Has anyone successfully had HIS installed and HAPPY?

[Punk9721]

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/

They do, I'm on PGE thats the only reason why I'm interested TBH. It's also they only was I can really lower my charging bill from them since I missed NEM 2.0.

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[Pitbull2o08]

I will jump in and say I thought I settled my install 2 times. Both times with a local sunrun tech who's number i saved that I can call if it doesn't work. This last time, with all the updates the truck, HIS, and charger have had, seems to have solidified it much better.

I still haven't used it in an emergency yet but with all the rain this week in SOCAL, i'm happy it's operable. But it took a year of headaches. I'm keeping an eye out on that new thermostat that will be coming out here soon. I also swapped my 1992 HVAC system from Electric/Gas to Electric only.

 

[Newton]

I just run off of the 30A outlet in the truck bed. I had to add a manual transfer switch that switched neutral (Generac HomeLink) to deal with the GFI but it was fairly inexpensive. It is exactly the same functionality as a standalone generator but with longer runtime and no fumes.

The sunrun system gives you automatic transfer and more amperage, plus integrated charging. Not worth $10K to me but if you are going to integrate solar it might be worth it.

 

[Texas Dan]

I think that installing the HIS just to have emergency power to your house is real overkill. You can buy an A/B transfer switch for $400 at Home Depot and install it yourself if you’re up to it. The only reason I would install a HIS is if I was going the whole PV route with additional backup batteries.

One additional point, whole house backup using the Lightning typically would not be practical. The most you’ll get even with a HIS is 40 amps and a single HVAC compressor for a SMALL house could draw 25 amps. You will need to be very selective on which CRITICAL loads you want to power with the transfer switch if you’re going to power your house with the Lightning.

 

[Howard_Scott_Warshaw]

Not worth $10K to me but if you are going to integrate solar it might be worth it.

And therein lies another unspoken issue. Of the six people I know who drive EVs, five of them already have PV. The intricacies of interfacing with the utility for grid connected PV don't let you just add AC capacity at free random. So if you already have PV, chose to install the HIS, you're likely to encounter problems if you try to add more PV to the HIS inverter.

Then another issue, what happens where your existing PV inverter tries to sync with the truck?

 

[Wattsgas]

I have the Home Integration system installed in my home. It took about 6 months for the system to fully function. During the last 4 months I have had several power outages. The system performed as it should. The software and the interface to the Ford app is a little wonky. But the system has powered the house. I think the real downside to the system is that it is proprietary to the Lightning. So whether it will match the eventual standards for tying car batteries to the grid is a big question for the systems long term usability. I think that the way Ford pitched it was a simple charger that was able to put AC power into the home. In reality it was a lot more complicated.

 

[Steven Walsh]

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?

I have and I am super happy with the equipment and the Sunrun team.

Since being installed a year now we have only had one power outage and it worked perfectly. Turned the house back on in about 10 seconds.

I plan on having them back to install a small battery that will eliminate the lag so that some of my electronics don’t have to go through revycling since a few things require me to reset them.

 

[Maquis]

I plan on having them back to install a small battery that will eliminate the lag so that some of my electronics don’t have to go through revycling since a few things require me to reset them.

If those electronics are located together, a UPS might be an option. That’s what I plan to do with my networking equipment.

 

[Steven Walsh]

If those electronics are located together, a UPS might be an option. That’s what I plan to do with my networking equipment.

Thanks , yes that is what I did for now. Including the tv.

 

[ninjaybot]

Sunrun was slow and hard to communicate with. Just a pain to deal with. HIS works but does not connect to the internet. But it does charge my truck and back up the house when power is cut. So happy? It works. Kinda.

 

[Punk9721]

I have and I am super happy with the equipment and the Sunrun team.

Since being installed a year now we have only had one power outage and it worked perfectly. Turned the house back on in about 10 seconds.

I plan on having them back to install a small battery that will eliminate the lag so that some of my electronics don’t have to go through revycling since a few things require me to reset them.

So do you feel this is a viable option to be used on a daily basis? Is it easy to setup to to automatically do this daily during certain chosen hours? I’m looking at PGE pilot V2X program and want to be able to send electricity back into the grid during peak times. Also do you mind me asking what the HIS only install and system cost were? Happy to DM you too. Thank you!!

 

[Punk9721]

Sunrun was slow and hard to communicate with. Just a pain to deal with. HIS works but does not connect to the internet. But it does charge my truck and back up the house when power is cut. So happy? It works. Kinda.

Yea see I really need the app to work because I need to be using this daily. Are you at least able to set up times it sends energy back to the grid or is it just triggered as a backup?

 

[Steven Walsh]

So do you feel this is a viable option to be used on a daily basis? Is it easy to setup to to automatically do this daily during certain chosen hours? I’m looking at PGE pilot V2X program and want to be able to send electricity back into the grid during peak times. Also do you mind me asking what the HIS only install and system cost were? Happy to DM you too. Thank you!!

If you can afford it and you are happy to be involved with technical things I would say yes. But if you are trying to keep life simple this is an added layer of things to deal with from time to time.

I am part of a study between firs and Xcel (our power company) and so it was installled as part of the study at no cost to me. Also, I am an architect and builder so this is something I want to fully understand before I incorporate these technologies into my client’s homes.

But from a day to day perspective it is totally transparent. I pull into my garage and plug in with no additional concerns.

 

[Punk9721]

If you can afford it and you are happy to be involved with technical things I would say yes. But if you are trying to keep life simple this is an added layer of things to deal with from time to time.

I am part of a study between firs and Xcel (our power company) and so it was installled as part of the study at no cost to me. Also, I am an architect and builder so this is something I want to fully understand before I incorporate these technologies into my client’s homes.

But from a day to day perspective it is totally transparent. I pull into my garage and plug in with no additional concerns.

Yea I’m looking at the PG&E pilot but they only give $2500 incentive. Sounds like a good deal for you!

 

[ninjaybot]

Yea see I really need the app to work because I need to be using this daily. Are you at least able to set up times it sends energy back to the grid or is it just triggered as a backup?

Just triggered as a back up. Can I do that with the ford app supposedly? My FCSP is basically always offline unless a Sunrun tech comes out and does a hard reset and re connect to the truck and house. But it looses connection in a day.

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