Ford F-150 Lightnings are powering the grid in first residential V2G pilot
The idea of using an electric vehicle's battery to send energy from the EV to the electrical grid is not a new idea. Ars first covered the technology, known as vehicle-to-grid or V2G, back in 2009 when Ford and American Electric Power in Ohio started playing with the idea, although that pilot involved hybrids rather than battery EVs. A couple of years later, General Motors tried something similar with the plug-in hybrid Volt, and since then, battery EVs with much larger lithium-ion packs have gotten in on the act, although such pilot programs have invariably involved commercial EV fleets.
More recently, we've started seeing EVs that have been designed from the ground up to be capable of bidirectional charging. And since July, some owners of Ford F-150 Lightnings have been sending stored energy back into the grid between 5 pm and 9 pm on weekdays, earning them some cash in the process.
Sunrun, which provides home energy storage and solar solutions, started working with Baltimore Gas and Electric Company on the project last year. This summer, it expanded its work to include the nation's first residential V2G pilot, with a trio of Lightning owners using Sunrun and Ford's Home Integration System. Participants can earn up to $1,000 from the program, which runs until the end of this month.