Indeed, when I first connected it, the GFCI (on the inverter) would trip every time. I ended up not connecting ground at all. Only way to get it to work.
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MASTER THREAD: Powering house or other things with Model 3
- Thread starter Vines
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- powerwall solar home
n2mb_racing
Active Member
I feel nervous about that, but I'm not sure why.... ha.
I actually did this a long time ago with a 120V to 240V step-up transformer and everything worked. The transformer provided isolation and produced split phase 240V at the output. The neutral could be bonded to the ground at the panel as normal without issues. But, the transformer was ridiculously heavy. There are probably better ways to do that now.
Where did you take your 2500W number? Do you have a link to somewhere on the net?
The car will throw a code as well.
Use a small DC to DC converter, plug into the aux acc receptacle (cigarette lighter thingy) and trickle charge a large 12 volt battery. Connect your inverter to that and you are good to go. Good enough for a fridge, freezer or entertainment centre for a couple or 3 days. You’ll need to leave the car “on”. So camp mode, keep mode, door open, whatever.
If you don’t want to use DC to DC converter just use a small 150 to 300 watt inverter and a max 7 amp battery charger. We have done both. Works fine and it’s all within tesla spec for the acc receptacle.
As long as there are no startup surge loads, it will work fine. If your mini-split does have a surge load, then you would need a buffer battery and a DC-DC charger connected to the PCS.
n2mb_racing
Active Member
I ran 700w or so direct from the DC DC converter connection under the rear seat in the model 3/Y. I think you can put a fairly large inverter there. But, as mentioned earlier, the inrush current to charge the inverter caps when the car wakes up may trigger the over current protection and cause the car to shutdown. A precharge circuit or xt90as connectors are required.
In the old model S, you could go direct to the battery. I don't think it's a good idea in the 3/Y or the new S/x. Although, I was able to pull 1400w for a short period from the 16v battery jump terminals in the new S. I'm going to try the audio amp power circuit next for a smaller inverter.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Apparently yes, because for Tesla it cannibalizes their Powerwall business. I think only the Cybertruck might have a built in inverter because the pickup truck market expects one. In the meantime, the only explicitly allowed inverter usage is via the 12V socket.
n2mb_racing
Active Member
Looks good until the car goes to sleep and then powers back on again. I imagine it's going to complain about that 12V battery on the 12V bus. But, maybe not. Also, I'd worry that you'd cook the lead-acid battery on a newer 3/Y with the Li-ion 16V battery.
Because the aux receptacle will give you a maximum of 12vdc and you need 14v or so to charge the buffer battery ? I presume this is more efficient than a little inverter powering a AC-inout battery charger.
Thing that bothers me about this approach is that the buffer battery, plus bigger inverter, will cost roughly the same as a fossil-fuel generator than can do the same. I don't mean to poop on the idea - as detailed above, I rigged our Leaf to provide emergency power - but it's true.
Yah. We have a little propane generator that works well as a home backup power source. But battery APU’s have their plusses and this setup is also a nice backup. The battery charger charges a pair of AGM group 31 batterie with 14.4 volts 7 amps max. The AGM batteries in turn power a 2 KW sine wave inverter that powers our fridge, the entertainment centre and the ryobi battery charger we use for charging lantern batteries. The tesla keeps it all running. We tested it real world over a couple days. It works. And it’s all automatic
(zoom in on the label). The AGM batteries in turn power a 2 KW sine wave inverter that powers our fridge, the entertainment centre and the ryobi battery charger we use for charging lantern batteries. The tesla keeps it all running. We tested it real world over a couple days. It works. And it’s all automatic
Nice setup.
I wish somebody made a 12vdc -> 240vac inverter in this power range (as opposed to a big inverter for solar, which usually take higher DC input voltages too). I'd like to be able to run the well pump; startup surge might be a killer anyhow, but they make soft-start well pumps now, and my old one is probably gonna give up the ghost in the not too distant future anyway. I guess a 120->240 step-up transformer might do the trick.
MontyFloyd
Member
Nissan developed that ability for the Leaf in 2012, in wake of the devastating Fukushima quake.Apparently the Lightning can power a house, but it's complicated.
Ford's Electric Pickup Can Power Your House In An Outage, But The Cost Could Be Eye-Watering - SlashGear
Ford's F-150 Lightning has a massive battery that can reportedly power an entire house for a significant amount of time.www.slashgear.com
MontyFloyd
Member
n2mb_racing
Active Member
Actually, the ford solution is not expensive at all. That article is misinformed.
You can use the built-in inverter in the F-150 and connect it directly to your house using a regular generator transfer switch. The cost is no different than installing a gasoline generator. Same cabling, etc.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Although you can do that (just like you can do the same with the J1772 based adapter in Hyundai), that of course is not the official Ford solution that the article was talking about.
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