Electric Vehicles (EVs). Ford F150 Lightning, Tesla Model S, Ford Mustang Mach-E. Vehicle to Home (V2H) use as a back up generator during grid outages
This picture is not what it seems. The F150 Lightning is not being charged from my house. The F150 is powering my house during a grid outage in March 2024 caused by a tree falling on the drive that took out the power lines. The F150 powered almost the entire house (all except the tumble dryer, dishwasher, stove and heat pumps) for 24 hours and could have done so for 3 days. We had phone, internet, computers, heat, lights, fridge, freezer, microwave and, perhaps the most important, the espresso machine. Although the heat pumps themselves were not powered by the F150, the blower fans were. During this outage I turned on my old oil furnace to provide heat. This is a major reason to keep your fossil-fuel furnace or boiler when you add heat pumps.
This was by far the best grid outage we have had in 25 years in our house. We get multiple grid outages each winter. This is called vehicle-to-home charging (there is also vehicle-to-grid charging which I have not tried) or V2H. In February 2025 only the Ford F150 Lightning and the Tesla Cybertruck fully support V2H, though you can get something out of a Nissan Leaf. This ability to use the F150 as a back-up generator for our house saved me thousands of dollars by not having to replace the defunct propane-powered back-up generator that is so old I can’t get it serviced or get spare parts for it.
I have the F150 Lariat trim which has a 220V/30A on board AC generator. The lower trim level (the Pro) has only a 110V/15A outlet. This is still enough for emergency power for most people during a grid outage, but if you want to power almost the entire house (like we did) you will need the 220V/30A outlet. To connect this to the house I had my electrician install a socket on the side of the house that connects to the emergency panel in the basement (which is where the old propane generator used to connect). This cost about $200.
The F150 Lightning in the Lariat trim cost me $76,000 which is a very expensive vehicle! However, I got $7,500 back from the federal government and another $7,500 back from the MA government. This made the net price $61,000 or about what I would have paid for a new BMW X5 which is what the F150 replaced. Because I charge it from my solar panels (see below) I drive for about 4c/mile (8c/kWh from my solar panels and I get about 2 miles per kWh) or about an 80% saving compared to a gas-powered equivalent paying $3.50/gallon and getting 20 miles per gallon. I have spent nothing on maintenance in the year I have had it. Similarly I have spent zero on maintenance for the 5 year old/80,000 mile Tesla Model S. The Model S gets about 4 miles per kWh and so my wife drives that car for 90% less than driving a gas-powered equivalent. This is why EVs are now cheaper to buy, cheaper to run and cheaper to maintain than equivalent gas-powered vehicles. See this chart for the details:
Our family (which includes 3 adult children) has between us four EVs. My wife drives a 5-year old Tesla Model S with about 80,000 miles on the clock, I drive a 1-year old Ford F-150 Lightning and two of our children drive Ford Mustang Mach Es that are under 1 year old. All these vehicles can charge on the road on the Tesla Supercharger network which in my experience is fast, reliable and convenient. I have had very poor experience with charging on the EVgo, ChargePoint and Electrify America networks which are generally slow, very unreliable and located at less convenient locations when on a long-distance drive. I do not have any range anxiety. This is because there are over 500 Tesla Superchargers within the 360-mile driving range of the Model S. This is the range in summer on a full charge. In the depths of winter the range drops to about 300 miles. The F150 can do about 300 miles in summer and about 150 miles in winter. The reason for the difference in range between summer and winter is mostly due to using the heaters in winter. The Tesla heats with an efficient heat pump, the F150 uses less efficient electric resistance. If you are willing to go without cabin heat (but with the heated seats on and heated steering wheel on) the range on the F150 in winter increases to about 280 miles. I have the extended range 130kWh battery in the F150.
We have a level 2 charger at home and most of our charging is done overnight. One charger is enough to supply all the vehicles as we never need to charge two at the same time.
We generate enough solar power from arrays on the roof of our house and the roof of our garage to get to net zero on the house. However to get to net zero on the cars (and swimming pool) we need more solar power. We own the house next door and rent it out. That house has rooftop solar arrays and the net-metering credits (the credits we get for exporting solar power to the grid) are transferred to the electricity meter at our house. This is called z-metering and is available to anyone with an electricity meter in MA. I am essentially my own power station. This allows us to charge all the electric vehicles from solar power meaning that they are exceptionally cheap to run. They also have zero carbon emissions. I do not miss going to gas stations to fill up. Nor do I miss taking my car in for service or maintenance. These EVs are also just great cars to drive. The Model S is a great long-distance tourer. The F150 hauled a ton of top soil and several tons of wood chips when I planted a new 40-tree fruit orchard last spring. It also got my son’s furniture home from college. The MachE Mustangs are great fun to drive with their short wheel base, tight suspension, small steering wheels and incredible acceleration. They are also surprisingly roomy (and comfortable – there is no transmission tunnel) in the back and can carry a large load with the seats down.
Here is a quick tour of the F150 Lightning:
I will never go back to gas.