Ford Charge Station Pro…. PV crash course help

[brantmacga]

My brother ordered a Ford Lightning, and it will come with the Ford Charge Station Pro. He got an email yesterday that his truck will enter production in May.

You may have seen the TV commercials that show the truck being used as backup power for your home. From what I have been able to find watching various YouTube videos about this, the truck can backfeed DC power to your service and through use of an inverter it will power your home.

I’m thinking this will fall under articles 690 & 706 of the NEC? I know zero about PV and energy storage system codes. Can anyone guide me on the basics of this? Disconnecting means, backfeed requirements, etc…

The truck doesn’t come with the inverter, and the dealer has no info on that. Idk if we can purchase an inverter from any mfr that is sized correctly to work. Again, I know nothing about PV/ESS.

Current service setup is a 200A SqD CSED with just a MCB feeding an MLO loadcenter. There are no breaker spaces in the CSED; will I need to change that or can I bolt down a breaker in the MLO panel?

Here are some relevant links about the product ….

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content/dam/brand_ford/en_us/brand/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/pdf/FordChargeStationPro-Specs_06_v2.pdf

Ford F-150 Lightning Home Integration System ┃Sunrun

For the first time, your vehicle can power your home in an outage. With the F-150® Lightning™, Home Integration System, and Charge Station Pro, your home and truck can sync seamlessly to send power where you need it, when you need it. Learn how.

www.sunrun.com

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[jaggedben]

There's no article 690 here if there's no solar panels, which you didn't mention.

My understanding is that Ford did an exclusive deal with Sunrun for providing installations that integrate the truck into automated backup power and (optionally?) solar PV. Neither have released technical details about how it works that I've been able to find, and my impression is that that the required equipment (supported EV charger) may not be available to anyone not going through Sunrun.

My impression is that the truck does have an inverter that allows it to be used as a portable generator. But that's not the same as automatically backing up a house with it as described above.

 

[brantmacga]

Reading on the Sunrun website, they don’t list Georgia (where we are) as a state they install in, and note you’ll need to get your own electrician.

The inverter on the truck is for on-board receptacles. It will backfeed DC through the EVSE for home backup power.

Here’s a screenshot from a video I saw showing it with an inverter.

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[jaggedben]

Interesting pic.

They need some kind of MID in the system. Not sure where that is. Maybe in that box you show, maybe somewhere else.

Our company has tried contacting Ford about becoming an installer, with no luck so far.

 

[Hv&Lv]

My understanding (which isn’t extensive) is the 80 amp charger will back feed exactly like many of the battery backup systems currently being installed.
To me that means all necessary equipment for any battery backup system with grid separation must be installed along with the ford charge pro.

Think Tesla or generac battery backup systems.
Now that I type this I’m thinking… if someone had a battery backup system installed along with their solar AND an electric car with a large charger, wouldn’t they all be able to back feed a home?

Jagged??

 

[retirede]

I have a reservation for a Lightning (not invited to order yet ) so I’ve done some research on the topic. Here’s what I’ve gleaned:

The Charge Station Pro is a conventional EVSE that has 2 extra wires in the charge cable that will carry the 400V DC from the truck back to the house. I think it will only pass DC on to the inverter when it senses loss of AC power.

I have not been able to figure out exactly how grid isolation is achieved. Technical details are frustratingly sparse. There has to be some type of ATS somewhere and the inverter must be signaling the EVSE not to charge the truck when it’s running.

That’s as far as I’ve gone because I don’t plan to set mine up for backup power (if I ever get it).

 

[retirede]

Now that I type this I’m thinking… if someone had a battery backup system installed along with their solar AND an electric car with a large charger, wouldn’t they all be able to back feed a home?

Jagged??

There has to be a connection to the vehicle battery. A conventional EVSE only connects to the charger in the vehicle.

 

[Hv&Lv]

There has to be a connection to the vehicle battery. A conventional EVSE only connects to the charger in the vehicle.

Doesn’t it connect to the battery?

 

[brantmacga]

I have not been able to figure out exactly how grid isolation is achieved. Technical details are frustratingly sparse. There has to be some type of ATS somewhere and the inverter must be signaling the EVSE not to charge the truck when it’s running.

That’s as far as I’ve gone because I don’t plan to set mine up for backup power (if I ever get it).

Watch this video. It is separated into chapters so you can skip ahead later on where he talks about what is needed for home back up, and he does say there is an ATS involved. I just saw this one today.


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[retirede]

Doesn’t it connect to the battery?

The Charge Station Pro does via 2 additional wires that use the same pins on the CCS connector as used by DC fast chargers.

But other “normal” EVSEs only supply 240VAC to the built-in charger in the car. They have no direct battery connection.

 

[Hv&Lv]

The Charge Station Pro does via 2 additional wires that use the same pins on the CCS connector as used by DC fast chargers.

But other “normal” EVSEs only supply 240VAC to the built-in charger in the car. They have no direct battery connection.

Ahaaa.
Thank you.

 

[Chamuit]

100A circuit to charge at the 80A level.

Charger will cost about $1,300 + install.

Sunrun is the preferred installer. I'm sure it is so they have an opportunity to sell solar along with the installation.

The truck, right now, will only be able to pump back 9.6kW. So, you can't run the compressor on your HVAC unit. It will supply a protected loads panel.

You don't need to be up to speed on PV. If you've wired a Sonnen, Tesla, PWRcell, Outback, Alpha ESS, or similar in a stand-alone configuration before, you are good to go.

 

[brantmacga]

100A circuit to charge at the 80A level.

Charger will cost about $1,300 + install.

Sunrun is the preferred installer. I'm sure it is so they have an opportunity to sell solar along with the installation.

The truck, right now, will only be able to pump back 9.6kW. So, you can't run the compressor on your HVAC unit. It will supply a protected loads panel.

You don't need to be up to speed on PV. If you've wired a Sonnen, Tesla, PWRcell, Outback, Alpha ESS, or similar in a stand-alone configuration before, you are good to go.

The model he’s ordered comes with the Charge Pro, but not the “home integration system.”

I haven’t done any ESS systems. I am a generac dealer though and have access to the PWRCell system training. I suppose I could start there.

All of the appliances are gas, so hvac would be the only concern.


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[Chamuit]

The model he’s ordered comes with the Charge Pro, but not the “home integration system.”

I haven’t done any ESS systems. I am a generac dealer though and have access to the PWRCell system training. I suppose I could start there.

All of the appliances are gas, so hvac would be the only concern.


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Going through the PWRcell training and getting access to all the materials will help you wrap your head around all that is involved with battery systems and the myriad of configuration possibilities.

I would recommend using a soft start kit for the A/C unit. On one of the ESS projects I worked on this year, we installed soft starts on two compressors. The LRA went from 134 to 34.4 and 60.8 to 15.9 on the compressors. We will be testing the system this next month to determine if using the kits will allow the ESS inverter rated at 9.6kW will handle the startup.