Can solar charge Lightning battery during grid outage?

[Splatt]

When the grid is down, sun is out, solar generation exceeds house consumption, can a home's solar PV charge the Lightning's battery to extend back-up power when it is needed? This is assuming the Charge Station Pro & Home Integration System are installed. Similar to the functionality of standard residential energy storage systems.

Appreciate folks connecting me to this information/answer.

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[yed19]

I believe the answer to this question is No with caviats. I.e. Unless your solar can produce the needed power for the house to the point where the flow comes back as AC to the truck, then it might work. THe thing that we ran into when setting our system up (not installed yet) was the upper limit on the PV system input to the Bi-Directional inverter. Its 4 KWh. SO in short, if your house draw is less than that it might work. My system we are installing is 15.6 KW with inline inverters... So instead, I am just using the HIS as a backup power system and not using the solar aspect connection. I could add some panels at a later date, but it would only be to power the truck if the grid went down with no draw. I am no electrician but I get the idea of the systems from my research on this. The 4 KWH limit on the solar input is a huge limiting factor. And the fact I already had inline Enphase inverters on order forced my system design that way.

You could always try just plugging the 120 V charger that comes with the truck int a socket and charge it that was when the grid was down and solar was producing excess power

 

[mstuewe]

it would be nice if someone made an EVSE that used solar panels as the input. so silly that solar needs to go DC to AC to DC with current setups

 

[ericpullen]

I’ve been reading up on this lately and saw this video:


I wanted to look at direct charging off solar during the day in my pole barn. The big key I didn’t think about was needing to still have a battery bank, for nothing more than needing a “buffer” for when solar may dip down during normal operation. I’d still have to price it out in comparison to our rates but I’m guessing the payback is going to still be a long time.

 

[yed19]

it would be nice if someone made an EVSE that used solar panels as the input. so silly that solar needs to go DC to AC to DC with current setups

The inputs on the solar input to the BDI are DC inputs which was part of the issues with the inline inverters that we had ordered for our system.

 

[dachelpo]

My ADTSolar/SunPro solar array and Enphase gateway isolates and from my main electrical panel when the grid goes out. This was also a requirement of MidAmerica Energy, my utility company, prior to having the bi-directional meter installed as part of the inspection. My local electrical inspector from my city/village also checked that my solar array was isolated when the grid went dark. This policy is required so that my main panel does not stay "hot”, and the utility's electricians are not working on the high lines believing the grid is inactive only to find out it's hot due to solar arrays.


I believe this is part of the communication problems and assurances in using the F-150 Lightning to feed a residence when the grid goes dark. There must be isolation from the grid of the residence's electrical panel feeding power into the grid. My grid feeds excess power that is not consumed to MidAmerican Energy. I can receive energy from MidAmerican when my solar array is not generating or when the generation is less than my residential requirements (and this can include charging my Lightning). Different utilities have different rates for this bi-directional feed (and it requires a special meter referred to as a bi-directional meter to log this exchange of power). MidAmerican Energy is a forward-looking energy company. For each KWh I send to the utility, I get a credit for one KWh. I hear some utilities do a 5 for 1 swap. You send the utility 5 KWh and only get one back in return. MidAmerica is a 1 for 1 swap. They also have invested heavily in wind turbines just south of my location and continue to put up additional wind turbines among the flowing hills of northern Illinois. They also work with their consumers to go solar.


I hope to add the bi-directional feed from my Lightning which has the extended battery option when SunRun gets the bugs worked out of their system or Enphase offers the option for my solar gateway. I hear this may be coming in late 2024 but I will want to hear that Ford Power Station Pro, Ford Lightning battery, and my ADTSolar/SunPro warranties will continue with coverage.

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