Winter Storm Preparation

[Rade]

We have a comprehensive solar rig on our home that includes 18kW of battery storage. We had a snow storm last weekend that actually knocked power out in our neighborhood for about an hour, and our home used about 10% of the stored energy. That was the first such outage we have encountered since we had the solar installed over 3 years go. The worst outage was one that hit about 15 years ago where we lost power for almost three days.

(Last weekends storm)​

I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out how I could get more energy reserve for home use (try and find an affordable gas generator as a storm is barreling down; good luck), and it then it dawned on me - my Rivian R1T has several 120v power outlets! We are slated to get 12-24" of snow here beginning Sunday morning. I am charging the Rivian up to 100%, and got a box of extension cords to have it on the ready should we get a power outage of any duration. The home battery backup would probably be exhausted after 9 hours. I hope we do not have to use the Rivian as a spare power source, but it's nice to know it's available.

I realize that the R1T architecture does not allow for bi-directional power through the power port (at this time), but if we are going to start seeing more prominent outages, I would strongly consider a future vehicle that does have that capability. For now, I don't mind contemplating the "overland" solution using extension cords to get from the garage through the house to various heaters and appliances.

It should be an interesting weekend.

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[Magicbus]

I'm charging my R1T to 100% ahead of the storm. I'll figure out what to do with it if we lose power.

 

[mclark2112]

Doing the same here in NJ.

 

[usulio]

Remember R1 supplies at max 1500W. A breaker or fuse inside the car will trip above that.

 

[McLovin]

I came here looking for milk, bread, and toilet paper, only to learn we're talking about charging up the vehicle.

*sigh*, back to scouring the store shelves for what remains...

 

[Cycliste]

Are there any things you can turn off to lower consumption in the home?

Autosocks if you have chain controls in your area.

 

[Biturbowned]

It would be nice to get an update on bidirectional charging update…

 

[kanundrum]

This what I posted for the mid Atlantic folks
Tips:

-Charge to 90+% (it is okay to do this from time to time)

-Put Wipers in Service Mode

-Don't Charge while its snowing, if you HAVE to cover the chargeport with some zipties and microfiber clothes

-If you park on a icy surface that is uneven, your vehicle WILL ROLL down.

-if you are stuck air down to 28psi or 25psi, get unstuck, air back up. Hint Sand mode is best to get unstuck.

Any other questions?

 

[SDH]

Kettle, toaster and espresso machine all ready to be plugged in to the R1.

 

[Biturbowned]

Kettle, toaster and espresso machine all ready to be plugged in to the R1.

Similar, also ready to car camp if we lose heat

 

[jeeden]

We just completed installation of solar panels and a single battery backup for our home before Christmas. It is a enphase solar panel system with a Franklin battery. I really liked the Franklin battery compared to Tesla and others for many reasons (has reserve so you can deplete the whole battery, has higher start threshold to handle heat pump draw, has smart circuits that can automatically shed 2 loads when on battery to optomize usage, 15 year warranty, etc) even though it is slightly more expensive. In the winter like this weekend the single 15kw battery will run our house overnight since it is gas emergency heat, everything is led and modern appliances etc. In the summer it will run about 5 hours with max AC heat pump usage. With a sunny day the panels will charge the battery and run the whole house indefinitely. We could have gotten another battery, but they are expensive and I was really trying to handle the shorter outages and future proof the install to add future cheaper batteries (when you install solar panels, if you do grid only you can't use them in a power outage and it is a lot of work to convert to a battery backup config in the future. Even if you have a small battery the configuration with backup is worth limping into that configuration)

ANYWAY...

One of the features of the battery system is a generator/EV inlet. It is a normal 50A generator inlet box and it allows you to connect a generator or EV at 220V 30A or above and charge the battery that way. Right now the app has options for Ford LIghtning and Cybertruck, there is an option to add a "custom vehicle" and several in the Franklin reddit have done so. I am really excited to have the R2 come and hopefully output the 11KW that RJ avertised because we would be able to plug it into the battery for the house and charge it when the weather is bad and panels aren't able to produce.

