The Ford Fathom's Home Backup System Will Be Way Cheaper Than The F-150 Lightning's

Thanks to an onboard DC-to-AC inverter, you won't need expensive hardware to backup your home with Ford's $30,000 EV truck.

Photo by: Ford

By: Suvrat Kothari

Oct 27, at 9:00am ET

Comment

Whether it's because of more frequent natural disasters due to climate change, or the need for more AI data centers to support your ChatGPT queries, the cost of electricity has continued to soar in America this year. One smart way to ease that burden is to use your EV’s battery to power your home or send electricity back to the grid, potentially lowering your overall energy costs.

Bidirectional charging functionality is available in an increasing number of EVs, and it will come to the upcoming Ford Fathom, the automaker’s $30,000 electric truck that’s set to go on sale in the U.S. next year. We already knew that the Fathom was getting this capability, but Ford has now shared more details on how exactly the system will power your home—and how it's different from the setup offered on the now-discontinued F-150 Lightning. The good news: It'll be cheaper and easier to set up.

Ford Fathom home back up system.

Photo by: Ford

The Fathom can supply more than 10 kilowatts of AC power to a home without requiring an external DC-to-AC inverter. EV batteries deliver electricity as direct current (DC), while household electrical systems typically run on alternating current (AC). That means that an inverter is usually needed to convert the electricity that comes out of a car into a usable form for a house. On the Fathom, that inverter is built into the vehicle’s E-Box, one of its five main electrical modules. This should make the system simpler and more affordable than the setup Ford offered with the Lightning.

The Tesla Cybertruck is another example of a vehicle that has a built-in DC-to-AC inverter.

However, you’ll still need an external bidirectional charger to move electricity between the truck and your home. Ford says the required hardware will consist of its Home Power Station and Home Backup Panel.

Ford Fathom E-Box

Photo by: Ford

The Home Power Station will cost half the price of Ford’s first generation bidirectional charger, the Charge Station Pro, which debuted at $1,310 back in 2022. The entire backup system—consisting of a bidirectional charger and Home Integration System—costs $5,205. Ford says the new hardware will run you about 40% of that, so something like $2,000.

What do you think?

View

Comments

There’s a catch, though. Depending on your home’s existing electrical setup, you may need additional conduit, trenching or electrical panel upgrades. That means the total installation cost could differ significantly from the price Ford advertises when it reveals the electric truck.

The feature could prove genuinely useful during increasingly hot summers, when electricity demand strains the grid and increases the risk of outages. A compatible EV can serve as a backup power source when the lights go out, potentially keeping essentials running without a polluting generator.