ICE To EV. 2019 Tundra to 2023 F150 Lightning Lariat.
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Yeah we lost power for 3 days last year after a bad storm, charged the Anker battery at work which got us to the end of the outage. The next week on garbage day every can on the street was full of basically the entire contents of people's fridges...except ours.
We get power outages about every quarter or so. Sometimes for a few minutes, but often for several hours. With the permanent-install whole-home battery backup, we don’t even know there’s something wrong until our system emails us. I don’t have a use for the bidirectional charging system because I cannot guarantee that the truck is home when the power goes out. And if I’m home and we need the truck, we can plug it into the generator input on our solar system.
Like the movie Blast from the past. Gonna be a whole new world of SUV for you to learn about. You’ll be great!
It’s going to be like when I went from a flip phone to an iPhone.
We have 1-2 power outages per year, sometimes more.
We get some nasty storms here and in the winter, my concern is freezing pipes if it's a longer outage. We had a big snowstorm a couple years ago with almost 3 feet of snow, and the power was out for almost 2 days. No fun! We had a big windstorm earlier this year that blew a tree down at the end of my driveway across the street, and it took the power lines down, snapped the pole, blew the transformer, etc. It was quite a mess and took the power company the rest of the day and most of the night to fix all the damage and get the power restored. I think it finally came back on around 4:00AM.
We are not on town water or sewer, so when the power is out, we lose our well pump and we have no water and no way to flush toilets, unless I want to hike down the steep ravine behind my house and fill buckets, then lug them back up the hill.
I think I'd rather plug in a generator cord to the Lightning and throw a transfer switch and have the essentials powered during an outage.
That’s why I bought in town. This California girl turned midwesterner 10 years ago knows nothing about all those things like wells and septic.
Makes sense why that would be helpful to have that as a backup.
We have whole house Solar with backup batteries. We run on average about 138% Energy Offset per-month. So, when the Scout gets here we are well prepared for L2 charging. Having said that in 2024 we had 18 back up events most in the range of 5-20 minutes and one event that was four days, hurricane Milton. If I didn't have notification I would not even know about the short events. House never skipped a beat, business as usual.
I have had 2 substantial outages in the last 5 years. I think one was 2 days, the other was 15 minutes of power every 3 hours for maybe 3 days. Last year, brother's-in-law took a week outage, and another 4 days about a month latter. Our rental took a bit over a week outage on that second one. We have a whole house backup generator at the rental, but without battery back up (which we don't have), the generator ran out of gas before day 3. Did not make a lot of difference, it was a decent hurricane, and roads were out for most of that - so we did not loose any rentals due to the electricity being out anyway.
I have not 100% decided what to do with my new house yet. Leaning towards complete overkill. Solar, diesel backup generator, and some batteries. I want solar, mostly to cut the monthly electricity bill. Batteries are a bit expensive to go totally off grid, but coupled with a generator they can really stretch the gas. All 3, and who knows - might get 2 weeks rather than 3 days out of the gas (without rationing power).
The real issue with most whole house generators is they have a service interval of 100 hours (with an emergency service interval of 200 hours). 100 hours is 4 days on a whole house backup generator. Even if we had the oil and filters to do the service, unless we have a huge fuel supply - we would run out of fuel during some storms (when propane trucks are not running, or EVERYONE wants propane at the same time). If you have batteries that can handle low power loads, you don't need to run the generator 24/7. Add in a fireplace in the winter, who knows, I might be able to only run the generator 1 hour a day - or perhaps let solar take care of it. Likewise, I will keep a room (or 2) of the house on a mini-split - so I can have a cool room without the power draw of the central AC.
FWIW, after the 2nd storm - our backup generator gave up the ghost. Given every generator in the Houston/Galveston area needed servicing (and probably no small number needed more lengthy repairs) - took 6 months to get the tech out for the repair.
I have not 100% decided what to do with my new house yet. Leaning towards complete overkill. Solar, diesel backup generator, and some batteries. I want solar, mostly to cut the monthly electricity bill. Batteries are a bit expensive to go totally off grid, but coupled with a generator they can really stretch the gas. All 3, and who knows - might get 2 weeks rather than 3 days out of the gas (without rationing power).
The real issue with most whole house generators is they have a service interval of 100 hours (with an emergency service interval of 200 hours). 100 hours is 4 days on a whole house backup generator. Even if we had the oil and filters to do the service, unless we have a huge fuel supply - we would run out of fuel during some storms (when propane trucks are not running, or EVERYONE wants propane at the same time). If you have batteries that can handle low power loads, you don't need to run the generator 24/7. Add in a fireplace in the winter, who knows, I might be able to only run the generator 1 hour a day - or perhaps let solar take care of it. Likewise, I will keep a room (or 2) of the house on a mini-split - so I can have a cool room without the power draw of the central AC.
