Watch How Ford Lightning's Intelligent Backup Power System Works In A Real Home

What would help you dramatically and help understand loads and give you total control is a Span panel. I’d install one span 200 amp panel and then a dumb 200 amp panel for EV non critical loads. Split the power from meter two ways to each panel. Run solar into span. Use your old inverter. Run fords mess into span no solar attached. Then you’d just need one 200 amp transfer switch and then one span panel. And you wouldn’t have ev charging during outtage. Or just add another generac 200 amp transfer switch as a slave.

Still. See this is where Tesla’s solar controller really just works. Combines power from everywhere. Basically you need a master switch that can seamlessly switch between all sources without back feeding the generator. I know there are solar inverters that can handle all that and control the genset such as when solar and battery power isn’t enough it kicks on the generator.

Savant home automation also has a new line of smart power products including smart panels or breakers. They work with any manufacturer of any component and automate all power handling. Probably worth the investment there. I really like savant.

TOM! Please help me to know if there is any cloud monitoring software for solar production available with the delta inverter that comes with the HIS. Sunrun is telling me I can only monitor via the M professional app while on Bluetooth. Surely there is another way to monitor remotely.

GREAT VIDEO FROM CANADA.

Only for the rich.

My lightning did not come with the 240v outlet. Does anyone know if it can be retro fit into my truck?

Basically you have to choose between having a car that you can drive or electricity back for your house.

Are there any videos anywhere of this actually being used? I can't seem to find any real world examples.

What would the breaker rating to use with the 80 Amp charger? Ty Tom

So I have a generlink installed behind my meter so can't I just use the 30amp outlet in my truck to power the house? Instead of my gas generator

So if you do this setup, you’re handcuffed to keeping your lighting. If you sell your vehicle this system is useless.

I want to know if I could use the lightning to use the way you can use Tesla batteries to power your home to not have to use the grid all the time.

Wonder if we can integrate with Tesla power wall and Tesla inverter so Tesla will see this as another battery. If it can pull the power as DC power from the truck.

Great video. Thanks for all the great info.

Just ordered the equipment fir HIS. Do I need a critical load subpanel for this to work? I'd prefer to power entire house and manually keep things off to limit load consumption to inverter limit of 6K

It's a lot more expensive than I thought.

Did you need 400A service? Or would 200A service have worked?

The ford ATS doesn’t have a panel board? Also, That giant inverter should have the dark start battery integrated.

I hope the electric company is MEGA-happy with your getup...!

Tom, thanks. First time viewer of you. I don't have the option of a Generac natural gas generator (all my children and grandchildren live with me and some of them do not feel safe anywhere near natural gas, so I take their feelings to heart.) We could use diesel, as that is relatively safe (and everyone agrees.) But we live in the woods and we have also had 2 wk outages just as you mentioned, yourself. One possibility we are considering is a hybrid that runs a diesel engine with battery (if we can find one) and the other is the F-150 EV. I also weld a lot (stick, MIG, and TIG.) So having the ability to support that would be nice in the field here on the farm. I'm not feeling a need for automatic power -- I can flip breakers when needed. But it is interesting, just the same. But I really want to thank you for all the details you've offered! Including the old panel arrangement and what you would up with in the end. It's perhaps the very best video anywhere I've seen on this topic and you have helped me think better. You have my profound and heart-felt thanks for your time (and expense) that you've extended to others you don't know and cannot have your back when you may need it. I wish we knew each other better. But being in Oregon... not so likely. Best wishes!

One more thought. You mentioned high-priority uses and lower-priority. Did you re-wire your home so that various sockets around the home are labeled in a way that you can tell whether or not these are connected to the critical supply from your gas generator, for example? It seems to me that with a system as complex as what you have presented, it would be a good idea to label ALL of the outlets around the home as to how they are connected up so that you can make intelligent choices when plugging in devices. (Coffee maker vs refrigerator, for example.) I am right at the state today where I need to exit part of my home to allow for workers to arrive and perform a variety of work here to tear out all chalkboard and wiring and replace panels and re-wire at least half of the 5000 sq ft here. (Maybe all of it? 1970 construction.) It may be appropriate to rewire all the outlets in the entire home and label them carefully. What are your thoughts?

