Ford’s newest electric F-150 Lightning, which was unveiled Wednesday, is trying to change the meaning of truck power with a system that can provide energy to a customer’s home in the event of an outage.
Ford isn’t alone in its effort to show consumers the benefits of an all-electric vehicle. Others, such as Lucid Motors have also touted this capability.
Severe winter storms in February caused a massive power outage in Texas, with more than 4.5 million homes and businesses left without power for days. 151 people were killed as a result. The F-150 Lightning’s 9.6 kW of Back Up Power can provide full home power for up to three days on a full charge of battery.
“If your F-150 Lightning is plugged in when your outage occurs, intelligent backup power will automatically kick in to power your home,” said Ryan O’Gorman, Ford’s energy services lead, in a video briefing prior to the reveal. “When power is restored, the truck automatically reverts to charging its battery.”
Solar, battery storage and energy services provider Sunrun has partnered with Ford to install the 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro and home integration system, which comes standard with the extended range battery, to power the intelligent backup power system. While they’re in the neighborhood, Sunrun will also give customers the option of installing a solar and battery system for their home.
