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In early March, strong winds knocked down trees and power lines in the Nashville area, leaving thousands without power. But about 20 miles outside the city, an electric pickup truck powered John and Rachelle Reigard’s home, keeping their lights on.
“You can look at all the houses around us and they’re all closed,” said Mr. Regard, who bought a Ford F-150 Lightning pickup more than a year ago. “A lot of people ask the question: ‘How do you have power?'”
The Regards are among a small group of pioneers using electric car batteries as backup power for homes. Energy and auto experts expect more people to do so in the coming years, as auto and energy companies make it easier for people and businesses to harness the energy from electric vehicles for purposes other than driving.
Power grids are increasingly strained and bent during extreme weather associated with climate change, including prolonged heat waves, severe storms and devastating floods. Many people purchase generators or home solar and battery systems, often at great expense.
For some, electric vehicles are a better option because they can serve a variety of functions. Another big advantage: The batteries in the F-150 Lightning or the electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck expected to go on sale this year can store more energy than the household batteries sometimes mounted on rooftop solar panels. It is thought that by pairing an electric truck with a home solar system, a home can keep the lights on for days or even weeks.
Using electric vehicles as a power source has piqued the interest of electric company executives, including Pedro Pizarro, who chairs the board of directors of the Edison Electric Institute, the industry’s main trade group and is responsible for millions of people. CEO of Edison International, which provides electricity to homes and businesses in Southern California.
Mr. Pizarro’s company and other utilities are testing whether it is practical and safe to send electricity from electric vehicles to the grid.
By absorbing power when it’s plentiful and releasing it when it’s scarce, EVs can act as “bigger rubber bands to absorb shocks and manage them day in and day out, week in and week out,” he said.
Greater use of electric vehicles in this way would also allow utilities and homeowners to reduce planet-warming emissions by relying more on intermittently powered renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
Currently, few EVs are capable of providing backup power. But executives at major electric car company Tesla and other automakers say they are working on updates to enable more cars to do that.
When the Raygard family’s community in Mount Juliet, Tennessee lost power, their truck provided enough electricity to keep the lights on, run four refrigerators and operate the fans in the natural gas heating system. Trucks couldn’t keep the air conditioners running, but other essentials were turned on minutes after the outage started.
Around Christmas, the power went out at the home, and visiting Raigard’s parents were shocked because it was cold outside. “They started thinking, ‘My God, what happened?'” Mr Reigard said. His response: “Nothing happened. We’ll be fine.”
The couple was so happy with their truck that they purchased 10 more for their A-list construction company. They estimate that the investment could save $300 per vehicle per month, since driving on electricity costs less per mile than burning gasoline.
While the trucks lowered operating costs, equipping the Reigard home electrically to receive power from the F-150 required hiring specialists and costing thousands of dollars. The couple used Qmerit, a company that manages the development, installation and maintenance of electric vehicles, storage and vehicle-to-home energy systems.
Some components carry information between the truck and the home’s electrical system, appliances and lights. Once the homeowner’s preferences are set, the system determines when the truck recharges the battery and when it sends power back to the house.
But such systems can be complex, and some early adopters have run into problems.
Kevin Dyer, a software quality engineer living near Los Angeles, has used electric vehicles since 2009 and bought an F-150 Lightning in September. He hopes the truck will help his family get through the rolling blackouts that have been common in California in recent years.
“We finished the installation,” Mr Dale said. “The truck actually powered my house. That was the high-five moment. That’s when things started to go downhill. It just basically worked, and then it shut down.”
Mr. Dale, 59, said he hoped a software update or other modest fix would fix the problem.
Energy executives say the industry is working to improve and simplify the technology for connecting electric vehicles to homes, which they say will happen within a few years.
Over time, more people will be able to easily combine solar panels, home batteries and electric vehicles, said Qmerit chief operating officer Oliver Phillips. Combined, the devices could make people “bulletproof” from blackouts, he said.
Gus Puga, owner of Airstream Services, said battery-powered vehicles could eventually play a bigger role in providing energy to the grid when demand for electricity exceeds supply. Airstream Services, an electrical, heating and cooling company, partnered with Qmerit to install the system at the facility. Regards’ home.
Some energy experts worry that the growth of electric vehicles could dramatically increase energy demand, putting pressure on the grid. Mr Purja disagrees: “I believe we will increase the stability of the grid.”
In the auto industry, some experts warn that frequent use of the car to power the home or the grid could degrade the battery faster, reducing driving range (the distance a vehicle can travel on a full charge). But automakers downplayed those risks.
Ford and GM are keen to market the versatility of their battery-powered models to people who experience or fear blackouts.
“It’s really a game changer,” said Ryan O’Gorman, Ford’s energy services business development manager. “Trucks are a huge power source. Electric cars are big and can power a house for days.”
Mark Ball, GM’s head of energy connectivity and battery solutions, said the company plans to offer a package of equipment and services so customers can get the most out of their electric vehicles. “We think it’s absolutely critical to make it simple and affordable for customers,” he said.
But utility executive Pizarro warned that energy and auto companies still need to perfect the technology for cars to deliver electricity to homes and the grid. He expects more problems will be discovered as more people start using electric vehicles as backup power.
“It’s still early days,” Mr Pizarro said. “There will be surprises.”
