For home EV chargers and home energy management at large, the holy grail for a lot of consumers is vehicle-to-home charging. In the simplest terms, it means being able to use the charge in your EV’s battery to potentially run parts of your home during an outage or in other times of need. While still rare at this point, Ford and Resideo Technologies, Inc., are pushing towards something that may bring vehicle-to-home charging closer to reality.
Called the “EV-Home Power Partnership” this collaboration between the two companies has been made to “explore the potential of electric vehicle batteries to support optimal home energy management,” as per a Ford press release on the topic.
The project will explore, test and quantify the customer benefits of a vehicle-to-home EV charging arrangement with a Resideo smart thermostat in a simulated smart home system.
“The two largest contributors to an individual’s carbon-emission footprint are usually their car and the heating and cooling of their home,” said Dana Huth, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer, Resideo.
A manufacturer of a variety of technology-driven products, most integrators may be familiar with Resideo through its First Alert security brand, its Honeywell Home smart thermostats and its distribution brand ADI. However, the company has a longstanding relationship providing load management programs for utilities, and has been slowly growing its portfolio of energy management products within the space.
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Ford, likewise, is no stranger to energy management in the home. Having recently released its all-electric full-sized truck this year, the company touts the Ford F-150 Lightning as being the first electric truck on the market to offer bidirectional charging in the home.
According to Ford, the F-150 Lightning already has the capability to power the home in the event of an outage through available Intelligent Backup Power.
The EV Home Power Partnership project will simulate the integration of Resideo’s smart thermostats with the energy stored in the battery on the F-150 Lightning, which, according to Ford, can be smartly coordinated to help power the home’s heating and cooling systems.
The project is reportedly designed to assess how coordination between the two systems can reduce home energy demand during times of high-grid stress. Additionally, the simulation will test how this coordination may allow a system to leverage cleaner energy on grid if renewable energy is available.
“Driving electric is unlocking an entirely new world of personal energy management that could not only save our customers time and money, but also help support a more sustainable energy grid,” said Bill Crider, head of global charging and energy services, Ford Motor Company.
“Successful vehicle-to-home energy management solutions would give Ford EV drivers as well as utilities and power companies the confidence to accelerate future vehicle-to-grid services never-before thought possible with traditional vehicles.”
Having first come to the forefront at CEDIA Expo 2022, energy management solutions have gradually risen to prominence within the smart home space. While still fledgling compared to other categories, major home technology players such as Samsung, Savant, Legrand, Schneider, Rosewater and Resideo have been making greater and greater strides, particularly on the grid side as more and more manufacturers look towards the potential value these solutions hold for utilities in addition to clients and customers.
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