Hurricane Beryl Report Out: Rivian for home power backup was a game changer!

[cjust2006]

I have a backfeed on my panel that I plug an Anker f3800 into and then I plug the Anker into my R1s. I can run my central ac but for efficiency I run a portable ac unit.

How can you run your central AC off this? I assume it's 220v? I also have a little portable AC that uses between 800 and 1000W, but I couldn't get it to run off the truck when the compressor kicked on. Guessing it spiked too high, which is a real bummer.

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[DCFC]

How can you run your central AC off this? I assume it's 220v? I also have a little portable AC that uses between 800 and 1000W, but I couldn't get it to run off the truck when the compressor kicked on. Guessing it spiked too high, which is a real bummer.

Does your AC unit have a modern inverter compressor? That's industry speak for variable speed compressor. I THINK the modern inverter compressor units avoid the super high current draw spike on startup as they can start at a slower compressor speed. I wonder if your portable unit has a starter capacitor like a big home unit? If so, that capacitor could need replacing.

 

[Fmc]

How can you run your central AC off this? I assume it's 220v? I also have a little portable AC that uses between 800 and 1000W, but I couldn't get it to run off the truck when the compressor kicked on. Guessing it spiked too high, which is a real bummer.

running the central AC was an accident as I forget to turn it off so it only ran for a few minutes. Otherwise I run the delonghi pinguino. The Anker is a bit expensive for 3.8kw but I assume some of the cost is to also have a built in inverter. I also have to turn down the power input to have the r1s recharge the Anker.

https://a.co/d/97xC7zL
https://www.anker.com/products/a1790

 

[gregeast]

I've taken off a door knob from an exterior door I don't use often, and run the extension cords thru the door that way.

Genius!

 

[monzarottie]

Hurricane Beryl hit the greater Houston area last Monday, and I was out of power for almost a week. Fortunately I remembered I have a huge backup battery in my garage in the form of my R1S. During that power outage, through the use of extension cables and power strips:

• I kept my refrigerator going, saving all my food and providing cool drinks during the sweltering Texas summer.
• Powered portable cooking appliances like coffee makers, air fryers, and single stove tops to get meals because everywhere else was shut down or had long lines.
• Got several fans to keep people somewhat comfortable during those muggy nights.
• I kept all my personal devices charged to be able to stay in touch, but also keep me sane with some entertainment.
• Used the built-in flashlight that practically lights up an entire room.
• Relax a bit with the camp speaker. Never realized how powerful that little thing was!

Overall, the Rivian turned a terrible situation into something a lot more bearable and with less things to worry about. I ended up using roughly 8% - 9% per day, so I could have gone almost two weeks on the Rivian alone before needing to fast charge. Very impressed with the Rivian, and so lucky to be an owner.

There are some general things I would probably do differently in the future:

• Do a similar setup fellow Houstonian @dspray demonstrated in this thread "Video: Rivian house power backup of critical loads WITHOUT waiting for bi-directional charging to be implemented by Rivian"
• Get one of those U shaped window air conditioning units that run off 120V while keeping the window closed.
• Get a second Rivian to have two giant backup batteries in my garage!

I'm curious to hear everyone else's power outage stories, what they've learned, and what else they would do differently.

Bonus question: Is there a more elegant solution to running an extension cord from the outside to the inside? I had to punch a hole in one of the screens of my double hung windows to get the extension cord going from the Rivian to inside the house due to a detached garage. Would be nice if there was some kind of outdoor "inlet" that could power an emergency indoor "outlet" without having to run cords through windows.

You should email your story to [email protected]. I bet it makes the owner newsletter.

 

[harkco]

I had a similar experience. My R1T powered two fridges, chargers, fans, portable AC, microwave, toaster, and I'm sure a few other things I forgot.... all while being deadly silent, unlike my neighbors with their insanely noise gas generators.... I jest... Just wish that bidirectional charger would hurry up and get here!