Some have gotten around the 220V limitation by charging a portable battery generator (like an Ecoflow Delta) at 110v off a vehicle like the Rivian and then output at 220v to the battery.

Anyway, very happy with the entire system and if the R2 has the expected battery capacity it would cover a lot of days.

IMO I think that Rivian should probably promote the AC output of the R2 more as a family vehicle that does all the things they already talk about, but then when you get home it "keeps your family warm and online" or something.

Here is a video of them using a lightning to charge the battery for the house.

 

[Nixapatfan]

13KW standby generator with 500g propane tank should last me awhile.

 

[Leeda]

We have a comprehensive solar rig on our home that includes 18kW of battery storage. We had a snow storm last weekend that actually knocked power out in our neighborhood for about an hour, and our home used about 10% of the stored energy. That was the first such outage we have encountered since we had the solar installed over 3 years go. The worst outage was one that hit about 15 years ago where we lost power for almost three days.

(Last weekends storm)​

I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out how I could get more energy reserve for home use (try and find an affordable gas generator as a storm is barreling down; good luck), and it then it dawned on me - my Rivian R1T has several 120v power outlets! We are slated to get 12-24" of snow here beginning Sunday morning. I am charging the Rivian up to 100%, and got a box of extension cords to have it on the ready should we get a power outage of any duration. The home battery backup would probably be exhausted after 9 hours. I hope we do not have to use the Rivian as a spare power source, but it's nice to know it's available.

I realize that the R1T architecture does not allow for bi-directional power through the power port (at this time), but if we are going to start seeing more prominent outages, I would strongly consider a future vehicle that does have that capability. For now, I don't mind contemplating the "overland" solution using extension cords to get from the garage through the house to various heaters and appliances.

It should be an interesting weekend.

We used our 2025 R1S during the hurricane here in NC to power the refrigerator and keep things charged. We blew the fuse and it is a service call to the SC. They have to drop the battery pan to change the fuse of a 1500 watt inverter (inverter is under the drivers seat). What a pathetic place for a engineer to place the fuse. It should be easy to service by the end user. The best system I have seen for an EV to get emergency or job site power was on the Ford Lightning 120v and 220v. Anyway looking at a big ice event so I am charging to 100% and I will use a power cord to a power strip that has a built in breaker to hopefully prevent any more fuse issues.

 

[carsly]

I'll charge to 90% here in NJ and put the R1S in the garage where it's a bit warmer. We have a whole-house natural gas generator but car-camping in the R1S is one backup option (I also have a mattress for it).

Unfortunately, you can only pull 1.5kw from the Rivian outlets, which is one space heater at full bore or run it half power and plug in a fridge. That's it. Pretty weak way to use a 109kwh battery pack.

Cybertruck will also be charged to 90% but can output 9.6kw from the outlets. Unfortunately I don't have a 50 amp generator inlet at this house but can plug in a fridge, microwave, a couple space heaters, router and more without an issue. With a 123kwh pack, it will pull duty as needed. Hopefully, it's not needed.

And remember, if you can't find ice melt (sold out within a 25+ mile radius of me at the moment) you can use water softener crystals in a pinch. Sodium chloride will work down to about 15 Farenheit but it is tough on asphalt and concrete. I picked up 240 lbs of the smaller softener crystals this morning, same size granules as ice melt. Most people were scurrying about in a panic because there was no ice melt. Remember high school chemistry folks ;-)

Stay safe everyone, perhaps it won't be as bad as the forecasts but if it gets nasty try to stay off the roads and hunker down. The part that concerns me isn't the 12-16" of snow, but the 0.1" of ice that's supposed to come in late in the storm.

 

[Thedude]

I haven’t seen anyone mention whiskey. That’s the most important item when stocking up to survive a little winter storm like this.

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