MASTER THREAD: Powering house or other things with Model 3

[Ampster]

I don't think the Smart for Two has the capacity but there is a work around with a Tesla which I have done to keep a refrig and a few lights and appliances going. The Tesla DC to DC converter uses the pack to keep the 12 volt battery charged. As far as I know it runs all the time if the 12 volt battery needs power. I am not sure about the capacity but it was enough to run a 1500 Watt 120 volt AC Inverter. Does your Goal Zero have the option to charge from 12 volts DC ir 120 volts AC? Depending on the model Tesla there may be a source of 12 volts under the front hood. The cigarette lighter circuit is not usable since it powers off if the car is not occupied. I just used jumper cable clamps for my temporary connection to my Model 3. There are two terminals under the removable cover under the hood toward the windshield. I am considering a more permanent connection with a fuse and Anderson connectors but have been advised to not disconnect the 12 volt battery to do that because a number of things have to be recalibrate if the 12 volt battery is disconnected. There may be other posts on this forum explaining in more detail.

 

[cali8484]

Can I use my tesla or my Smart For two electric to charge the Goal Zero? I have one 200 watt panel that I will use and plug into battery

For your Tesla, you need to connect a 12VDC inverter with enough output power (1kW should be good enough) to the Tesla DC-DC converter (i.e. not the 12V battery terminals. Read early posts in this thread for instructions.) and the inverter will power your Goal Zero AC charger. You will need to enable Sentry mode to prevent premature turn off of the DC-DC converter.

 

[bedoig]

I have Solar City panels which are now managed by Tesla

I have applied for a Power wall but cant get one because they will only sell one with additional solar panels and i don't have any space available on roof

So I need to power my fridge, internet, comp, and one 32 inch screen
Also have a sleep apnea set up that needs power

SCE shuts my power off when the wind blows now

I have decided to try a Goal Zero 3000x

Will see if I can use the home integration kit to hook up 4 fuses when power goes out

the kit taps into 4 fuses and you manually switch over the lines you need to battery when power goes out

If it works i may increase the battery with an add on home battery kit

My question is how to charge if my power outages go longer than 1 day

Can I use my tesla or my Smart For two electric to charge the Goal Zero? I have one 200 watt panel that I will use and plug into battery

is any body else using their cars to help out at home when the power goes out?

Thanks

GZ makes a 12v car charging cable that I think is compatible with most of the product line. If the power is out for longer than your 3000 can support directly just plug into the car's 12v outlet and put the car in camp mode (with AC turned off), turn on sentry mode, or whatever to keep the car awake.

Yeti 12V Car Charging Cable

short Used to safely and efficiently charge a Sherpa 100AC, Goal Zero Yeti X, Lithium, or Lead-Acid from a 12V source, featuring a protective 15A user-replaceable fuse. tech PORTS Input: 12V Male Cigarette Output: 8 mm (12V, up to 10A) GENERAL Product SKU: 98079 Cord Dims: 120 x 2.5 x 1 in...

www.goalzero.com

 

[PhysicsGuy]

No, the 2013 Model S has separate components that were integrated together to form the PCS in the Model 3. See my PM reply.

What about the model Y? Does that have 13 volt studs under the seat similar to those in the model 3?

 

[PhysicsGuy]

GZ makes a 12v car charging cable that I think is compatible with most of the product line. If the power is out for longer than your 3000 can support directly just plug into the car's 12v outlet and put the car in camp mode (with AC turned off), turn on sentry mode, or whatever to keep the car awake.

Yeti 12V Car Charging Cable

short Used to safely and efficiently charge a Sherpa 100AC, Goal Zero Yeti X, Lithium, or Lead-Acid from a 12V source, featuring a protective 15A user-replaceable fuse. tech PORTS Input: 12V Male Cigarette Output: 8 mm (12V, up to 10A) GENERAL Product SKU: 98079 Cord Dims: 120 x 2.5 x 1 in...

www.goalzero.com

That will only charge at about 100 Watts or less as others have explained. Pretty slow charging and your losses in camp mode will be 200 Watts or more. So your efficiency would be about 30% or less. (Not good)

 

[PhysicsGuy]

When the car is awake, the draw will be seen by the car because the car is maintaining the voltage of the battery. The current from your load connected to the battery will pass through the VC-Front module from the PCS which is providing energy from the traction battery. It will see that load as an excess charging current. When the car is asleep, it will drain the battery more quickly than normal and the car will have to wake up and recharge the battery. If the battery does not maintain a certain voltage when the charging current is removed, the car may not sleep at all. The fact that the battery voltage is dropping when it shouldn't is another reason to throw an error.

