Detached Garage

[GranCu]

I'm having the HIS installed by a Master Electrician and my garage is about 100' away from house. He previously installed 150AMP service to detached garage and is now working on HIS. Main Panel is in basement of home. He is planning to put ATS in basement and inverter and cold start battery in garage. Will this work? I'm concerned about the communications between inverter and ATS (probably 150').

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[djwildstar]

The microgid interconnection device/whole-home backup (MID/WHB, the automatic transfer switch) includes an Acrel energy meter with associated current transducer (CT). The CT leads are 8', so the Acrel energy meter needs to be within 8' of the main feed. If the MID/WHB can't be located that close, the Acrel energy meter can be moved to its own box, and RS-485 lines run to the MID/WHB.

The dark start battery includes an 8' cable, so the battery should be located within 8' of the bi-directional inverter (BDI) unit. The BDI supplies dark start power to the FCSP through low-voltage DC wires, but there is no specification on how long these may be.

Communications between the Ford Charge Station Pro (FCSP), BDI, and MID are RS-485 over Category 6 cable. RS-485 over Cat 6 cable is nominally supported for up to 100 meters (328'), but practically speaking you'll have attenuation problems past about 80 meters (262'). Your 150' (45 meter) run should be OK.

 

[GranCu]

Thank you. Any NEMA enclosure?

Sorry for the meter

 

[djwildstar]

All components of the home integration system are suitable for mounting outside without additional enclosures: The MID/WHB and the Dark Start Battery are both rated NEMA 3R, while the BDI is rated NEMA 4.

NEMA 3R is weather-resistant: protects against falling dirt and weather hazards (rain, sleet, ice, snow). Used outdoors, including on docks, construction sites, tunnels, subways, etc. Note that 3R does not protect against windblown dust.

NEMA 4 adds protection against windblown dust and water hose-down, making it effectively watertight. Used outdoors on docks, dairies, water-treatment facilities, breweries, etc.

 

[GranCu]

Thanks. Does anyone know if the system has to be "commissioned by Sunrun or Delta after installation? I hired a Master Electrician to complete install and he finished and left, system is not working however. Does Electrician have to call Sunrun and get some code?

 

[Jim Lewis]

hired a Master Electrician to complete install and he finished and left, system is not working however.

Welcome to the club. It seems most of us who opted for a HIS unit have not been able to get it to work reliably. See various frustrated user comments in the following threads, amongst others:

Intelligent backup power issues/unreliable | Ford Lightning Forum For F-150 Lightning EV Pickup: News, Owners, Discussions, Community (f150lightningforum.com)

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...backup-power-without-sunrun.12564/post-321690

The most recent news is that @hifixenthusiast had advanced level support from Ford and Sunrun to get his system working. It required a yet-to-be-released truck Power Up update, an FCSP firmware update that most of us should have gotten already, and a Delta BDI firmware update that had to be remotely installed by Delta and wouldn't download with the M Professional app. Ford has told several of us that the general release of updates to get the HIS unit working reliably will occur in the late October/early November 2023 timeframe. I was told in August that it might also require some equipment replacement under warranty, but given no further details.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...backup-power-without-sunrun.12564/post-340571

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