Hybrid Technology as Non-Conventional Power Source for Home?

[Tom]

When the power went off in Texas could/did a hybrid owner plug into the C Max for house use? 

[fbov]

The plug in my C-Max was only good for 100W. It might charge your phone, but it can't start a refrigerator or run baseboard heaters.

 

I've seen threads discussing more extreme measures, none of which I felt were advisable. Generators are cheap; my 4KVA runs the whole house, save 3-phase appliances. 

[cr08]

As fbov said, the included inverter in the C-Max won't do much with just 100w capacity.

 

In theory you can just get an aftermarket inverter to use in these cases but as always this is at your own risk. If doing so, keep in mind the DC-DC converter in our vehicles (takes place of a traditional alternator) is only capable of 120-130amp output capacity at 12v and this load is shared with all the other components in the vehicle (all computer modules, lighting, radio, etc..). If it were me (and I have considered this just for the VERY rare occasion I may need it in this neck of the woods if just to occasionally run the fridge if needed) I probably wouldn't go much higher than an 80 amp load which means an 800w (at 110/120v) continuous rated inverter tops. And also NEVER use an accessory outlet for this purpose and always attach directly to the battery if at all possible.

 

As an additional note if this route is pursued, keep in mind the DC-DC converter is an EXPENSIVE replacement compared to a traditional alternator in case it fails. In theory an inverter should be a bit more stable of a load than, say, trying to jump start another vehicle (which is highly advised against for this reason, even if Ford doesn't explicitly call it out in their manuals), there's always that added risk with aftermarket components.

[homestead]

I connected an additional 600W PSW inverter to my c-max 12v battery so I could run our pellet stove in case of a power failure.  Tested it out and it worked fine.

Never used it in an actual emergency.  Then last year I moved the inverter to our truck camper which has dual 12v deep cycle batteries

and used that during a 2-day power failure about the same time as the texas power failures.  The camper setup worked well by running our stove 

overnight and then I would fire up our generator during the day to recharge the batteries.  If we have an extended power failure I might try connecting the

inverter back into the c-max.

Edited May 20, 2021 by homestead

[Duken4evr]

Ford's new F-150, hybrid, with an optional upgrade, has the ability to provide 7.6 kWh of power from it's gas engine.  I find that even more interesting the the EV version offering even more power.  The hybrid model is basically a rolling generator - could be great for contractors and campers, or power outages.

[cr08]

On 12/24/2021 at 3:19 PM, Duken4evr said:

Ford's new F-150, hybrid, with an optional upgrade, has the ability to provide 7.6 kWh of power from it's gas engine.  I find that even more interesting the the EV version offering even more power.  The hybrid model is basically a rolling generator - could be great for contractors and campers, or power outages.

The hybrids are able to take advantage of the higher voltage of the hybrid system and battery and this is where they're pulling power from for the inverter. The engine's able to provide a lot of power through the hybrid system. The F-150 hybrid motor/generator (a single motor compared to the dual motors used in eCVTs) is rated for 47hp/35kw. In comparison, trying to do that off the 12v side is going to be a MASSIVE undertaking due to the amount of amps involved. 7200w/12v is 600 amps. The HVB likely has a nonminal voltage of around 300v. That's 7200/300 = just 24 amps. BIG difference.