Ford Fathom can power your home: what the backup kit costs

Ford's upcoming Fathom, the sub-$30,000 electric pickup it will fully reveal in a few months, will be able to run your house during a power cut without the costly hardware that earlier EVs needed. Ford shared the details on Tuesday, The Verge reports.

The inverter is inside the truck

A car battery stores direct current (DC), while homes run on alternating current (AC). The discontinued F-150 Lightning relied on a large, expensive wall-mounted DC-to-AC inverter to back up a home. The Fathom moves that job into the truck: its inverter sits in the "E-box", one of five main modules of Ford's new Universal EV Platform, and can deliver more than 10 kW of AC power.

Electrek says the redesign builds on Ford's 2023 purchase of startup Auto Motive Power. Ford says the Fathom will not be its last EV with this AC bidirectional capability; other vehicles on the same platform will get it too.

If you're new to the jargon (V2L, V2H, V2G), our explainer on what bidirectional charging is breaks it down.

What you need at home, and the price

Ford is offering two home setups:

• Home Power Station – lets you charge when electricity is cheap and power the house from the truck when rates are high, or send energy back to the grid. Ford targets about half the price of its $1,310 Charge Station Pro; TechCrunch puts it at around $650.
• Home Backup Power – the station plus a Home Backup Panel, needed to keep the house running in an outage. TechCrunch reports about $2,100, roughly 60% less than Ford's first-generation equipment, which cost about $5,200.

Reports differ on the exact figures (The Verge cites a target of about $3,123 for the backup combination), and Ford says final pricing isn't set. None of the numbers include installation. TechCrunch notes that installing existing vehicle-to-home systems can cost up to $10,000, depending on how much electrical work a house needs, plus permits and heavy wiring.

Less paperwork with utilities

Red tape is another obstacle. Ford has agreed common rules with five large North American power companies: PG&E, American Electric Power, BC Hydro, Consumers Energy and Exelon. They plan to cut the paperwork for basic storm backup, use common plugs and software and make grid programmes automatic. Ford expects other utilities to follow whatever standard they set.

What 10 kW means in practice

Ten kilowatts won't run everything in a typical American home at once, but it can cover essentials such as the fridge, lights, Wi-Fi and some heating or cooling. Motors in air conditioners and fridges draw a surge when they start, so what works will depend on each installation.

The Fathom starts at $28,350, with preorders planned for early 2027 and deliveries later that year. See our earlier story on Fathom preorder invites for the platform and timeline, and our home EV charger guide for what to check before any home charging installation.