Mach E to power your home.

[RedStallion]

Same as if you had solar or a backup battery, could be life or death for a utility worker.

Solar panels are disconnected when power grid goes down. They cannot power the house. For these safety reasons. I don't know how the backup battery works, there must be strict requirements preventing connection to the grid.

Sponsored

 

[Orangefirefish]

Indeed, a requirement of the install. Backup batteries also have to have a cutoff switch so that they operate independent of the grid when power is out. I would imagine your car backfeeding the house would require such a switch.

Solar panels are disconnected when power grid goes down. They cannot power the house. For these safety reasons. I don't know how the backup battery works, there must be strict requirements preventing connection to the grid.

Solar panels are disconnected when power grid goes down. They cannot power the house. For these safety reasons. I don't know how the backup battery works, there must be strict requirements preventing connection to the grid.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Even if they add that feature the mach E power inverter can not put out nearly same amount of power. My guess is it would be max out at MAYBE 5Kw if not even closer to the 2-3 KW range. No where close to what it would take to power part of a house. Namely not enough to power the AC unit for a home. This compared to the rather large amount of power the F150 is cranking out.

1.9kW

Enough to keep the freezers, refrigerators, internet, and some lights going.

 

[DK922]

If you install a NEMA 14-50 in your garage, you could back-feed the panel during a power outage with the Mach-E. Just need to turn off the main, so you don’t zap a lineman.

 

[jlauro]

If you install a NEMA 14-50 in your garage, you could back-feed the panel during a power outage with the Mach-E. Just need to turn off the main, so you don’t zap a lineman.

The Mach-E isn't a F-150 Lightning. You also need an inverter to back-feed, which the Mach-E doesn't have built in (the Lightning does), and support for drawing that much power out of the battery through the 12v outlets. Maybe you could use a bidirectional charging station but they are rare, expensive, and don't know any certified to work with the Mach E.

 

[dtbaker61]

Even if they add that feature the mach E power inverter can not put out nearly same amount of power. My guess is it would be max out at MAYBE 5Kw if not even closer to the 2-3 KW range. No where close to what it would take to power part of a house. Namely not enough to power the AC unit for a home. This compared to the rather large amount of power the F150 is cranking out.

That being said I would not mind a few 120 V plugs in the mach E

The last spec I saw for the Lightning was a 7kw inverter.

it is POSSIBLE to connect a big inverter to the 12v connection points in the MME, but probably not a good idea to go over 3kw inverter or so since the MME dc-dc converter is designed for continuous 'refill' current <160amps from HV battery to LVB... about 2kw. Which would be enough for lights, refrigerator, etc. maybe even ONE mini-split. But, not big loads like a big A/C system, or a deep well pump (over 1HP)....

you could output either 120vAC, or 240vAC, depending what inverter you get.... but you have to be VERY careful to disconnect from the grid before back-feeding power to a house. This is important whether you are using a Generator, or the MME thru an Inverter.

If you have grid-tied Solar on your house, you ALSO have to turn OFF that circuit.... you do not want to 'wake up' the Solar that shut itself down when the Grid went down!

 

[Mach-Lee]

The last spec I saw for the Lightning was a 7kw inverter.

it is POSSIBLE to connect a big inverter to the 12v connection points in the MME, but probably not a good idea to go over 3kw inverter or so since the MME dc-dc converter is designed for continuous 'refill' current <160amps from HV battery to LVB... about 2kw. Which would be enough for lights, refrigerator, etc. maybe even ONE mini-split. But, not big loads like a big A/C system, or a deep well pump (over 1HP)....

you could output either 120vAC, or 240vAC, depending what inverter you get.... but you have to be VERY careful to disconnect from the grid before back-feeding power to a house. This is important whether you are using a Generator, or the MME thru an Inverter.

If you have grid-tied Solar on your house, you ALSO have to turn OFF that circuit.... you do not want to 'wake up' the Solar that shut itself down when the Grid went down!

Please do not connect your Mach-E to your house, the DC/DC is rated for 160A PEAK meaning continuous output is 1500W or less. Way too little for your house, it was not designed to power anything like that.

Buy a generator instead, it will be cheaper than burning out your DC/DC module.

Use a 2000W max inverter and just run extension cords if you must...

 

[mord]

The details being discussed are above my head but I am wondering if technology like this https://www.dcbel.energy/ might work.

 

[jlauro]

The details being discussed are above my head but I am wondering if technology like this https://www.dcbel.energy/ might work.