 

[Aussieshed]

There are U-shaped units that are purely AC. The one you pointed could be considered 'saddle' shaped. I picked up this Midea 8000btu unit from Home Depot recently. $350 before taxes! Pulls a nominal 710W, so it won't be a large current draw on the truck outlet.

https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Midea...4609b9883b971c4dee0edf1d7c0456d4&gclsrc=3p.ds

I had no idea these existed. Unfortunately, 95% of my windows are side opening. Boo!

 

[supervlover]

I was north of Seattle on my way to Vancouver Friday morning (Friday 5th) when we decided to haul a.. back to Houston. Made it back to town around 2:30AM Monday as winds and rain started to go horizontal. Didn't get a chance to charge up so I ran my portable power stations during the day. Have similar Midea 8000 U shape and couple of their portable dual hose units.
Once I was able to find working charging station (League City), charged R1S up to 100% and used it to power all essentials including the Midea AC 24/7, 2 freezers and a fridge for next 4+ days. Drained 15% daily. Only used the portable power stations whenever we needed to use the air fryer/microwave kitchen gear.
With the Midea AC running along with the other essentials, it pulled around 1100W. The remaining 300W, I used to slow charge the bigger battery power stations and it ended up working fine.
The Midea unit was able to cool my bedroom down to 63F while the rest of the house was in the mid 90s.

 

[TexasBob]

My emergency backup power when the Generac failed after Beryl

 

[TexasBob]

... and picking up the fix for next time

Backup power by night, workhorse by day!

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

You guys/gals are creative! Deregulated power in TX has lead to a lot of finger pointing on maintenance/repairs. We were out for 28 hours last summer when it was 110+ deg. every day for the month of July.

Our solution. 3 Tesla Powerwalls and we have inverter mini-splits in four rooms, so we rarely use the central AC system. It was like a normal day. While the world we live in is crazy, it sure has some perks for tech types.....

 

[BrayBay]

Appreciate all the comments, almost too many to reply to!

So many creative ideas for running the extension cords from outdoors to indoors. I'll need to keep them all in mind (pool noodles, door knobs, inlet boxes etc..)

Definitely looking forward to V2H long term. I'm going to have to think about these details into my own future "Pretty Good House" and along with the great suggestions around alternative battery backup systems and emergency air conditioners/heat pumps.

 

[docwhiz]

Appreciate all the comments, almost too many to reply to!

So many creative ideas for running the extension cords from outdoors to indoors. I'll need to keep them all in mind (pool noodles, door knobs, inlet boxes etc..)

Definitely looking forward to V2H long term. I'm going to have to think about these details into my own future "Pretty Good House" and along with the great suggestions around alternative battery backup systems and emergency air conditioners/heat pumps.

When I built a new home a few years ago, I wired it with two service panels. It's an all electric house so I put the high power loads (mostly 240v) on one panel and everything else on another.
I have a battery backup system.
Hopefully V2H will be available soon and I can add my big car battery as backup.

 

[Iatros786]

When I built a new home a few years ago, I wired it with two service panels. It's an all electric house so I put the high power loads (mostly 240v) on one panel and everything else on another.
I have a battery backup system.
Hopefully V2H will be available soon and I can add my big car battery as backup.

Which panel do you have hooked up to your battery backup and how did you size your system? We are designing now and I'm trying to figure out the best way to incorporate solar / battery / eventual V2H etc... any advice?

 

[docwhiz]

Which panel do you have hooked up to your battery backup and how did you size your system? We are designing now and I'm trying to figure out the best way to incorporate solar / battery / eventual V2H etc... any advice?

I have the battery hooked up to the small loads panel. These are all 120v loads which keep the lights, refrigerator and small appliances running. These keep the house running normally during outages. Background draw is only a few hundred watts with peaks to a few thousand for short runs of the microwave or toaster.
It's a 5 kW inverter which is plenty. Battery is 20 kWh and could power the house for days... Or forever with solar input.
Large load panel is heat pump, dryer, car charger. We have a gas log fireplace which is adequate for winter power failures (small 1200 sq ft house).
We could even run the heat pump (2300 W) if we needed to for winter heating.

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