FWIW, after the 2nd storm - our backup generator gave up the ghost. Given every generator in the Houston/Galveston area needed servicing (and probably no small number needed more lengthy repairs) - took 6 months to get the tech out for the repair.
Have you looked into the Franklin WH battery yet? it has 15 kWh of storage capacity, 10 kW continuous output power capability, and a 15 year warranty.
Whole Home Battery Backup, Home Power Backup | FranklinWH
A robust home energy storage and management system integrating various power sources to provide 24/7 whole-home power backup and intelligently optimizing energy use to eliminate energy bills.
www.franklinwh.com
It also has the ability to integrate with a generator, including portable generators. If you have an EV with a 240V outlet like the Lightning has, and Scout has said the Terra will have, you can plug it into the Franklin transfer switch (called the aGate) and increase your backup capacity by orders of magnitude tapping into the energy stored in the truck battery.
You might want to find a solar installer that offers Franklin batteries in your area and talk to them about your new house project. You might be able to save yourself the expense and maintenance of the diesel generator if the timing works out that you will have your Scout when the house gets built.
To find a really good solar installer I would recommend looking for a member of the Amicus Solar Cooperative. There are members in just about every state.
Amicus Solar Cooperative | Solar with Integrity
We are a 100% member-owned cooperative of local values-led independent solar energy companies who have excellent reputations.
www.amicussolar.com
If it helps, I live in a similar sort of situation. We are on propane, but we are on city water (my parents cabins are on wells though, so I have some familiarity to that as well, but its not my day to day).
We get ~3-10 power outages each year. With the shorter ones being ~1-2hrs, and the longer ones 12-48hrs. Although we had the big "blast cyclone" last year or so, which caused some places to be out for well over a week (and through sheer luck, it wasn't us this time).
The homes in our neighborhood all come with manual transfer switches because this is so common, so for us, its a no brainer to get that installed. A generator cord is wayyy cheaper than a proper V2H setup. And even for your case where you have to install it, a simple one is still easy to use (and I keep the key important electronics inside on UPS's, so I'm good there).
Another thing I've looked at is doing a small sub-panel in the garage, that I build and put a battery backup system on. Something like a 5KWh server rack battery + a 3-5kw inverter could keep the key circuits powered with UPS like functionality during outages, and when that is getting low you could still plug the truck into the transfer switch for extra run time. I may go this route in the future still, we'll see.
While I don't have the output of the Lightning to play with, our Ioniq 9's V2L adapter does 15 amps at 120v. And I got a Nema 5-15 - LR14-30 adapter, so I can plug that into the transfer switch, and run the fridge/freezer, as well as the fireplace fan and other small incidental things (like, uh, lights).
We have a small sine wave generator (~3kw output, 120v only) that we used for the same thing. But now I won't have to bust that out unless we have a longer outage, or we need/want the extra power (it has enough overhead to run 2x small space heaters at medium output + the fridge/freezer/fireplace).
The main reason we went with the smaller generator was simply because all of our heating in the home is electric (heat pump with backup low temp resistive heating on a 220/80 amp circuit :O), and our water heater is also a heat pump/electric backup. So to actually run all of that would have required a big generator. Instead, we got the small generator, and now the Ioniq that can take care of most things.
Well, I thought I would have a road trip in the Lightning to report on after this weekend, but my family all decided at the last minute they wanted to take the Kia Carnival so they would have more room with the 3 rows of seats, so the Lightning stayed home this time.
I will report back after my first road trip, whenever that happens.
I will report back after my first road trip, whenever that happens.
I wanted to pop in and share some thoughts after a little over a month of owning the Lightning.
First, the driving experience. It's the most incredible vehicle I've ever had, and I've had many. Smooth, fast, quiet, etc. All the benefits of an EV powertrain. Did I mention instant acceleration? Regen braking is awesome, and I love one pedal driving. You get used to it quicker than you think you will. I do switch it off every couple weeks or so to use the friction brakes so rust doesn't build up on the rotors because I don't use them with one pedal driving. I haven't done much highway driving yet, but the few times I have I used Bluecruise, Ford's hands-free driving mode. It still feels weird taking my hands off the wheel on the highway, but it works really well. You can put on the turn signal for a lane change and it executes it when safe to do so. This is probably old hat to some, but coming from a 2019 Tundra previously, its kinda mind blowing.
