also automatically receive the internet.
It was a nice idea, and maybe one of merit, but I've yet to see that happen. I doubt electric companies are clamoring to take care of your internet connection, though some have now started running FIBER.

 

[jefro]

The city of austin has a freebie where you can install a dedicated meter and charge your ev for $4.78 a month. As I recall it was partly due to them being able to turn off the power (somehow).

I don't see it around here but some places like my mothers have somehow to turn off her air conditioner in summer.

Unless a smart meter is using phone data or a homeowners internet then they usually have a lot of smart devices on their power system using data or power line. My driveway has a sort of circuit breaker. My power went out but I had to get to work. On road the crew was already there. They said their office said it lost connection to that device and showed up.

 

[Mr. Flibble]

It has been claimed by many power companies that they can disable an EVSE by over the wire commands. They'd do that to protect the grid. Not sure how they can do it, I've sent emails to one power company asking how and they didn't reply. I'd think that they can control power to the dedicated smart meter but doubtful that they can reduce the power.

Someone would have to show me the NEC for a software device that can control power in a home. They usually don't trust software. If a dedicated electronic component was used maybe. It would have to fail in either lowest power or fail totally to be trusted.

They could only do this if you had an EVSE from the power company. An EVSE is actually a really simple device. It just talks to the car, and says "Hey, I have power!" and the car says "Ok, give me power!" and the EVSE trips the relay, and away we go.

So, the power company cannot do this with any currently known EVSEs.

 

[beatle]

A secondary box between the EVSE and the breaker could do it as well. Dominion Power had a similar experiment they did for water heaters many years ago. I have a box between my water heater and panel that allowed the power company to deactivate the water heater under certain circumstances in exchange for a bill credit, but it is no longer in use:

https://www.dominionenergy.com/virginia/products/water-heater-info

The same type of program could be used for EVSEs, but I think smart meters and TOU bill rates are the next big thing. They allow remote service deactivation of the utility feed but are not current limiting devices.

 

[EVBill]

A secondary box between the EVSE and the breaker could do it as well. Dominion Power had a similar experiment they did for water heaters many years ago. I have a box between my water heater and panel that allowed the power company to deactivate the water heater under certain circumstances in exchange for a bill credit, but it is no longer in use:

https://www.dominionenergy.com/virginia/products/water-heater-info

The same type of program could be used for EVSEs, but I think smart meters and TOU bill rates are the next big thing. They allow remote service deactivation of the utility feed but are not current limiting devices.

Duke Energy did a similar thing with adding a box between your AC compressor and its external disconnect that could have the power shut down via wireless control. During times where electricity needed to be conserved, your AC unit inside would just have the fan running and circulating air while your compressor was turned off outside.

 

[Amps]

CTA 2045 addresses this building block of smart grid utility initiated demand management.

https://shop.cta.tech/products/modular-communications-interface-for-energy-management

 

[greenne]

Possibly. There is an issue that the pro charger has the same form factor as a CCS1 charger. So, you have those two extra lower lugs that are used to power the house - and not for DCFC, whereas CCS1 is normally used for DCFC.

As long as you had a Tesla to J1772 adapter that had an additional notch to work around the small extra bit of plastic that goes to the CCS1 component, yes it would work.

Out of the box, it is physically incompatible because of that extra bit of plastic. Though, nothing is stopping you from filing that bit of plastic off - or maybe Ford will remove it in production.

I highlighted the bit of the CCS1 component that does not match up with the J1772 adapter:

You might be able to get by with a CCS1 to Tesla adapter but.... Remember those two lower ports are not powered. So I am not sure it would actually work.

On a related note...it *appears* as if the plug on the 80A ford charger will not work with PHEVs that do not have DCFC capability. (Most PHEVs do not). So if you own a PHEV and are getting a Lightning you probably will need a 2nd j1772 EVSE OR forgo the 80A Ford charger and get something else.

Personally I plan to sell the 80A Ford charger and get a 40A charger installer instead. 80A is way more than I need and the install costs for the 80A is too expensive in my situation. (Not going to use backup capability).

 

[jefro]

One of my houses has a rather smart meter. They offer a night time half price charging based on how the meter reads the EVSE and reports back.

 

[beatle]

On a related note...it *appears* as if the plug on the 80A ford charger will not work with PHEVs that do not have DCFC capability. (Most PHEVs do not). So if you own a PHEV and are getting a Lightning you probably will need a 2nd j1772 EVSE OR forgo the 80A Ford charger and get something else.

Personally I plan to sell the 80A Ford charger and get a 40A charger installer instead. 80A is way more than I need and the install costs for the 80A is too expensive in my situation. (Not going to use backup capability).

I suppose it depends on how much a sale get you, but you should be able to run lower gauge wires to save a few bucks and still use the Ford unit without the backup power. I would imagine the EVSE portion would have selectable maximum outputs based on the circuit coming into it.

I thought about doing just that (running at less than 80A), though I did figure that if/when my utility does move to a TOU rate, I will be able to save a few bucks by charging most/all at full speed in the small 5 hour off peak window vs. dipping into peak times because I can't bring the truck up to a full charge otherwise.

I think J1772 adapters will become available for those who want to plug in a vehicle without the CCS pins or a Tesla.

 

[Mr. Flibble]

On a related note...it *appears* as if the plug on the 80A ford charger will not work with PHEVs that do not have DCFC capability. (Most PHEVs do not). So if you own a PHEV and are getting a Lightning you probably will need a 2nd j1772 EVSE OR forgo the 80A Ford charger and get something else.

Personally I plan to sell the 80A Ford charger and get a 40A charger installer instead. 80A is way more than I need and the install costs for the 80A is too expensive in my situation. (Not going to use backup capability).

You can actually down rate the 80A charger to run at 40A. Not sure how much it will be worth when it pretty much only works with the Lightning for the feature set. If you needed to plug in a PHEV without DCFC pins, you could just use a J1772 extension cable to bypass the DCFC pins.

 

[GDN]

One of my houses has a rather smart meter. They offer a night time half price charging based on how the meter reads the EVSE and reports back.

Can you confirm which provider offers this service? There are TOU plans available, but all I've seen to date are simply that, different rates based on times. I've not seen any plan that can determine if you have an EVSE plugged in.

Sponsored