Ford partners with Sunrun to create a home energy storage solution that will be focused on Ford’s electric pickup truck, F-150 Lightning. It is said that Sunrun could be a perfect partner for Ford as they are experts in Lightning’s home charging solutions. It gives Ford’s customers an opportunity to power their vehicles through renewable energy from home itself.
Ford states that the Lightning could power a home for up to 3 days during a power outage. That’s an estimate and assumes the homeowner will take reasonable steps to reduce energy usage as much as possible until grid power is restored. People may have to do without heating their hot tubs, for instance, or having a constant supply of hot water on demand.
The home hookup is made possible by the 80 amp Ford Charge Station Pro, which is standard with the long-range version of the truck and optional with the standard range vehicle. According to Car and Driver, the F-150 Lightning can feed 9.6 kilowatts of power through the larger bottom ports of the CCS plug and back into a home’s power panel. When power is restored to the grid, the Charge Station Pro will revert to replenishing the Lightning’s battery.
New innovations
In the press release, Ford charging and energy services director, Matt Stover stated, “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.”
Furhtermore Sunrun CEO, Mary Powell taked about how the partnership would change the way American homes are run. There is no need to rely on carbon intentisve energy for homes. There will be mroe options available for customers. It will also accelerate the path towards clean energy and electric vehicle transition. Both companies seem to have an optimistic future in mind.
Since its unveiling last May, the Ford F-150 Lightning has enjoyed a notable degree of success. The demand for the vehicle has been substantial — so much so that the company ended up doubling its production targets for the all-electric truck twice. Initially, Ford planned to start the F-150 Lightning’s ramp with an annual output of 40,000 trucks, a number that was eventually doubled to 80,000 units per year.
