Has anyone successfully had HIS installed and HAPPY?

[Punk9721]

I’ve been searching but have only really seen people complain about Sunrun, the HIS system itself, or the app. I’ve seen a successful third party install on YouTube from a contractor in San Diego believe the customer has documented that install here as well but that seemed like a nightmare.

Im very interested in the HIS but dont want to deal with the headache.

Thoughts?

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[Heliian]

People don't usually get on the internet to tell everyone things are working.
The HIS works but the cost is ridiculous for most people. If I lived in a place with unreliable power or an offgrid system then it might be a good idea.
Sunrun can't organize shipping a charger so I definitely wouldn't use them for installing anything.

 

[RickLightning]

I’ve been searching but have only really seen people complain about Sunrun, the HIS system itself, or the app. I’ve seen a successful third party install on YouTube from a contractor in San Diego believe the customer has documented that install here as well but that seemed like a nightmare.

Im very interested in the HIS but dont want to deal with the headache.

Thoughts?

Yes, there have been successful installs. As noted, people post about failures and issues, not successes. You're looking at around $9k or so. I know of one very well-documented install attempt, with heavy involvement at high levels of SunRun and Ford, that ultimately failed, and the owner was compensated. That one involved, among other things, WiFi conflicts with neighbors that could not be resolved last I read.

People don't usually get on the internet to tell everyone things are working.
The HIS works but the cost is ridiculous for most people. If I lived in a place with unreliable power or an offgrid system then it might be a good idea.
Sunrun can't organize shipping a charger so I definitely wouldn't use them for installing anything.

The shipping issues seems to be a Ford / SunRun issue, not just SunRun, and didn't happen prior to Q4.

 

[WhipSticks]

The folks at Transport Evolved have done a good job documenting their issues with the HIS. The upshot is that while there were snags they think they have figured out everything, and their system now seems to be working well.

 

[roadhouse]

The overall cost is a real bummer TBH.

I wish instead of the proprietary Sunrun install, they'd gone a different direction - build a Ford-branded automatic transfer switch that I can get any qualified electrician to install in-line with the FCSP (and perhaps a communications cable between them). Plug and play, nothing special about it, and because it's "just" a transfer switch it's easy to understand how it works.

 

[Heliian]

and because it's "just" a transfer switch it's easy to understand how it works.

The advantage of the HIS was a higher capacity than what the onboard inverters can provide, automatic switching without powering the truck and scalability with solar and external battery. I think it's a great idea but the cost doesn't fit my use case. In the year I've owned the truck, I haven't had any power failures long enough to even use the propower at home. I use the propower on the road and love it!

 

[frautumn]

See if you utility offers something like described in this thread, where a guy got a free PG&E meter transfer switch that works with the Lightning, powers the whole house. Sounds too good to be true, but I applied and am in line to get one, fingers crossed it works.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...-home-and-free-for-some-pg-e-customers.16910/

 

[KDF150]

Yeah the "power your home" features were highly advertised. It was certainly one of the reason why I bought the truck and the 80a charger. But when looking at the cost, availability (scarce in the US and not yet available in Canada) and complexity to get this feature, it is almost false advertising or at least highly misleading.

It feels like buying a gas powered generator would be cheaper, more reliable and easier to get.

 

[WhipSticks]

Or better yet, solar with a battery backup! It has the advantage of free electrons for the truck! Forever.

 

[BhamDCam]

I wish instead of the proprietary Sunrun install, they'd gone a different direction

Sunrun is not required to do the installation. Tom Moloughney of State of Charge had the HIS installed by Qmerit. But anyway, he put out a super helpful video, linked below, that went into everything regarding his experience with the HIS. Thanks to his video I learned before I bought my truck that using PPO to power my house was going to be a much better solution for me than the HIS. Definitely worth a watch.

 

[RickLightning]

Yeah the "power your home" features were highly advertised. It was certainly one of the reason why I bought the truck and the 80a charger. But when looking at the cost, availability (scarce in the US and not yet available in Canada) and complexity to get this feature, it is almost false advertising or at least highly misleading.

It feels like buying a gas powered generator would be cheaper, more reliable and easier to get.

That's exactly what we did.

Before we bought the Lightning, I did some research. I compared to the cost of a whole house generator (natural gas). My whole house generator was $10,200. Part of that was the amount of natural gas pipe I needed.

The main reasons to get the generator over the HIS solution:

1) Cost.
2) Reliability (always works, always there, never on vacation, tank always full).

The downside of the natural gas generator is the cost to run it when the load is minimal, like a 70 degree day. No heat, no AC, just refrigerators and lights in evening. Yet it's kicking away.

I will likely put in the manual transfer switch at some point.

 

[v2h8484]

The overall cost is a real bummer TBH.

I wish instead of the proprietary Sunrun install, they'd gone a different direction - build a Ford-branded automatic transfer switch that I can get any qualified electrician to install in-line with the FCSP (and perhaps a communications cable between them). Plug and play, nothing special about it, and because it's "just" a transfer switch it's easy to understand how it works.

The HIS is more than a automatic transfer switch because it was also designed for solar integration (i.e. bidirectional charging). My impression is that added a lot of complexity/cost (i.e. the Delta/SunRun inverter, backup interface, dark start battery, etc.) not needed by many/most customers. For customers who just want automatic backup power and don't need/want solar integration, Ford should have just put a Pro Power inverter in a box with an automatic transfer switch powered by the FCSP and kept things cheaper/simpler.

 

[v2h8484]

See if you utility offers something like described in this thread, where a guy got a free PG&E meter transfer switch that works with the Lightning, powers the whole house. Sounds too good to be true, but I applied and am in line to get one, fingers crossed it works.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...-home-and-free-for-some-pg-e-customers.16910/

The BPTM is certainly a good deal if you can get it but it will likely trip GFCI on the truck unless you disconnect the ground pin in the cord connector.

 

[v2h8484]

But anyway, he put out a super helpful video, linked below, that went into everything regarding his experience with the HIS. Thanks to his video I learned before I bought my truck that using PPO to power my house was going to be a much better solution for me than the HIS. Definitely worth a watch.

I watched that video before and I call BS. The video never showed the system actually working. The animation showing the integration of power from his backup generator, the truck and solar is pure fiction. His generator would have likely blown up if he had tried what was shown in the animation.

 

[BhamDCam]

I watched that video before and I call BS. The video never showed the system actually working. The animation showing the integration of power from his backup generator, the truck and solar is pure fiction. His generator would have likely blown up if he had tried what was shown in the animation.

I mean, fair enough. I have no idea how or if it ended up working. But I do know that I learned from this video that I wanted to avoid the HIS and go with a simple transfer switch instead.

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