Ford F-150 Trucks Can Now Power Homes During Outages

Ford F-150 Lightning and hybrid truck owners can now utilize their vehicles to power their homes during electrical outages. This capability allows the truck to be directly connected to the home's main electrical panel, ensuring that essential hard-wired systems remain operational.

The integration enables bidirectional power flow, meaning the truck can supply electricity to the home and also recharge itself when grid power is restored. Ford has partnered with Sunrun, a leading solar energy company, to offer installation services for the necessary home integration hardware. This includes a Ford-branded home backup power system, which consists of a 30-amp Ford Charge Station Pro and an automatic transfer switch.

This system is designed to seamlessly switch power sources, activating the truck's power supply within half a second of detecting a grid outage. The Ford Charge Station Pro is capable of delivering up to 19.2 kilowatts of power, which is sufficient to run most home appliances and essential circuits. The F-150 Lightning can store up to 131 kilowatt-hours of energy, providing power for an extended period.

The cost for the Ford Charge Station Pro and the automatic transfer switch is $3,895, according to Ford's announcement. Sunrun will provide professional installation for an additional fee, which varies based on location and complexity. This feature is available for both the extended-range battery and standard-range battery versions of the F-150 Lightning, as well as for the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid models, although the hybrid's power output and duration will be less than the all-electric Lightning.