Fathom's bidirectional AC power can power your home (V2H)

[Administrator]

Your Electric Truck Can Power Your Home. Ford Fathom Makes It More Affordable.

October 27, 2026

Having a battery parked right in your driveway can bring greater peace of mind.

That's the promise of bidirectional power: a technology that enables energy to flow both ways, turning an electric vehicle (EV) into mobile energy storage.

Simply stated, the vehicle takes in power to charge its battery and can send that same power back to the home. But getting this technology to scale has not happened yet.

Cost has been the biggest obstacle. EV batteries store power as direct current (DC), but homes use alternating current (AC), and converting between the two has traditionally required costly external equipment like a home inverter.

That price tag kept the technology limited to premium vehicles and the hands of early adopters.

Until now.

In 2027, the all-new Ford Fathom™ electric truck will start at $28,350 MSRP and offer available bidirectional AC power. That means it does not need a separate wall-mounted inverter to supply over a projected 10 kW of AC power to a home.

Two Ways Fathom Can Power Your Home

For Fathom customers, that two-way flow of electricity can work in two ways:

• Saving Money on Home Electricity Bills: Home Power Management lets Fathom customers charge the vehicle's battery when electricity is less expensive and use it to power their home when electricity is more expensive, which may help lower customers' monthly electricity bills. The only hardware required is Ford's Home Power Station, which is expected to cost about half as much as our first-generation bidirectional charger, along with an active plan or trial.
  
  
• Keeping the Lights On: Home Backup Power lets Fathom send power to a customer's home when the power goes out. It's a clean, quiet alternative to traditional backup generators that run on natural gas or diesel. Customers will need the Ford Home Power Station and Ford Home Backup Power Panel, which is expected to cost at least 60% less than our first-generation home backup hardware.2

A Premium Technology Now More Affordable

Our goal wasn't just to add bidirectional power to our EVs. It was to redesign the system to cost far less so more people can access bidirectional power.

With Fathom offering bidirectional power at an MSRP starting below $30,000, even more people can benefit from potential energy savings and home backup power.


Let's Get Plugged In

The breakthrough moment for bidirectional power is nearly here. Fathom will be available in 2027.

Want to be among the first to know when Fathom preorders open? Get your preorder invite.

ADDENDUM - added writeup by @rileyfromford (posted in thread below)

Hey all, Riley from the Ford UEV team here. Bidirectional power has come up in almost every "what would make or break Fathom for you" thread on Reddit and these forums since August (yes, I've been watching ). Today I can finally start to get into it properly.

The short version: Fathom will be the first EV from a U.S. automaker with an MSRP under $30K that can send more than 10 kW of AC power to your home without a separate wall-mounted inverter.

Why that's a big deal (the nerdy part, briefly): Your EV battery stores DC. Your house runs on AC. Something has to convert between the two, and that's usually been a pricier piece of equipment mounted in your garage.

On Fathom, the inverter lives inside the truck, in a module we call the E-box (one of the vehicle's five main modules). The team started from scratch on this. The goal wasn't just to add bidi but to redesign it so it is affordable, with fewer parts that do more.

What you'd actually use it for

Lowering your electric bill (Home Power Management): Charge the truck when electricity rates are lower. Run your house off it when rates are higher. Whether this saves you money, and how much, depends on your utility's rates. The only hardware you need is the Ford Home Power Station and is half the cost of our first-generation bidirectional charger.

Keeping the lights on (Home Backup Power): If the grid goes down, Fathom help to power your house. It's clean and quiet, with no gas or diesel generator running in the driveway. You'll need the Home Power Station plus the Ford Home Backup Panel, which together is aiming to be more affordable than our first-gen home backup hardware.

What I can't tell you yet, and why

Exact hardware prices. Those numbers aren't final. I'll post final prices closer to reveal.

Certification. The system is designed to meet UL 1741 and IEEE 1547. We're working through certification and validation right now.

Using it with the grid where you live. That's up to your local utility. There are more than 3,000 utilities across the U.S. and Canada, and most of their rules were written for solar panels and home batteries, not trucks. In July we started a working group with American Electric Power, BC Hydro, Consumers Energy, Exelon and PG&E to help agree on principles that would make that process easier before Fathom ships.

Dave McCreadie, who leads our Grid & Energy Services team, wrote more here. If you ask something I can't answer well, I'll take it to his team and come back to this thread.