Save $5,000, just plug in an extension cord to the Lightening’s power outlet and run it into your house during an emergency.

Can anyone recommend a transfer switch that will work with the Ford f 150 lightning?

@stateofchargewithtomoloughney great Video and great content. Thank you! Happy New Year 🎉. Quick question, I want to activate the Home Intelligent backup power in my truck, however the dealer said I have to get the Sunrun system first. So since u did all the process, is that true? Or can i activate it without the Sunrun System? Thank you

Tom, great video. My real interest in V2H or V2G comes in wanting to have a solar array that charges an EV during the day and then have the EV power the house in the evening during peak electricity pricing. Do you think the systems will evolve to do that? I’m also wondering if Ford’s system will work with other EVS as they develop that include V2H or v2g, such as the forthcoming Silverado, or ram products, that allegedly will offer those features as well. Seems like it might be a mistake to plunk down the money now on a system that ends up being proprietary. Would love to see a video about that.

This is totally unnecessary. I just looked at a lighting a few weeks ago. It comes with a 240 volt 30 amp twist lock plug in the bed of the truck. All you need at that point is a 30 amp power inlet box and a generator interlock kit. Like he said it’s not gonna run your whole house though. You have to be selective but most the time it will run you heat, lighting and refrigeration without a problem. Electrical appliances are not gonna work in this situation so you have to manually turn them all off before firing the truck up

Tom,

Great video!

In 2024 we now have these “collars” that can be installed on the meter to provide a connection for a portable generator with non-bonded neutral.

This is much simpler than the standard generator (non)critical load panels, transfer switches and interlock kits.

PG&E has a pilot program in Northern California for which I have applied.

Worst case, the 240 V outlet in the bed of the Lightning can be connected to the “collar” via a modified cable that “unbonds” neutral. This approach requires a few of the steps that would be necessary with an actual generator (e.g. Plug the cord in to the truck and start/stop the “generator”). Note it would be great if you could ask Ford to add a software setting to “unbond” neutral on the 240V outlet when the truck is “at home” as bonded neutral is only needed for a job site.

What would be ideal is to have the DC wires of the Ford Charge Station Pro plugged into the home integration kit (inverter) and have the output of said inverter permanently attached to the “collar”.  This would be much more convenient than having to plug into the 240V outlet in the bed. The AC wires of the integration kit can be plugged into a single load shedding sub panel to prevent charging while providing backup power.

I would respectfully request that you ask Ford to support such a configuration of the gear you featured in this video as it is a radically simpler and less costly installation. Yes I would lose the ability to perform rate arbitrage, but I really only care about the whole home backup power use case.

Further I would request that the inverter electronics have a configurable signal port that goes high (or low) such that external electronics can act appropriately. For example I want my already installed solar components (Enphase) to know when the system has entered “no grid mode” so they can act accordingly. Opposite goes for when “grid power is restored”.

This makes usage simpler with installation much simpler and much less costly. It also allows existing solar electronics to be used pretty much as is with the possible exception of adding a remotely triggered transfer switch based on actual grid state.

I am happy to discuss this with you and/or Ford in more detail.

Great presentation Tom, appreciate your efforts. I think you're on point with the opinion that this will only pencil out economically for the occasional home owner. One shortcoming that you commented on only briefly is that when there is a power outage, the majority of your solar panels go off line. I believe if you have Tesla Power Wall batteries or other storage system you can continue to produce and store your excess solar energy while the power is out, though each power wall is only 13 kwh. Personally I've got an Ioniq5, it has a small vehicle to house (via extension cord capability) and a small gas generator for the outages, enough for the fridge, a TV, and light or two. Our outages are rare and short lived but my solar can't produce during them. I do look forward to the day when these systems come down in price enough to pencil out better and help take the stress off the grid, etc.

yeah, NO. Tech is not there yet and price definitely not there yet. Too many points of failure. Having a nat gas generator if you have numerous power outages would probably be a better bet. Battery backup systems still way too expensive for whole house backup.

