Ford’s first electric truck, the F-150 Lightning, will be on sale soon, but we’re still learning about new and innovative features the truck will bring when it finally lands. Today, Ford announced a partnership with Sunrun, a nationwide solar company, to provide home charging station installation services to Lightning buyers, but there’s more to the truck’s chargers than meets the eye. The Ford Charge Station Pro and Home Integration System will allow F-150 Lightning customers to return electricity to their homes from the truck’s batteries, which can help ease high power bills and reduce load on a strained public power grid.
The new feature makes its debut with the F-150 Lightning.Ford
The two-way power system is making its debut on the F-150 Lightning, and will use the truck’s extended-range battery to deliver up to 9.6 kilowatts of power, drawing from the battery’s 131 kilowatt-hours of energy. Since there’s no gas involved and no internal combustion engine that typically powers small generators, there’s no noise, no smell, and no hassle trying to pour gasoline into a tiny fuel tank.
In order to take advantage of the clever features, F-150 Lightning owners will need to install a Ford Charge Station Pro and Home Integration System, which include a power inverter and a dark start battery and transfer switch. Those components enable two-way power flow to return electricity to the home. Buyers who opt for the extended-range battery get the Ford Charge Station Pro automatically, but buyers that choose the standard battery can purchase the 80-amp Charge Station Pro separately, and the Home Integration System can also be purchased from Sunrun.
The F-150 Lightning’s generator feature joins the F-150 Powerboost’s ProPower onboard generator in the truck lineup.Ford
Ford says it will roll out more Lightning-related features in the future to help customers save money and avoid paying peak electricity rates. One such option will allow customers to power their homes from the truck’s batteries when peak rates are in effect, but will switch back to the grid later on – or to solar panels, if the customers has them. The Ford Charge Station Pro that comes with the F-150 Lightning Extended Range (sold separately for customers buying the standard battery truck) is required to enable those features.
