You’ll need to install extras

To power your entire house, you’ll need to purchase a few additional components and hire an electrician.

First, you’ll need Ford’s Charge Station Pro, a home charging port which costs about $1,310 but comes standard on extended range models, according to a May story in Car and Driver. The Charge Station Pro is an 80-ampere device that can charge the truck in eight hours, compared to the 30 hours required to charge with a typical 110-volt outlet.

You’ll also need a Home Integration System that converts high-current DC from the Charge Station Pro into AC power needed by your house. It costs $3,895 and connects between your home’s utility power meter and your main power panel. Before drawing power from the truck, it disconnects your home from the grid.

Installation costs will depend on your home’s current setup, whether your panel needs to be upgraded, and how much cable must be installed to reach the charging port.

To handle installation of the Home Integration System, Ford is partnering with Sunrun, a nationwide solar system installer. Sunrun can pair the Home Integration System with solar panels because the system can also function as an inverter for the panels, transferring power generated by the solar panels to the Lightning battery to extend the amount of time that the truck can power the house.

In such a setup, the Lightning serves as the solar panels’ battery storage system. If used regularly, the setup can reduce the amount of power that homeowners need to purchase from the grid.

That’s the setup that Delray Beach resident Glen Hammer is considering in lieu of adding storage batteries to his rooftop solar system.

It comes with several advantages, Hammer said by email.

“I need an auto anyway, so although more expensive than a standard gas-burning vehicle, it would act as the back-up instead of a generator or battery array,” he said, adding that the vehicle and inverter would rival the cost of storage batteries or a whole-house generator.