If it outputted something like 15kw through the truck alone, it would definitely be worth the cost to install this. I could definitely run my house using the truck and solar every day and night if it outputted around 15kw

Tom, great video! I bought a model with 2.4 kw pro on board power. Does this mean I'd only get 2.4 kw to power my house with bidirectional charging or does it use a different mechanism to power the house?

Did I miss it? The biggest question I have is in the event of a prolonged outage can the solar that comes directly into this system/inverter be used to charge the Lightning with any excess production? For example, if your Lightning is down to 20%, your solar array is producing 5kW of juice and your house is only using 2kW, would the excess 3kW be used to charge the Lightning, or is charging during an outage not possible? It would be a huge miss if this isn't possible. The only information I can find on it is a video by you from over 2 years ago that says you can't but Ford is looking into it...

you gullible clowns

Extension cords are cheap 😂 👍👍

Completely pointless

Thanks for the information. I'm looking it all over to make the best decision. The video helped enormously.

When everyone in the neighborhood wants 400 amp service @ 240 VAC to their home, you’ve got a HUGE infrastructure problem.

I know this video is old by now, but I'm curious if you can get the Ford Pass App to limit the current being supplied to the truck? The use case is that I want the limit the number of kW being delivered from the FCSP to the Lightning to what my solar system is overproducing. Unfortunately, even though the Ford Pass App shows the limit I've selected (say 18A), the charge rate continues at 10 kW. Ford can't decide if my problem is in the Ford Pass App or is a problem on the EV/Charging side. FWIW, the truck doesn't have any option to limit the current. My Tesla has it built into the car. Even better, since I have Powerwalls, an OTA made it so the car talks to the Tesla gateway and adjusts itself to use only what is spare. I understand Ford can't get that information, but manual control would have been nice.

Does using the car's battery affect its warranty. Using an EV as a house backup running heavy loads like AC systems and water heaters requires lots of power. What LRA can it support?

This system seemed remarkably expensive BEFORE the gut-punch of a 9kw inverter. That's outrageous. Also assuming this system solely functions with a Lightning. Even when you account for the battery included "free" with truck, potential buyers would be much better off buying a non-proprietary hybrid inverter & battery bank. This is insane.

From what im gathering, it is not possible to use solar to charge the ev during an outage, meaning this does not work as an independent battery backup system?

Awesome video. one question... can 2x different vehicles be paired with the Ford system? EG a Lighting and a Hyundai ioniq5 (which is also V2H capable)? Or even an ioniq5 and a Rivian R1T (which will soon be allowed to V2H)?

Outstanding video. 👍

Sorry but Qmerit sucks. I submitted my request to get my Ford Charging station pro and they refer me to an electrical contractor. 3 weeks and no one has contacted me or has giving me an update. Im canceling and getting my deposit back.

I kind of don't like the Bluetooth aspect... Isn't V2G / V2H based on CCS communication? I wonder why Ford is slapping Bluetooth on top of CCS.

I have a similar set up with generator and solar. I wanted to utilize my lightning to be a battery backup, not when the power goes out but to pull from my vehicle at night or during the day when my solar production is low... basically utilize this as a replacement to solar batteries. Do you think this is possible?

I would love to know how it’s still working? After spending 90k on a truck and 4500$ for the HIS system, nearly 2 years ago now, I have yet to ever get this system to communicate with each other (charger and truck). So I think yours working is great. Did you have trouble connecting the truck and charger together? Does it stay connected longer than 2 hours like other have?

I’d love to know more and would love nothing more than to have someone with your experience navigate the endless headache I have with a (should be) simple system.

Next time you’re in northern VA, I’d be happy to host a video for disappointment.

I'm new to the EV world, but maybe someone could provide me with an answer to this question? Can you use the 30 amp plug to run your house with just an interlock setup like a regular generator?

Back up battery systems would be a better option for the cost. Once you get rid of the truck all that stuff is useless!

Hah, on the critical loads panel, put circuits that are not critical....

Your explanations, graphics, charts, etc are TOP NOTCH! Bravo on being clear and repeating the items that need repeated. Also, no details get left out!