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Ford says its upcoming Fathom electric pickup will use an onboard inverter to send power from its battery to a home, avoiding the need for a costly bidirectional charger. The compatible equipment is expected to cost substantially less than Ford’s current F-150 Lightning home-backup setup, but Ford has not announced a final price or installation costs.
Ford says its upcoming Fathom electric pickup will be able to send power from its battery to a home using an onboard inverter, a design intended to make vehicle-to-home backup less expensive than systems that require a separate, costly bidirectional charger. The company has not set the final price for the compatible home equipment.
Most electric vehicles sold in the United States cannot directly provide home-ready alternating-current power from their batteries. Homeowners who want to use an EV during an outage generally need additional equipment to convert the vehicle’s direct-current power and connect it to the home. Canary Media reports that existing bidirectional charger equipment can cost just under $7,000 to more than $10,000, before installation.
Ford’s approach puts the inverter in the Fathom, allowing the vehicle to supply AC power through a compatible charging and home-management setup. Ford said its new AC-capable bidirectional charger will cost about half the $1,300 price of the Ford Charge Station Pro used with the F-150 Lightning. For outage backup, customers also need a home backup power panel. Ford said the equipment combination will cost 60% less than the $5,200 price of the Charge Station Pro and home integration system. Both figures exclude installation, and the Fathom system’s final price has not been announced.
Ford director of grid and energy services Dave McCreadie told Canary Media that lowering equipment costs is central to making the technology more widely adopted. He said the company’s vehicles built on its Universal EV Platform will also have AC bidirectional charging capability. Ford developed the onboard power-conversion technology with engineers from Auto Motive Power, the startup it acquired in 2023.
Lower Equipment Costs for Home Backup
The proposed price reduction could make it more practical for some EV owners to use a vehicle as backup power, rather than buying a separate home battery or paying for a more expensive DC-based vehicle-to-home system. The Fathom’s stated starting price is under $30,000, according to the source report, placing the vehicle and its home-power option in a different price range from many existing EV-and-backup packages. The overall cost to a homeowner will still depend on equipment pricing, installation and the home’s electrical setup.
The design could also affect how automakers build future EV platforms. Ford says the conversion capability is integrated into the vehicle from the outset, rather than added to an existing design. That may help reduce the cost of enabling AC power delivery, but wider customer access will also depend on utilities’ interconnection rules. An EV capable of supplying power does not by itself establish that a particular home can connect the system under local requirements.
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Ford’s Shift to AC Bidirectional Power
Ford already offers home-backup capability with the F-150 Lightning through its Charge Station Pro and a home integration system. The Fathom setup differs by using an onboard inverter to convert battery power into alternating current, with the goal of using less expensive compatible equipment. The source report says rival systems that use external DC-based equipment can cost more; it cites General Motors’ sale price of $6,748 for a DC vehicle-to-home bundle.
Ford’s system uses communications technology based on SAE J3068, a standard certified by the automotive standards organization SAE International. The source report says the technology is intended to let the vehicle and home backup equipment communicate safety-related information. It also notes that, outside pilot projects, California and Maryland have established utility regulations for AC bidirectional charging, while rules elsewhere vary across utilities.
Ford announced that it has been working since July with American Electric Power, BC Hydro, Consumers Energy, Exelon and Pacific Gas & Electric on common standards for integrating its AC vehicle-to-home system into utility interconnection rules. The company has also engaged with utilities and regulators in states including Michigan and Colorado, according to the report.
Pricing and Utility Access Still Vary
Ford has not finalized the Fathom-compatible home equipment’s price. The reductions it described are comparisons with existing Ford equipment, not a complete estimate of what a customer will pay after installation and any required home electrical work. The source report does not specify when the Fathom will go on sale, when the home-power system will be available, or which configurations will support backup.
Utility approval is another unresolved factor. Ford’s work with utilities is aimed at developing common interconnection standards, but the report does not say that participating utilities have adopted a single set of rules or that the system can already be connected in every service area. It is also unclear how quickly utilities in other regions will update their procedures. Ford’s stated savings and technical plans should not be taken as confirmation of universal availability.
Utility Standards and Final Prices
The next details to watch are Ford’s final equipment pricing, the Fathom’s availability and the requirements for connecting the system to a home. The utility discussions with American Electric Power, BC Hydro, Consumers Energy, Exelon and Pacific Gas & Electric may help establish common interconnection practices, but the report gives no adoption timetable. Buyers will need to check Ford’s eventual specifications and their local utility’s rules before planning to rely on an EV for outage backup.
Key Questions
How will the Ford Fathom power a home?
Ford says the pickup will have an onboard inverter that converts the battery’s direct-current power into alternating-current power for a compatible home system. Backup during an outage also requires a home backup power panel.
How much will the Fathom home-backup equipment cost?
Ford has not announced a final price. It says the compatible bidirectional charger will cost about half of the $1,300 Charge Station Pro, and that the charger-and-home-panel combination will cost 60% less than the $5,200 Lightning equipment comparison. The cited prices exclude installation.
Will every Ford electric vehicle have this feature?
Ford director Dave McCreadie told Canary Media that other vehicles built on the company’s Universal EV Platform will have AC bidirectional charging capability. The report does not say that every Ford EV, including vehicles on other platforms, will receive it.
Can Fathom owners use home backup anywhere in the United States?
Not necessarily. Utility interconnection requirements vary, and the source report says only California and Maryland have set regulations for AC bidirectional charging outside pilot projects. Owners will need to confirm local utility requirements and system availability.
Source: canarymedia.com