So I'm curious, would you use this to save money, as an outage plan, or both? If you're on time-of-use rates, tell me what your peak and off-peak look like. I'd like to see how much the math changes from place to place.​

​

 

[Mach-Lee]

As you see above, Ford has shared additional details about the Fathom’s bidirectional power system. Here’s a quick overview:

The Fathom can produce 10 kW of AC power onboard using the E-box, which is the next-generation integrated high-voltage control center, located in the back of the battery pack under the rear seat. This serves as both the on-board charger and the on-board AC inverter for the vehicle (supports bidirectional power transfer).

The bidirectional power system can power your house using two “boxes”:

• The Ford Home Power Station (required) is the first box that will act as the EVSE and allow AC power to feed back into your home. This box will only backfeed power when the grid is online to reduce your usage during peak power times. This can save you money if your utility supports net metering or net billing.
• The Ford Home Backup Panel is the optional second box, and is used to power the home when there is a power outage. I imagine this functions as a transfer switch that disconnects the utility feed so the entire home can be safely powered by the Fathom. The 10 kW of power should be enough to handle most electrical appliances. The total runtime will depend on the size of the Fathom's battery pack, but I would guess somewhere between 2-5 days of runtime out of a fully charged Fathom depending on your home's loads.

Unconfirmed, but the Fathom is also expected to have Pro Power Onboard in the bed, based on hints we’ve seen (at least 120V outlets).

The Fathom is the first EV from a U.S. automaker with an MSRP below $30,000 that does not need a separate wall-mounted inverter to supply more than 10 kW of AC power to a home. The cost of the integration system hardware is expected to be 50% less than the first-generation home integration system required for F-150 Lightning. The old system cost around $5200 plus installation and permit fees. That would put the hardware cost of the new Fathom system around $2500, plus installation.

The Ford Fathom electric truck will start at $28,350 MSRP, and will be available in 2027.

-Lee from the Mach-E Forum

 

[TNFurb]

So maybe 2-5 days of electricity for your home. Does that include your HVAC? Or is that just for appliances and lights?

 

[rileyfromford]

For some reason it wouldn't let me post this earlier this morning (@Administrator was there server issues this morning?). Here is my write up, below.

##

Hey all, Riley from the Ford UEV team here. Bidirectional power has come up in almost every "what would make or break Fathom for you" thread on Reddit and these forums since August (yes, I've been watching ). Today I can finally start to get into it properly.

The short version: Fathom will be the first EV from a U.S. automaker with an MSRP under $30K that can send more than 10 kW of AC power to your home without a separate wall-mounted inverter.

Why that's a big deal (the nerdy part, briefly): Your EV battery stores DC. Your house runs on AC. Something has to convert between the two, and that's usually been a pricier piece of equipment mounted in your garage.

On Fathom, the inverter lives inside the truck, in a module we call the E-box (one of the vehicle's five main modules). The team started from scratch on this. The goal wasn't just to add bidi but to redesign it so it is affordable, with fewer parts that do more.

What you'd actually use it for

Lowering your electric bill (Home Power Management): Charge the truck when electricity rates are lower. Run your house off it when rates are higher. Whether this saves you money, and how much, depends on your utility's rates. The only hardware you need is the Ford Home Power Station and is half the cost of our first-generation bidirectional charger.

Keeping the lights on (Home Backup Power): If the grid goes down, Fathom help to power your house. It's clean and quiet, with no gas or diesel generator running in the driveway. You'll need the Home Power Station plus the Ford Home Backup Panel, which together is aiming to be more affordable than our first-gen home backup hardware.

What I can't tell you yet, and why

Exact hardware prices. Those numbers aren't final. I'll post final prices closer to reveal.

Certification. The system is designed to meet UL 1741 and IEEE 1547. We're working through certification and validation right now.

Using it with the grid where you live. That's up to your local utility. There are more than 3,000 utilities across the U.S. and Canada, and most of their rules were written for solar panels and home batteries, not trucks. In July we started a working group with American Electric Power, BC Hydro, Consumers Energy, Exelon and PG&E to help agree on principles that would make that process easier before Fathom ships.

Dave McCreadie, who leads our Grid & Energy Services team, wrote more here. If you ask something I can't answer well, I'll take it to his team and come back to this thread.

So I'm curious, would you use this to save money, as an outage plan, or both? If you're on time-of-use rates, tell me what your peak and off-peak look like. I'd like to see how much the math changes from place to place.

 

[Mach-Lee]

So maybe 2-5 days of electricity for your home. Does that include your HVAC? Or is that just for appliances and lights?

