When the F150 Lightning was announced last year, the buzz about what the truck would be like and what it would be able to do began immediately. As America’s best selling pickup truck, the F-Series has more than earned its reputation for capability and quality, and combining that history of excellence with Ford’s current drive to push the needle forward for electric vehicles in America was always bound to result in true innovation. One of the most interesting functions of the F-150 Lightning is the truck’s ability to function not only as a vehicle but as a sort of battery or generator, and the various ways that this capability can be used indicate many good things to come as vehicles like this become more prevalent on American roads.
The most obvious use, and probably one that you’re familiar with, is using the truck to power tools or charge up your technology. This is an especially useful function for professionals who are often on job sites where they would otherwise not have a way to run their tools. However, that’s far from the only thing that this powerhouse of a vehicle can do.
By far the most unique use of the new electric truck has been as a generator during power outages. The Pro Power Onboard feature allows the truck, with the right cords and equipment, to provide power to an entire home in the instance of a blackout. This feature has already proved its usefulness during widespread power outages, as stated by Patrick Soderborg, Ford e-powertrain systems engineer. “There are so many new opportunities to innovate with features and functions made possible only through electrification,” he said. “This really hit home during the Texas power crisis last February, which left millions in the cold. F-150 Hybrid helped many Texans keep warm and powered up during those difficult times thanks to Pro Power Onboard – and we’re trying to do even more with F-150 Lightning.”
Another potential function of Pro Power Onboard that you might find particularly useful if you know multiple people with electric vehicles is range sharing: essentially, transferring some of the charge from your vehicle to someone else’s. With a Ford Mobile Power Cord charger and the 240-volt outlet provided by Pro Power Onboard, you can transfer energy between vehicles just as easily as you would charge them at home or at a public charging station.
With this much potential built in, it’s easy to realize that the F-150 Lightning is more than just a truck– it’s a groundbreaking experiment in the capabilities of electric vehicles. In time perhaps we will see even more innovative utility in Ford’s forays into electrification.
Categories:
Social
