The all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning is officially in production, and we can’t wait to drive it later this week. Odds are good, however, that we won’t be able to test out one of the F-150 Lightning’s biggest selling points: the Intelligent Backup Power System. That setup turns the F-150 Lightning’s enormous battery pack into a 9.6-kW backup generator for your home during a power outage. And it looks like the system is going to be very affordable.
Most F-150 Lightning buyers will equip their home with a Charge Station Pro, which helps the truck charge at home; Ford offers that standard on the Extended Range F-150 Lightning and as a $1,310 option for the Standard Range. Sending power back into your domicile, however, requires a Home Integration System provided by Sunrun.
Official pricing for Sunrun’s Home Integration System is not available yet. But InsideEVs uncovered a (since deleted) LinkedIn post from Ford’s Director of Charging and Energy Services Matt Stover that priced the Home Integration System at $3,895. The cost to install the system may vary depending on the home, but it’s still likely to come out cheaper than the equivalently powered gas generator.
Another cool feature is that Ford and Sunrun’s Home Integration System for the F-150 Lightning can be integrated with Sunrun’s solar panels. That’s a bit pricier; Sunrun estimates installation would run between $16,200 and $21,400. But much of that cost would be offset by resulting savings on energy bills. And with solar technology prices falling, that could be even cheaper by the time you’ll actually be able to buy an F-150 Lightning.