For a transient load like pumping up one tire, connecting directly to the battery is reasonable. Anything longer term like a refrigerator or electric cooler should draw power from a proper load circuit on the body controller. Tapping the subwoofer circuit in the trunk is a reasonable choice for a load like a cooler.

For a 300 to 600 Watt draw, is it preferable to tap 13 volt power from the 8 mm studs under the rear seat or from the subwoofer circuit?

 

[bedoig]

That will only charge at about 100 Watts or less as others have explained. Pretty slow charging and your losses in camp mode will be 200 Watts or more. So your efficiency would be about 30% or less. (Not good)

I'm not really disagreeing, but if your goals revolve around 1) easy 2) cheap 3) safe / no hassle (going through known metered & monitored connections) 4) 200W solar panel is available 5) supplemental 3 kWh are available 6) powering a sleep apnea machine and a couple other critical but relatively low draw circuits 7) it's not the apocalypse...then it's a worthwhile consideration.

 

[miimura]

For a 300 to 600 Watt draw, is it preferable to tap 13 volt power from the 8 mm studs under the rear seat or from the subwoofer circuit?

120W is the limit for the 12V power socket and 300W is the limit for what I would take from the subwoofer circuit. Anything more than that should be taken from the PCS studs under the rear seat.

 

[Xebec]

(moderator note)

Moved your post into an existing thread on this topic.

Hi there - which thread covers using a Model 3 to trickle charge a stand-alone battery such as the Goal Zero Yeti's or Jackery? I'm looking in the Tesla Energy forum , and I also looked at the posters activity and couldn't find the thread. Thanks!

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi there - which thread covers using a Model 3 to trickle charge a stand-alone battery such as the Goal Zero Yeti's or Jackery? I'm looking in the Tesla Energy forum , and I also looked at the posters activity and couldn't find the thread. Thanks!

This thread here you posted in is "powering things with your model 3" and is the closest you are going to get.

 

[Xebec]

This thread here you posted in is "powering things with your model 3" and is the closest you are going to get.

ahh ok you moved it *into* this thread.. sorry.. i'm slow today

 

[Xebec]

I have Solar City panels which are now managed by Tesla

I have applied for a Power wall but cant get one because they will only sell one with additional solar panels and i don't have any space available on roof

So I need to power my fridge, internet, comp, and one 32 inch screen
Also have a sleep apnea set up that needs power

SCE shuts my power off when the wind blows now

I have decided to try a Goal Zero 3000x

Will see if I can use the home integration kit to hook up 4 fuses when power goes out

the kit taps into 4 fuses and you manually switch over the lines you need to battery when power goes out

If it works i may increase the battery with an add on home battery kit

My question is how to charge if my power outages go longer than 1 day

Can I use my tesla or my Smart For two electric to charge the Goal Zero? I have one 200 watt panel that I will use and plug into battery

is any body else using their cars to help out at home when the power goes out?

Thanks

I've been thinking about this setup myself as I'm about to move and won't have panels or powerwalls for some years at the new house (a bit of a fixer upper, and the roof needs replacement first).

The Goal Zero will allow trickle charging via a 12V car adapter while it powers higher power electronics. I forget the exact wattage, but for example -- you could put a Tesla in camp mode to keep the 12V lighter socket active, while using your Yeti to say power your home full size fridge. The fridge will draw peak 1000 watts or more, but average something like 80 watts throughout the day (~ 2 kWh a day for a typical fridge = 83 watts average) . The 12V car adapter in the meantime will feed 120W or so into the Yeti meaning the fridge will stay powered over a long while/as needed.

Camp mode also keeps the cars electronics fully powered, so you'd be using a lot more than 2 kWh per day in the fridge-only scenario (~ 3% on a long range battery) to power the fridge, but it would be an option to keep things powered..

 

[bedoig]

Regarding the Goal Zero conversation, I did go ahead and grab the 12v car charger. I've got a 1kWh lithium unit so figured it was worth having on hand just in case. Works as expected. On the 10 amp setting it's actually charging a little faster than the supplied 120v adapter in the house. Not the most efficient option, but quick, easy, and cheap if needed for a small outage.

 

[bedoig]

@FlatSix911 Did I unintentionally make a joke? Which part was funny?

 

[Xebec]

Regarding the Goal Zero conversation, I did go ahead and grab the 12v car charger. I've got a 1kWh lithium unit so figured it was worth having on hand just in case. Works as expected. On the 10 amp setting it's actually charging a little faster than the supplied 120v adapter in the house. Not the most efficient option, but quick, easy, and cheap if needed for a small outage.

Awesome! So you just got the Yeti 1000X or Core, maybe - and is it just leave the car in camp more (climate control off) and it'll keep that 12V powered on?

