Blue Oval ensures when battery-electric pick-up arrives it can transform into a mobile generator
Ford F-150 Lightning buyers will have the added option of being able to use their full-size pick-up to power their homes during a black out for up to three days when sales start in the coming months.
When kick-off in Q2 of 2022 if buyers upgrade to the larger battery pack for their F-150 Lightning pack, the US car-maker will throw in its new Ford Intelligent Backup Power feature.
Developed in partnership with solar panel provider, Sunrun, the new tech effectively turns your F-150 into a power bank that harnesses the power of its huge 131kWh battery pack to supply up to 9.6kW of power.
The same tech can deliver up to 30kWh per day – enough Ford claims – to provide the average American home with power for up to three full days.
The catch of the brand-new tech, that could see homes supplied with electricity post-tornado, following a heavy snow dump or, even, an earthquake, is it requires the home in question to also have pre-installed Sunrun’s Home Integration System before the truck can be plugged in.
The Sunrun pre-install adds the necessary power inverter and ‘dark start battery’ with a transfer switch that converts the supply to a two-way power flow.
As an added bonus, Sunrun said it will happily also add solar panels if required at an extra cost.
Even when not battling with a natural disaster or climate calamity Ford says in the future the same system will take the pressure off the grid during peak usage and prevent ‘brown-outs’ when the electrical infrastructure runs out of capacity.
Ford hopes, in return, electric suppliers will reward F-150 Lightning owners with lower energy bills.
Commenting on the innovation Ford’s charging and energy services boss, Matt Stover said:
“F-150 Lightning brings new innovations to customers, including the ability to power their homes when they need it most.
“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 – and future truck features can help accelerate the development of a less carbon-intensive grid.”
Keyword: Ford F-150 Lightning can power your home for three days