In early March, high winds toppled trees and power lines in the Nashville area, leaving thousands of homes without power. But about 20 miles outside the city, an electric pickup truck delivered energy to the home of John and Rachelle Reigard, keeping their lights on.
“You can look at all the houses around us, and they’re all empty,” said Mr. Reigard, who bought the pickup, a Ford F-150 Lightning, more than a year ago. “Many people ask: ‘How do you have power?'”
Reigard is part of a small group of pioneers using the batteries in their electric vehicles as a source of backup power for their homes. Energy and automotive experts expect many more people to do so in the coming years as automotive and energy companies make it easier for people and businesses to use the energy in electric vehicles more than driving.
Electricity grids are increasingly strained and degraded during extreme weather events associated with climate change, including long heat waves, severe storms and devastating floods. Many people buy generators or home solar and battery systems, often at great expense.
For some people, electric vehicles are a better option because they can serve multiple functions. Another big advantage: The battery in an F-150 Lightning or the electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup, expected to go on sale this year, can store more energy than home batteries that are sometimes installed on the rooftop solar panels. Pair an electric truck with a home solar system, the thinking goes, and a family can keep the lights on for days or even weeks.
The use of electric vehicles as a power source has intrigued electric utility executives, including Pedro Pizarro, who chairs the board of the Edison Electric Institute, the industry’s main trade organization, and the chief executive of Edison International, empowering millions. of Southern California homes and businesses.
Mr. Pizarro’s company and other utilities are examining whether it is practical and safe to send electricity from electric vehicles to the grid.
By soaking up electricity when it’s plentiful and releasing it when it’s scarce, electric vehicles, he said, can serve as “a bigger rubber band to absorb the shocks and manage them day-to-day and week-to-day.” week.”
Greater use of electric vehicles in this way should also allow utilities and homeowners to reduce planet-warming emissions by relying more on renewable sources of energy. energy such as solar and wind that provide electricity intermittently.
Today, few electric vehicles can provide backup power. But the executives at Teslathe dominant electric car company, and other automakers say they are working on updates that will allow more cars to do so.
When the power goes out in the Reigards’ Mount Juliet, Tenn., neighborhood, their truck supplies enough electricity to keep the lights on, run four refrigerators and run a fan in a natural-gas-fueled heating system. The truck doesn’t keep their air-conditioning on, but other essentials are turned on just minutes after an outage begins.
When the family lost electricity on Christmas, Ms.’s parents were alarmed. Reigard visiting because it’s cold outside. “They started thinking, ‘My gosh, what’s going on?'” said Mr. Reigard. His response: “Nothing is happening. We will be fine too.”
The couple were so pleased with their truck that they bought 10 more for their business, Grade A Construction. They estimate that the investment saves them $300 per month per vehicle because electric driving costs less per mile than burning gasoline.
While the trucks reduce operating costs, fitting Reigard’s home with electrical equipment that allows it to receive power from the F-150 required hiring experts and spending thousands of dollars. The couple used Qmerit, a company that manages the development, installation and maintenance of electric vehicles, storage and home-to-home energy systems.
A small number of components convey information between the truck and the electrical system, appliances and home lighting. Once set up to the homeowner’s preferences, the system decides when the truck charges its batteries and when it sends electricity back to the house.
But such systems can be complicated, and some early adopters have experienced problems.
Kevin Dyer, a software quality engineer who lives near Los Angeles, has used electric vehicles since 2009 and bought an F-150 Lightning in September. He wanted the truck to help his family get through the rolling blackouts that have become common in California in recent years.
“We finished the installation,” Mr. Dyer said. “The truck literally ran over my house. That was the high-five moment. That’s when things went a little downhill. It usually works, then shuts down.”
Mr. Dyer, 59, said he hoped a software update or another modest fix would solve the problem.
Energy executives say the industry is working to improve and simplify the technology to connect electric cars to homes, something they say will happen within a few years.
Oliver Phillips, chief operating officer at Qmerit, said that over time more people will find it easy to integrate solar panels, home batteries and electric vehicles. Together, those devices make people “bulletproof” against power outages, he said.
Battery-powered vehicles can play a bigger role by providing energy to the grid when demand for electricity exceeds supply, said Gus Puga, owner of Airstream Services, an electrical, heating and cooling partnered with Qmerit to install the system at the Reigards’ home.
Some energy experts worry that the growth of electric vehicles could strain grids by excessively increasing demand for energy. Mr. does not agree. Puga: “I believe we will add stability to the grid.”
In the auto industry, some experts warn that frequent use of vehicles to power homes or the grid can wear down batteries more quickly, reducing range – the distance the vehicles can travel in a full charge. But automakers have mitigated those risks.
Ford and General Motors are eager to sell the versatility of their battery-powered models to people who are out of power or who fear being out of power.
“It’s really a game-changer,” said Ryan O’Gorman, a business development energy services manager at Ford. “The truck is a giant power source. EVs are big and can power a house for days.”
Mark Bole, head of energy connectivity and battery solutions at GM, said the company plans to offer a package of devices and services so customers can get the most out of their electric vehicle. “What we see as the absolute key is making it simple and affordable for the customer,” he said.
But Mr. Pizarro, the utility executive, cautioned that energy and auto companies still need to refine the technology that allows cars to send power to homes and the grid. He expects more problems to be identified as more people start using electric vehicles for backup power.
“It’s the early days,” Mr. Pizarro said. “There will be surprises.”