TL;DR It might

The product https://www.dcbel.energy/wp-content/uploads/ossiaco-data-sheet-2021.pdf is a bi-directional charger, starting at $5,000 (about 10x a normal one way charger), is not available in most if any areas yet, and most importantly there is no list of vehicles it is compatible with.

Despite it's $$$, I would be interested in getting it if they (and/or Ford) certified compatibility with the Mach E and wouldn't void the Mach E's warranty.

 

[ChuckA]

TL;DR It might

The product https://www.dcbel.energy/wp-content/uploads/ossiaco-data-sheet-2021.pdf is a bi-directional charger, starting at $5,000 (about 10x a normal one way charger), is not available in most if any areas yet, and most importantly there is no list of vehicles it is compatible with.

Despite it's $$$, I would be interested in getting it if they (and/or Ford) certified compatibility with the Mach E and wouldn't void the Mach E's warranty.

I’m already wired for a 6500 kWh (I think that’s what the 6500 means.) portable generator with correct cutovers in the panel. Why risk f’ing up a $7000 battery? Besides, I don’t need a fire in my garage.

I could install a storage battery to my solar, but it’s cheaper to stick with my current setup.

 

[DaMeatMan]

But it showed that's how they were powering the lights

No what it showed was the wife flipping the switch to the outlet that the Christmas lights extension cord were connected to, while also plugging in the vehicle at the same time the husband re-plugs the extension cord.

The lights coming on at the same time is more of an assumption, and probably even implied to get folks talking about the car.

All in all clever marketing. ?

 

[Xlch59]

I wish I could figure out a way to do this. I have solar with a LG battery back up. The LG battery has a recall on it. First they lowered the charge level to 75% then a few weeks ago they sent a kill code to it. They where supposed to replace it this month but now it's looking like early 2022. The battery runs at 400 volts and is 10 kWh. That the same volts as my Focus and the Mach E. I think figuring out the cooling and battery management key. I doubt it could be done unless it was built into the car.

 

[HOFMACHFE]

I am looking into a safe solution from https://www.cargenerator.com/

They have an inverter and home connection solution to power some lights your gas furnace motor and fridge. 1000watts continuous.
It connects to car battery and should be ideal for keeping your home warm in winter, fridge and a few led lights.
I am going to have it installed professional in my garage and will share results when done.

 

[dtbaker61]

I am looking into a safe solution from https://www.cargenerator.com/

They have an inverter and home connection solution to power some lights your gas furnace motor and fridge. 1000watts continuous.
It connects to car battery and should be ideal for keeping your home warm in winter, fridge and a few led lights.
I am going to have it installed professional in my garage and will share results when done.

great timing... I was messing today around, and wired up a simple solution for using any existing 240v outlet to back feed energy from your MME, thru an inexpensive ($350) pure sine inverter 120vAC output, and Energize ALL your 'regular' loads.

I have NG heat, and no well pump, so my usual loads are 150 watts - 2500 watts

I used a 120v inverter as an example since they are less expensive, and eliminate the temptation for people to run the big 240v loads like hot tubs, a/c, oven, etc.....

basically, all you need at a minimum is:
- 120vAV pure-sine inverter (about $350)
- 120v -> 240v Plug cord to energize both legs (<$100 for matls+ labor to fabricate)
- (optional) circuit breaker to prevent more than 2000 watts thru inverter
- jumper cables from MME LVB to inverter 12v input
- instructions.... you MUST turn off your Grid 'main' , and all 240v circuits besides the plug you are backfeeding before backfeeding power from inverter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


you *could* get a 12v->240vAC inverter, and have 240v power.... but probably not a great idea with a small inverter under 'emergency' conditions to run big 240v loads.

My home 'background load' for refrigeratior, lights, etc is 200-400 watts, with only the occasional spike when running microwave, etc. so in an emergency backup situation the average load is well below what the MME can keep up with.... if you leave it 'on', and disable 'auto-off' setting so the HV battery keeps the LVB charged. The cool thing is that my SR battery *could* run my house for about a week without any additional (solar) input in emergency situation.

 

[phil]

Must-have feature for me. After seeing Texas go dark for days this past February, it has changed my perspective on my family's needs for energy. No sense in have a 99 kWh lithium-ion battery sitting in my garage and we can't tap into it somehow.

Dark for days? The Mustang battery won't last for days powering much of anything, especially if you want to drive somewhere too. What you want is a gas generator.

Sponsored