Charge Station Pro and Home Integration System self-install

[Wombat]

The possibilities....

I’m pretty sure this is not wired up and is only a display piece.

Sponsored

 

[FlasherZ]

Here is what it looks like with panels off, still working out the wiring. Still waiting on my pro charger to arrive.

Yeah, the wiring diagram I saw was pretty significant by the time you add the DC conductors, AC conductors, signaling, etc. There's a good diagram on the AEE Express site that shows basically how stuff should be routed.

125A service?

Good luck!

 

[Wombat]

Yeah, the wiring diagram I saw was pretty significant by the time you add the DC conductors, AC conductors, signaling, etc. There's a good diagram on the AEE Express site that shows basically how stuff should be routed.

125A service?

Good luck!

200A service but 125 to the main house panel. I’ll run 200A 2/0 to the transfer switch, but 125A to the main house panel and 100A to the pro charger with a tap off the house side of the transfer switch. The inverter will get a 40A line from the house panel.

 

[FlasherZ]

200A service but 125 to the main house panel. I’ll run 200A 2/0 to the transfer switch, but 125A to the main house panel and 100A to the pro charger with a tap off the house side of the transfer switch. The inverter will get a 40A line from the house panel.

Ah, California. PG&E style external service disconnect that feeds that house panel I presume?

 

[Wombat]

 

[cvalue13]

Here is what it looks like with panels off, still working out the wiring. Still waiting on my pro charger to arrive.

That’s a lot of house herpies

Awesome to see a delivery and DIY install, will follow with interest

 

[clemmcbee]

HEY PHIL - thank you for all your effort in sharing the information you have with us -- outstanding!!! If you already installed the system - would you be willing to do a little YouTube video and show us your wonderful unit? I am wondering if one could increase the ability of the system to power a larger house or more stuff etc by adding more batteries etc....this power outage thing is real and is only gonna get worse!

Thank you and thank you some more!!!

 

[clemmcbee]

That’s a lot of house herpies

Awesome to see a delivery and DIY install, will follow with interest

COLESON THANK YOU TOO !!!! OUTSTANDING!!!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HELPFUL ALL OF THIS IS!!!

 

[Wombat]

Pro charger installed and linked to the truck.

I’ll test the backup power this weekend.
my usual experience with system building is that it never works the first time.

Always need to tweak a few things.

 

[PiMatrix]

HEY PHIL - thank you for all your effort in sharing the information you have with us -- outstanding!!! If you already installed the system - would you be willing to do a little YouTube video and show us your wonderful unit? I am wondering if one could increase the ability of the system to power a larger house or more stuff etc by adding more batteries etc....this power outage thing is real and is only gonna get worse!

Thank you and thank you some more!!!

Hi, my pleasure. It's a nice Lightning community here and everyone is appreciated. If only our politics and society worked so well as this forum but division is what gets votes and views/clicks on media.

So Sunrun shipped three boxes and I only received 2 (dark start battery missing). I finally found a nice person in AEESolar that is replacing the missing item after a runaround with sunrun. Then we will begin the install.

At the same time we are installing an Enphase IQ8 microinverter solar system. Our plan is to use the HIS as a "EV-generator" to hookin to this system. The unique thing here is the "EV generator" will be additive to the solar and one Enphase battery we will have (when we drive off to get a supercharge). All the other systems, Sunrun, Tesla, etc shut down solar when on generator or battery. So if we don't need the Lightning during a grid failure we can even charge the car with excess solar or charge the enphase battery if needed even while off the grid. Unlike Tesla not all power to home has to go though the powerwall which is a big deal.

So that is the goal, as far as I know noone has tried this yet but in theory it should work. I"m sure there are going to be come gotchas. I choose an Enphase Platinum installer that was willing to work with me on this. One thing that is clear is that alternative integrated solutions will take some time as any company wishing to grab 400V DC out of the lightning is going to have to work with FORD. I hope Ford is encouraging this as there is no way Sunrun will be able to keep up with Lightning demand. It is in their interest to set the open standard as well which is still in flux.

Ford does not even enable this feature on most of the trim package and you have to pay one time fee as a service. I know it's included in Platinum and not sure which other models. The dealer has to enable it upon delivery I understand. So that means other vendors can't simply tap in without some type of unlock or maybe it is easy if the feature is enabled. Don't know. I'm sure companies like Emporia and Clipper Creek (owned by Enphase) are busy at work at this but I'd guess 2Q of next year maybe. At that stage I'd just swap out HIS with one of those integrated chargers and feed its output to the same input. The HIS+FSCP is probably 3X the price of these integrated bidirectional systems, e.g. Emporia V2X 48A, coming out but it will be integrated with the Ford app which is some advantage maybe. Then again the Emporia software integration with Emporia Vue is truly excellent as they know where all the power is being consumed in home and can load shed as needed. My guess is that will become the system to beat as you have true home integration. I will beta site it ~1Q23 in parallel with HIS and compare the two systems providing feedback to Emporia.

 

[PV2EV]

Here is what it looks like with panels off, still working out the wiring. Still waiting on my pro charger to arrive.

Would happen to have an updated photo, maybe annotated?

 

[deadbeef]

Would happen to have an updated photo, maybe annotated?

I’m looking for this too. Probably installing this weekend. Looks like only the HV DC and the low voltage communication will run from the FCSP to the BDI. BDI has an “EVSE” output but it doesn’t support enough load for FCSP. Hopefully the thing still works? Is that output just a convenience, I wonder, so you don’t need as many circuit breakers in the panel?

 

[adoublee]

I’m looking for this too. Probably installing this weekend. Looks like only the HV DC and the low voltage communication will run from the FCSP to the BDI. BDI has an “EVSE” output but it doesn’t support enough load for FCSP. Hopefully the thing still works? Is that output just a convenience, I wonder, so you don’t need as many circuit breakers in the panel?

The "EVSE" output/input is a DC port with it's own dedicated DC-DC converter appropriate for traction batteries of 290VDC to 413VDC of which the Lightning battery is. It is a reduced capacity from the Lightning's max AC charging rating, but it could allow solar-direct (no utility interconnect) charging. See what you can program for that port's operation!

 

[deadbeef]

The "EVSE" output/input is a DC port with it's own dedicated DC-DC converter appropriate for traction batteries of 290VDC to 413VDC of which the Lightning battery is.

Oooh I see, so the "Battery Port" output/input is for a standalone battery. Cool. So you can do both. And 4kw of PV. And the AC for the FCSP is completely separate by design. Ok, that makes much more sense. My Friday Night brain missed that it was DC which is clear in both the inverter in the block diagram and the 290-413V in the spec sheet. Thanks!

 

[Fryballin]

Here is what it looks like with panels off, still working out the wiring. Still waiting on my pro charger to arrive.

Is the service panel in the picture a “critical loads” panel as the FORD documents on the bidirectional inverter indicate is necessary or is that the main service panel?