Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning truck will be able to use an intelligent backup power add-on to provide power to a household during an electrical outage. The truck’s 131-kWh battery is estimated to be able to provide three full days of emergency backup, based on average home consumption.

Ford is the first electric vehicle brand in the United States to allow the home backup power capability.

“F-150 Lightning brings new innovations to customers, including the ability to power their homes when they need it most,” said Matt Stover, Ford charging and energy services director. “Teaming up with Sunrun leverages their expertise to bring solar power to even more customers, giving them the chance to turn their truck into an incredible energy storage source – while future truck features can help accelerate the development of a less carbon-intensive grid.”

Sunrun is the preferred installer of F-150 Lightning home charging solutions, including the 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro and Home Integration System, which enables the F-150 Lightning to store and supply power to homes in a variety of ways. Sunrun will also offer home solar options to customers in select areas interested in leveraging more renewable energy.

“America’s energy future starts at home, and partnering with Ford illustrates a momentous shift in the way we power our lives,” said Mary Powell, Sunrun CEO. “No longer tethered to a carbon-intensive energy system, we’ll be able to offer more paths to greater energy independence by powering homes and vehicles with the sun, while helping rapidly accelerate the transition to a clean, resilient energy future for all.”

Ford Intelligent Backup Power, making its debut on F-150 Lightning, gives customers the ability to use bidirectional power technology from their all-electric truck to provide energy to their homes during an outage, whether sheltering in a storm or keeping cool in a heat wave.

The F-150 Lightning extended-range battery system can store 131 kWh of energy and deliver up to 9.6 kW of power in a cleaner, quieter, more efficient way versus gasoline-powered generators, and with greater capacity than many wall battery units. F-150 Lightning can also offer lower-cost energy storage in a product customers already own – their truck.

With Ford Intelligent Backup Power and the Home Integration System, F-150 Lightning automatically kicks in to power homes if the grid goes down. Once power is restored, the system automatically reverts back to utility power. Based on an average U.S. home at 30 kWh of use per day, F-150 Lightning with extended-range battery provides full home power for up to three days, or as long as 10 days when used in conjunction with solar power or rationing.

To benefit from Ford Intelligent Backup Power and future energy management solutions, customers need to equip their home with the Ford Charge Station Pro and Home Integration System, which is composed of a power inverter plus a dark start battery and transfer switch, enabling the two-way power flow. Buyers of the extended-range F-150 Lightning automatically receive the Ford Charge Station Pro. Standard-range truck customers can purchase the 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro and pay for activation separately. The Home Integration System – developed together with Sunrun – can be purchased through Sunrun this spring.

Ford is partnering with Sunrun to provide a seamless installation solution with Sunrun installing the specific charging hardware so customers can be assured their system will work reliably. Additionally, customers interested in combining Ford Charge Station Pro installation with solar power may be eligible to do so for as little as zero dollars down and reduced installation pricing.

In the future, Ford will introduce additional F-150 Lightning features to help customers potentially save money and take pressure off the electric grid during peak usage. Ford Intelligent Power, for example, will allow customers to power their homes with their truck’s battery when electricity rates are high, while charging the truck when rates are lower – or from their own solar-powered rooftop. This load shift can also help buffer the load on the nation’s grid and help reduce the use of higher carbon energy without affecting daily routines or charging schedules.

Retail customers will need to have the Ford Charge Station Pro – developed together with Siemens – and Home Integration System installed, and standard range customers will also need to purchase the same one-time activation from Ford to enable the feature. Commercial customers can work with Ford Pro to plan an appropriate home charging installation.

Deliveries of the F-150 Lightning will begin this spring.

News item from Ford