Ford’s first announcement of its Lightning pickup truck made more rounds of applause with the incredible home integration charger feature to give power to the home. The fascinating power backup feature comes amid the challenging times shifting to more climate-friendly solutions.
Ford proudly claims that the power integration feature would work on bi-directional charging to power an entire house for over three full days. Moreover, they claimed that if one uses the power rationally using only essential equipment around the house, the electric power can last up to ten days. One of the surprising facts of this incredible offering from Ford is that they are pricing the whole power backup system pretty reasonably. However, one would need to purchase an external home integration system consisting of an inverter, battery, and a transfer switch to manage the entire backup system.
The charging station for EV, Ford Charge Station Pro, is included as standard for extended range F-150 Lightning pickup. But standard range buyers would need to shell out another $1310 to get the charging station. Home Integration System costs an additional $3895, and this would work as the power backup system in case of an outage.
What Is Ford Charge Station Pro?
Ford Charge Station Pro is the standard home charging station for their latest F-150 Lightning pickup truck. The charging station is coming as a standard inclusion with extended-range Lightning pickup trucks. However, those buying the standard-range version of the EV pickup would need to pay $1310 additionally for the same.
Ford Charge Station Pro is cutting-edge in many ways as the charging station offers a bi-directional charging feature. In other words, the Ford charging station is capable of charging the EV from the grid to give power back to the house or the power grid.
Competitors EV automotive companies offering bi-directional features are only to deliver 2kW power. Yet, the F-150 Lightening utilizes all charging pics and can deliver power up to 10 kW back to the house.
What Is A Home Integration System?
A home Integration System is an additional power integration system required for a vehicle to house or grid power transfer. Furthermore, buyers would be able to access the backup system with an app FordPass, designed to manage Ford Intelligent Backup Power.
F-150 Lightning owners can purchase this additional optional setup to make use of the bi-directional feature of their ultra-age pickup truck. Buyers would need to get the installation done to link the system to their house’s electrical box.
Using the Home Integration System by Ford during the power outages can power up the house for up to 10 days with a full charge of the F-150. However, Ford mentions using the power rationally for a longer duration of backup power. The integration system works in sync with the 80 Amp Ford Charge Station Pro to seamlessly shift the power to the house with the proper equipment in place.
Ford has collaborated with Sunrun for preferred installation purposes of the integration system for the home. Ford F-150 Lightning owners would need to get in touch with Sunrun for a personalized setup of the system. Every household has a different setup, and therefore, the installation would be different for every owner.
With all the setup in place, the Home Integration System with Charge Pro would work as a single unit to give power back to the house. Extended-range battery pack owners might have an advantage over standard battery pack buyers. However, the ultimate power backup results would vary based on the individual setup and use.
How Much Is The Total Hardware Cost?
Ford Charge Station Pro is standard for an extended range battery pack of F-150 Lightning. However, standard battery pack owners would buy it separately. Moreover, the home integration cost and installation are also additional. Following are the cost break-up as of recent information from Ford:
- Ford Charge Station Pro costs $1310.
- Ford Home Integration System exclusively available at Sunrun costs $3859.
- Installation Costs are additional and would vary on setup.
- FordPass is available for free download.
Ford’s pricing for an intelligent home backup system using EV is reasonable given the number of storms and power outages that happen in neighborhoods. However, there still lies a gray area of the installation charges and vehicle to the grid credit system. The total cost for the hardware required for a home power backup system would come down to over $5000, excluding installation.
Benefit Of The System
The cost aspect of the power backup system is quite reasonable and works in the favor of Ford F-150 Lightning. Lightning buyers can have easy access to the additional feature by paying some extra money over the cost of the EV pickup. Following are some unbeatable features of the Ford Intelligent Backup Power System from the automotive company:
- Bi-directional charging ability with all pin charging capacity.
- Lightening can deliver 9.6 kW power to the house in the time of need with the backup system in place.
- The Intelligent Power Backup System can run electricity of a house for full three days to expanding up to 10 days.
- 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro offers the fastest home charge of Lightening EV to 100% in only 8 hours.
- A convenient FordPass app is a great tool for easy control of power backup.
- Future integration with solar panels for backup is an additional advantage.
What To Expect In Future?
Ford is going to extreme lengths to maintain the long legacy of the Lightening fleet. Ford F-150 Lightning sure looks like a worthy successor with more robust tech integration. The home power backup feature from Ford offers a great alternative for use in times of power outage.
Ford is also working with Sunrun to offer solar panel solutions. It would be great to witness how far the intelligent power system can go in the coming times. For now, let us know what you think of the incredible feature of power backup.
