New Ford F-150 Lightning Can Power Your House During a Blackout

I got an up close look at the new Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck yesterday at South OC Cars and Coffee, and one of the most useful features is the power outlets to power tools at job sites or appliances at camp grounds.

There’s a total of ten 120 V outlets (two in the cab, four the frunk, and four in the bed) and one 240 V outlet in the bed to power heavy duty stuff or even charge another EV!

However, what’s really unique is the Intelligent Backup Power. This feature requires a Ford Charge Station Pro. Normally it’s a 19.2 kWh home charger to charge the car. But in the case of a blackout, it can also work as a 9.6 kWh power source for the house, with the 100 kWh battery of the F-150 supplying the power.

Ford expects that it should allow the F-150 Lightning to power an average house for three days (assuming 30 kWh a day), or up to about 10 days if power is rationed (like 10 kWh a day or so).




Whether you want to power your tools at the job site or power the entire house, the F-150 Lightning can do it. This is the most innovation EV feature I’ve seen yet. I expect other EV makers to copy it. Except for Tesla. Making their cars power your house would cut into their Powerwall sales.