E-car and emergency power supply: the new F-150 Lighting can do both

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E-car and emergency power supply: the new F-150 Lighting can do both-f-150

With the F-150 Lightning, Ford is not only launching one of the first all-electric large-capacity pickups on the market in the spring, but through a cooperation with Sunrun – America’s leading solar company – the workhorse should also be able to function as an emergency power supply in the future. Ford recently announced this unique cooperation.

Everyone knows that: with an e-car there is a large energy storage device in the garage, but in the event of a blackout everything remains dark. In order to be able to release energy as a storage device, both the vehicle and the charging station must support bidirectional charging. This is more complex than it sounds, many car manufacturers are fighting it and even rejecting the guarantee if the energy from the vehicle is discharged again via a cable. Ford is breaking new ground here. Since short-term blackouts of the desolate power grid in the heartland of America are much more common than in this country, the F-150 Lightning wants to deliver significant added value in addition to the extraordinary traction: the 131 kWh battery can be used as an emergency power supply, from which up to 9, 6 kW maximum can be taken. With an average power consumption of 30 kWh per day, the system runs for up to three days. In combination with a photovoltaic system up to 10 days. The intelligent Ford Backup Power System automatically kicks in when the vehicle is plugged in as soon as the mains power fails and switches itself off as soon as the public power supply is restored. Smelly diesel generators are a thing of the past.

“The F-150 Lightning brings new innovations to customers, including the ability to power their homes when they need it most,” summarizes Matt Stover, Ford Charging and Energy Services Director. A simple truck, of the kind that is driven en masse in rural America, becomes an energy storage device that can also contribute to the development of a low-emission electricity grid in the future.

Sunrun supplies and installs the complete home charging system, consisting of the 80 amp Ford Charge charging station and the home integration system with inverter, black start battery and transfer switch, which enables bi-directional charging of the F-150 Lightning. Buyers of the F-150 Lightning with Extended Range get the Ford Charge charging station free of charge. At the same time, Sunrun also offers home photovoltaic systems, so owners of the F-150 Lightning can draw on a comprehensive power generation and supply system from renewable energy when required. Mary Powell, CEO of Sunrun, therefore also speaks of a “significant change in how Ford customers can meet their electricity needs in the future”. Independence of public supply networks is an essential contribution to a resilient energy future for most Americans.

Thus, Ford and Sunrun provide a true Gamechanger, for the first time e-cars and energy systems are sold as a package! But Ford continues: In the future, an intelligent energy management system should enable F-150 Lightning to output the stored energy when the electricity prices are high, and loads when they are low or the electricity comes from their own roof. This load management will ultimately benefit the supply network, as load tips are cushioned.

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8 thoughts on “E-car and emergency power supply: the new F-150 Lighting can do both”

  1. In this country you may ask yourself what you want with such a car. In the US, the quasi of the “Golf” is the Ford F series with 726.004 vehicles, the best-selling car of the USA. But that’s not enough on third place follows the Dodge Ram Pickup 569.388 and 3 Chevrolet Silverado 519.774. only in 4th place follows a car that you can also see driving around here, the Toyota RAV4 407.739. 1.8 million pickups before the first SUV. From Ford’s point of view, the step with is consistent.

    This also puts the Cybertruck in a different light.

    Farnsworth

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  2. It’s great that such an energetic polluter is now much cleaner and more efficient. A shortcoming will probably be the large weight (?) of this Ford remain.

    Hopefully, bidirectional charging will soon be well established in our country.

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  3. Very smart from Ford. Not all of their customers are farmers or craftsmen or have a hobby where remote working is an advantage. But they can stabilize their home supply with the car.

    Only – wasn’t that the business model Tesla wanted to do? Electricity provider and everything from a single source? This year they have to watch from the sidelines as others do “their” business. And should the Cyber Truck ever come, who will buy him? Pick-up buyers are conservative. The buy conservative design and above all, you will not swing on smaller cars.

    Knowing So, which Gas-Guzzler replaces such a F 150 Lightning, he is even more meaningful than many other electric cars.

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  4. I would like to advise GM in their own interest that they get their finger out of the ass and start bringing the F150 Lightning to market in relevant quantities – the competition is not sleeping and Tesla, unlike GM, seems to be able to get the EV Ramp done faster if the production once started.

    David can certainly provide you with the numbers for 2021 for the Ford Mustang Mach e compared to the Tesla Model Y – my numbers would only be doubted by German fanboys here in the forum anyway 😉

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  5. Dual-use batteries in e-cars, which supply the e-motors in vehicles and households on an hourly basis and absorb excess green electricity, are quite simply part of the energy transition.

    With falling prices and more charging cycles for future batteries, there is no reason for a selfish limitation of charging cycles to protect the “valuable” batteries, since climate and environmental protection and thus the faster phase-out of coal, natural gas and nuclear power is much more important.

    Hopefully, bidirectional charging will become the standard for e-cars in Europe, so that the many large and heavy batteries are not driven around uselessly for most of the year.

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  6. Hard to imagine in Germany that something like this could be enforced politically within the foreseeable future, but the pragmatic Americans could do it. And it would really be a game changer. Also with us.

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  7. Interesting text.

    1. This is a direct current wallbox, so the same thing that VW is planning to do.
    2. Average power consumption of 30kWh per day. The consume really 11000kWh a year? Of course, electric heating/cooling works with paper walls, but most heating systems don’t use electricity.
    3. So it runs 3 days, but with PV then 10 days? How small do you dimension your PV if it cannot even cover average consumption? The 30kWh/day for 3 days are without a car, because when I drive away it gets dark at home..
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  8. I am impressed. Not only does the F150 have to be described as inexpensive in view of the ample battery, an “emergency generator” with an output of 9.6 kW is now also included.
    If the cost side of the package turns out to be as ambitious as with the “pure car”, the part should also be well distributed beyond the prepper scene.

    In this country, that would probably fail due to umpteen regulations and would also need the blessing of the network operator. But to be able to produce net deer car as needed, is already cool. With PV and additional home storage, a completely off-grid operation would also be possible. The vehicle, charged at an external charging station, could recharge the stationary home storage system when it is dark. In the case of a solar surplus, the opposite direction would then be possible.

    In Europe we have a well-functioning power grid with very good security of supply. But the dependency on oligopolistic supplier structures does not only have advantages. A little competition never hurts..

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