I'd expect running HVAC would be to the shorter end of that range. If you treat this like a 10 kW generator, that can only power a smaller A/C unit (like 2 tons) because of starting power demands. But if you exclude A/C and electric heat strips, pretty much everything else in your house would be under 10 kW.

 

[mark]

I am focussed on this vehicle due to its bidirectional support from power loss at my residence. I live in coastal Florida, hurricanes are power losses on occasion. Will NextEra be accepting this as an outage plan, and will I need a subscription to Ford? TECO (Emera), Duke, and NextEra are the providers in Florida.

 

[mark]

To the best of my knowledge, there are no low cost evening rates(off peak) in my region.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

Here in WNC we sadly don't have variable electrical rates, so that feature is currently useless to us.

I have a whole house propane generator with an existing transfer switch. I'll be very interested in learning whether the Ford system can be tied into an existing generator system, as the best way to kill a bear is with a gun and an arrow both (always have a backup to your backup).

Having gone through Helene here in NC and Sandy in CT, there is nothing more sad than having to throw away a thousand dollars worth of freezer contents in an extended power outage. Which is easy to do if you're storing high value food items bought in bulk.

Having spent $12,000 to install that whole house generator system (twice, in two homes), and having gone through three hurricanes in the last ten years (in three states), I can attest that power backup is priceless when you need it. But it's a lesson some of us have to learn the hard way.

 

[mark]

We run lean on groceries during September and October to manage losses. No natural gas in my neighborhood and the propane tank and generator would be difficult in our restricted neighborhood to get approved.

Helene hit you hard. No one could have planned for that.

 

[hdave]

How long can it power a house for 'standard household usage' ?

 

[WXman]

How long can it power a house for 'standard household usage' ?

On average, my house uses about 1,500 kW per month, or roughly 50 kW per day. We have 1-2 kids still living part time at home, and then the wife and I. So, the answer to your question depends solely upon how big the battery pack is in the Fathom, and for some reason Ford ain't sayin'!!!

But if we assume it's a 60 kW pack, I'd be looking at 1 day of constant backup power, or two days if we really try to conserve. This is not going to be a source of backup power that will run your house for two weeks after a hurricane. This is going to be just enough to get you through a localized power outage when the power is expected to be restored quickly.

Also, I'd like to know if this system on Fathom is compatible with existing transfer switch setups. I don't HAVE to buy the extra Ford hardware if my house it already wired to accept generator/inverter power input into the fuse panel, right??

 

[paneubert]

Honestly I would probably just use the 120v "ProPower Onboard" plug(s) to run a beefy extension cord to my appliances, rotating as needed. This is what I do with my current 10kW Dual Fuel generator. My gas furnace has a cutover switch and box on it so I can plug the female end of an extension cord directly into it. My refrigerator and freezers would just be plugged in to an extension cord on a rotating basis to allow each of them to cool/freeze for an hour or two each.

Although a purpose built system like the Ford Home Power Station and the Ford Home Backup Panel would be nice for automatic cut over and grid integration, I don't need it often enough to drop multiple thousands of dollars (and the hassle of permits) to have it installed. I am fine dragging an extension cord around my house to keep things running. I do have to admit I am lucky to have a gas water heater that requires no electricity, my gas furnace just needs power for the blower motor, and my oven/stove is gas, so I can still cook with no power (but can't bake since the oven thermostat and gas valve won't have power to open/close and read temperature). But I can cook on the burners if I light it with a match.

 

[truckplease]

I've been hoping for news like this. This is great! I've been putting off buying a house battery system.

Also on my wish list: Pro Power. My dream is to be able to run a mobile maker space out the back of the truck for events.

 

[Noofis12]

I've been hoping for news like this. This is great! I've been putting off buying a house battery system.

Also on my wish list: Pro Power. My dream is to be able to run a mobile maker space out the back of the truck for events.

I am really hoping they put the Pro Power system in the Fathom.. 9.6KW pro power or something along those lines would be amazing with 120V & 240V plugs.

 

[paneubert]

I am really hoping they put the Pro Power system in the Fathom.. 9.6KW pro power or something along those lines would be amazing with 120V & 240V plugs.

All of the marketing materials/videos/animated flipbooks have shown various "high wattage" appliances plugged into the bed and frunk. Hair dryers, power tools, etc... If they DON'T have high output ProPower, then that would be a major trolling of customers.

One example video where they talk about some of it.