Ford has unveiled the Ford Charger Station Pro, a bi-directional home charging station that will be compatible with the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck.
It comes at an incredibly low price, especially given that it provides backup power and can effectively replace a generator or Tesla Powerwall.
One of the most talked-about aspects of the Ford F-150 Lightning was its support for bi-directional charging: Ford clever Backup Power.
It means the electric pickup truck may use the energy it generates to power a home, another car, or almost anything else it can plug into.
This is a feature we’ve seen more and more in electric vehicles recently, like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, but it’s especially intriguing in an ePickup truck because pickup trucks demand larger battery packs.
With a larger battery pack, electric trucks might use some of their energy capacity as backup power in the event of a power outage, potentially replacing a home generator or residential battery pack like the Tesla Powerwall.
To use the capacity at home, Ford-F150 Lightning owners will need a bi-directional charging station into which their electric truck can be plugged.
Ford has now officially introduced the Ford Charge Station Pro, which serves as a charging station as well as a bi-directional charging station.
You can’t get it yet because the page says it’s “sold out,” but it does reveal the station’s pricing of $1,310:
While that is much more than the ordinary home charger – Tesla’s famous Wall Connector, for example, is only $550 – the Ford Charge Station Pro is not your normal wall charger.
For starters, it’s rated at 80 amps, which is twice as powerful as the usual charger, and it supports Ford’s Intelligent Backup Power bi-directional charging capability.
Ford claims that the charging station can add 30 miles of range per hour to the F-150 Lightning Extended Range with 80 amps of maximum power, while it is limited to 19 miles per hour for the F-150 Standard Range.
When paired with Ford’s Home Integration System during installation, the system can offer up to 9.6 kW to your home.
When it comes to installation, the $1,310 price tag excludes it. Buyers will need to contact a local electrician, but if you plan on utilizing the station as a backup power source, you’ll want to deal with Sunrun, Ford’s recommended installation and the largest Tesla Powerwall certified installer.
Wallbox, with its new Quasar 2 bidirectional charger, is another contender in this space, however, the business has yet to announce EV partners or installers.