Charging. As I mentioned previously in this thread, I have access to level 2 charging at my office and figured I'd be going there almost every day to charge until I get a level 2 charger installed at my house. It hasn't worked out that way, and I have only gone to the office a handful of times since getting the truck. I normally work from home and drive to solar site evaluations as needed. My office is about 40 minutes (25 miles) away from my house, with ~1,000 ft elevation difference between the two. My house is in the mountains and my office is in the valley. What has surprised me is how well I have been able to get along using level 1 charging at home even with the big 131 kWh battery in the Lightning. So far, there was only 1 time where I ran the battery down enough so that I stopped at a DCFC near where I live, and even then, I probably didn't need to. I mostly did it to get some experience with using them and give myself extra piece of mind for the 59 miles of driving I needed to do the next day. I am still going to get a level 2 charger installed at my house, but my electrician has been busy and hasn't been able to get here for a bit. It's nice to know from experience that I can get by fine with the level 1 charging until then.
I'm also having my electrician install a 3 pole manual transfer switch and generator inlet plug so I can use the 240V outlet in the bed of the truck to back up my house during power outages. The fact that the Lightning outlets are GFCI (truck has bonded neutral) means that you need a 3 pole transfer switch to switch the neutral at the house to avoid the truck sensing a ground loop and shutting down the power. I will report back after that has been installed and I have had a chance to test or use it.
First, the driving experience. It's the most incredible vehicle I've ever had, and I've had many. Smooth, fast, quiet, etc. All the benefits of an EV powertrain. Did I mention instant acceleration? Regen braking is awesome, and I love one pedal driving. You get used to it quicker than you think you will. I do switch it off every couple weeks or so to use the friction brakes so rust doesn't build up on the rotors because I don't use them with one pedal driving. I haven't done much highway driving yet, but the few times I have I used Bluecruise, Ford's hands-free driving mode. It still feels weird taking my hands off the wheel on the highway, but it works really well. You can put on the turn signal for a lane change and it executes it when safe to do so. This is probably old hat to some, but coming from a 2019 Tundra previously, its kinda mind blowing.
Charging. As I mentioned previously in this thread, I have access to level 2 charging at my office and figured I'd be going there almost every day to charge until I get a level 2 charger installed at my house. It hasn't worked out that way, and I have only gone to the office a handful of times since getting the truck. I normally work from home and drive to solar site evaluations as needed. My office is about 40 minutes (25 miles) away from my house, with ~1,000 ft elevation difference between the two. My house is in the mountains and my office is in the valley. What has surprised me is how well I have been able to get along using level 1 charging at home even with the big 131 kWh battery in the Lightning. So far, there was only 1 time where I ran the battery down enough so that I stopped at a DCFC near where I live, and even then, I probably didn't need to. I mostly did it to get some experience with using them and give myself extra piece of mind for the 59 miles of driving I needed to do the next day. I am still going to get a level 2 charger installed at my house, but my electrician has been busy and hasn't been able to get here for a bit. It's nice to know from experience that I can get by fine with the level 1 charging until then.
I'm also having my electrician install a 3 pole manual transfer switch and generator inlet plug so I can use the 240V outlet in the bed of the truck to back up my house during power outages. The fact that the Lightning outlets are GFCI (truck has bonded neutral) means that you need a 3 pole transfer switch to switch the neutral at the house to avoid the truck sensing a ground loop and shutting down the power. I will report back after that has been installed and I have had a chance to test or use it.
Thanks so much for this! I can’t even imagine the difference when I finally get my Scout coming from a 2013.
Thanks for sharing your new EV experiences
Great post! That is a very sharp looking Lightning. To answer your question about which plug to get I say NACS since you plan to get a Scout in the future. As for adapters, I have always used Lectron and they have been very good. I have that set up at work. I would also take a look at Grizzl-E EVSE (chargers). They are simple and robust. I like that they have a metal housing instead of plastic.
Your experience has been similar to how mine went.
A thing I've recently realized about EV acceleration:
You know how when you're at a right turn onto a busy road and you feel you have to punch it during the turn to get into traffic? But then your tires spin because friction is being spent on turning the vehicle and they can't also speed up the vehicle?
Or maybe that's just me?
Yeah, that's not necessary with an EV with excessive acceleration. I've started learning to take the turn at a reasonable speed and then accelerate once I've made the turn. It's far less likely to cause loss of control and still gets me into traffic and up to speed.
A thing I've recently realized about EV acceleration:
You know how when you're at a right turn onto a busy road and you feel you have to punch it during the turn to get into traffic? But then your tires spin because friction is being spent on turning the vehicle and they can't also speed up the vehicle?
Or maybe that's just me?
Yeah, that's not necessary with an EV with excessive acceleration. I've started learning to take the turn at a reasonable speed and then accelerate once I've made the turn. It's far less likely to cause loss of control and still gets me into traffic and up to speed.
Great tip and makes sense with that amount of torque but probably wouldn’t have thought about that until the first time I fishtailed into an intersection
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