 

[bedoig]

Awesome! So you just got the Yeti 1000X or Core, maybe - and is it just leave the car in camp more (climate control off) and it'll keep that 12V powered on?

Ya, I've got the 1000x. I haven't actually used camp mode other than just to check it out a single time, but I think that should work. I'm not sure if it does that thing still where it leaves the display on with a campfire picture or something. Sentry Mode on would keep the car awake too. Not sure if there's a difference in power draw between the two but I doubt it's large (especially considering the amount of power we're wasting anyway to keep the car awake just to charge at ~130W).

 

[Xebec]

I saw mention in this thread of the subwoofer circuit being a safe place to grab 300W or so (30A fuse?) - has anyone actually used this successfully for a power source? If yes, what did you power and for how long?

Is it safe enough to just unplug the subwoofer/amp and connect your load or is there some car shutdown procedure that should be followed first?

(My personal risk level is - if i need < 150W - use the 12V lighter socket, if I need 150-350W, I’d prefer to use something like the subwoofer tap.. before getting to the main 12V connector under the rear seat).

Thanks!

 

[Watts_Up]

I saw mention in this thread of the subwoofer circuit being a safe place to grab 300W or so (30A fuse?) - has anyone actually used this successfully for a power source? If yes, what did you power and for how long?

Is it safe enough to just unplug the subwoofer/amp and connect your load or is there some car shutdown procedure that should be followed first?

(My personal risk level is - if i need < 150W - use the 12V lighter socket, if I need 150-350W, I’d prefer to use something like the subwoofer tap.. before getting to the main 12V connector under the rear seat).

Thanks!

But the car shuts down and goes to sleep when you exit the car and close the door.

I just use a 12V cord connected to the battery, so I can recharge my laptop or a phone in the frunk when the car is parked.

 

[Xebec]

But the car shuts down and goes to sleep when you exit the car and close the door.

I just use a 12V cord connected to the battery, so I can recharge my laptop or a phone in the frunk when the car is parked.

Gotcha - camp mode or leaving a door ajar won’t leave the subwoofer power on?

 

[driver7]

Wanted to share with the community how M3 saved us from a big disaster.

We live in a community with a lot of tall trees. During storms they sometimes fall down on power lines, causing power outages. Back in the summer we lost power to the house during one such rainstorm. We neglected to check on our backup sump pump, which unfortunately failed to start. After a few hours we noticed that the finished basement started to fill with water Luckily, we noticed the water just in time to take action.

Having read threads like this one, and having watched a few related YouTube videos, for ~$250 total I purchased several items for just such an occasion. At the time when I bought the items wife gave me an eyeroll coupled with the obligatory "haven't we spent enough money on the car already." The equipment gathering the proverbial dust for a year plus in the garage didn't help matters... But alas when the water started flooding our basement, these items came in very handy: 1000W Bestek inverter (my primary sump pump has a 800W rating), upgraded Spartan Power 3 Foot 1/0 AWG alligator clamp cable set, electrical rubber gloves, protector gloves, 100ft extension cord to carry power from the inverter to the basement (in retrospect a 50ft length would have been sufficient for our house). Admittedly my approach with all equipment was very conservative: I decided to purchase a smaller inverter than the supposedly possible up to 2000W in order not to strain the battery, I wanted to use gloves just in case I accidentally did something dumb around the battery or cables, etc.

So when we realized the water issue, we quickly re-watched a YouTube video on how we are supposed to connect the inverter to the car and sprung into action. We connected the inverter to the 12V battery in the frunk (first the red terminal, then the black), turned on the inverter and the sump pump immediately kicked in in the basement. While we realize that the better way is to connect the inverter to the main battery under the right rear passenger seat, that was too adventurous for us. I know using your Tesla for emergency backup isn't recommended by Tesla, but frankly when faced with a ruined basement, we didn't think twice about doing this.

In the end, the sump pump worked with no issues for about an hour, at which point the water was all gone. (Soon after the grid power was restored to the house). I haven't had any issues with the 12V in the 6+ months since the event.

A few other notes:

• If you are serious about having this type of backup, make sure all your equipment is easily accessible. When time is precious, you don't want to be running around the house or garage looking for different parts. We store it all in a dedicated box.
• Use rubber boots if wading through water. Be sure to hang the extension cable so that it doesn't touch water.
• To keep the car from going to sleep we put it in camp mode and put a 20lb weight on the driver seat to make the car think a driver was inside.
• If you anticipate a major power grid disruption, be sure to charge your car beforehand.
• We also store a 150W inverter in the center cubby at all times in case we need to charge a laptop or another AC device from the cigarrette lighter outlet.