Power outages don’t happen in Ontario often but when they do, they can cause major inconveniences. When Ford first introduced their plans for the F-150 Lightning electric pickup, they mentioned a home integration system that can be used to power your home, charge another EV, or anything else that requires electricity.
Ford just announced the price of the backup system and surprisingly, it’s priced generously. The Home Integration System will cost you $3895 before installation. Back in March 2022, Ford unveiled their bidirectional home charging station called Ford Charge Station Pro for the F-150 Lightning truck. Compared to other at-home charging stations currently available on the market, the Ford Pro costs $1,699.95. It has two unique features that others don’t offer. It is rated 80 amp, twice as much as other EV chargers and has bidirectional charge capacity. We’re seeing more and more brands introduce bidirectional chargers including the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Ford’s offering two ranges of the pickup truck – F-150 Lightning Extended Range and Standard Range F-150 Lightning. At 80 amps of max current, the at-home charger can add 48 kilometres an hour to the extended range and 30 kilometres an hour to the standard range.
When paired with the Ford Home Integration System, the charging station can supply up to 9.6 kW to your home. The charger only has one competitor in the market – Wallbox Quasar 2, which is compatible with most EVs.
Ford electric pickup truck owners expected to spend US$5,200 plus installation fees
The Home Integration System and Ford Charging Station Pro will together cost Standard Range F-150 Lightning owners US$5,200 plus installation. Canadian pricing has not been released yet. Owners of F-150 Lightning Extended Range will receive a complimentary charger but will still have to pay for the Home Integration System. While it seems like the costs are adding up and making the pickup truck more expensive, when compared to Tesla’s Powerwall, it is a great deal. The Tesla Powerwall costs $11,500 and can only hold 14.4kWh, which is about 1/10th of the battery of a 300 mile F-150.
Ford hasn’t yet announced if they’ll be offering this technology for the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vans but we hope they do!
