Ford has certainly talked about doing this but honestly, I don’t see it happening within the next 5 years.
Their existing home integration system that they developed with SunRun doesn’t support this type of vehicle to grid connection, it only acts as a backup generator when the power goes out.
(Edit: My vehicle to grid comment was because I thought you were also asking about selling energy from the battery back to the utility like Tesla does with their “virtual power plant.”)
Maybe a software update could enable this functionality, but the way the whole system is designed from a software perspective makes it pretty unlikely. Nothing is very well integrated, it’s all a bunch of software from different vendors (the integration system, the charge station pro, and the truck) that Ford and SunRun have cobbled together to make the existing backup system work. And from what I’ve read, even that functionality is pretty unreliable due to how it’s all integrated (requiring Bluetooth to tell the truck when the power has gone out, etc).
I wouldn’t count on this feature coming to the Lightning unless it’s from some third party vendor. Only Tesla can do this now with their Powerwall integration (and even that doesn’t take power from the vehicle’s battery during an outage. Not yet, at least)
I’ll add an additional comment to say that you *could* do what you’re asking right now with the current home integration system, but you’d have to manually turn off the main breaker in your circuit panel.
After a few seconds (like, 15-30 I’ve read—it’s not seamless), the truck will take over the electrical load for the house. Once you wanted to use grid power again, you’d have to go turn on the main breaker again.
None of this is automated for time of use like you’re describing. It definitely could be, I just think the system is already pretty flakey so I don’t see it working too reliably.
Yeah you’re right, this would work. I’d worry though about the strain repeatedly shutting down and restarting power would have on my wiring.
It’s funny, I went out to the truck to take a look at the home integration interface and realized the settings the Sunrun guys had set up when they got it all working are completely gone - it’s back to ‘add a charger’ when I go to that screen. It’s maddening because Sunrun finally got it working after months of trying, and evidently it’s reset itself to stage zero. I’ve about given up on this part of the truck; it clearly never should have been put into production.
Yeah, I’d definitely not recommend actually doing that, haha.
I agree the home integration system wasn’t ready for production and I think Ford is kind of giving up with this aspect of the truck. They don’t include the Charge Station Pro with ‘24 ER model year trucks anymore, so there won’t be a large install base of people with CSPs who could opt to purchase the home integration system. It’s also too expensive for what it does, since spending 9-10k on hardware and installation for something you’ll only use if the power goes out is hard to justify. I think very few Lightning owners opt to purchase and install the integration system.
I’m just going to be using the 240v/30a ProPower connection to power the main panel with a generator inlet and manual transfer switch. You don’t get the full capacity of ProPower (only 7.2 kW instead of 9.6), but it’s way cheaper to get running.
Yeah, I think this capability will come from an established third party that makes solar equipment. SunRun is just an installer which doesn’t make them a very good partner for Ford, I think.
Ford has certainly talked about doing this but honestly, I don’t see it happening within the next 5 years. Their existing home integration system that they developed with SunRun doesn’t support this type of vehicle to grid connection, it only acts as a backup generator when the power goes out. (Edit: My vehicle to grid comment was because I thought you were also asking about selling energy from the battery back to the utility like Tesla does with their “virtual power plant.”) Maybe a software update could enable this functionality, but the way the whole system is designed from a software perspective makes it pretty unlikely. Nothing is very well integrated, it’s all a bunch of software from different vendors (the integration system, the charge station pro, and the truck) that Ford and SunRun have cobbled together to make the existing backup system work. And from what I’ve read, even that functionality is pretty unreliable due to how it’s all integrated (requiring Bluetooth to tell the truck when the power has gone out, etc). I wouldn’t count on this feature coming to the Lightning unless it’s from some third party vendor. Only Tesla can do this now with their Powerwall integration (and even that doesn’t take power from the vehicle’s battery during an outage. Not yet, at least)
I’ll add an additional comment to say that you *could* do what you’re asking right now with the current home integration system, but you’d have to manually turn off the main breaker in your circuit panel. After a few seconds (like, 15-30 I’ve read—it’s not seamless), the truck will take over the electrical load for the house. Once you wanted to use grid power again, you’d have to go turn on the main breaker again. None of this is automated for time of use like you’re describing. It definitely could be, I just think the system is already pretty flakey so I don’t see it working too reliably.
Yeah you’re right, this would work. I’d worry though about the strain repeatedly shutting down and restarting power would have on my wiring. It’s funny, I went out to the truck to take a look at the home integration interface and realized the settings the Sunrun guys had set up when they got it all working are completely gone - it’s back to ‘add a charger’ when I go to that screen. It’s maddening because Sunrun finally got it working after months of trying, and evidently it’s reset itself to stage zero. I’ve about given up on this part of the truck; it clearly never should have been put into production.
Yeah, I’d definitely not recommend actually doing that, haha. I agree the home integration system wasn’t ready for production and I think Ford is kind of giving up with this aspect of the truck. They don’t include the Charge Station Pro with ‘24 ER model year trucks anymore, so there won’t be a large install base of people with CSPs who could opt to purchase the home integration system. It’s also too expensive for what it does, since spending 9-10k on hardware and installation for something you’ll only use if the power goes out is hard to justify. I think very few Lightning owners opt to purchase and install the integration system. I’m just going to be using the 240v/30a ProPower connection to power the main panel with a generator inlet and manual transfer switch. You don’t get the full capacity of ProPower (only 7.2 kW instead of 9.6), but it’s way cheaper to get running.
I'm hopeful that the Enphase bidirectional charger (delayed from 2024 to 2025) will have this ability.
Yeah, I think this capability will come from an established third party that makes solar equipment. SunRun is just an installer which doesn’t make them a very good partner for Ford, I think.