Is stage 4 load-shedding bringing you down from cloud 9? Ford has an electric car that could power your entire house. But is today’s technology a tomorrow thing for South Africa?
In South Africa, load-shedding is rife! But it’s not at all surprising. We are a nation of energy-exhausting people. We prefer our air-conditioned rooms, our showers hot, and our chicken and veggies oven roasted! But as the world transitions to more planet-friendly solar and wind systems for their power demands which aren’t always accessible to everyone, it also offers more feasible solutions to power supply problems.
Are you tired of constantly asking Google, “Is Eskom currently load-shedding”? The Ford F-150 Lightning Truck could be the pickup to carry your electricity load. Theoretically, most EVs have batteries large enough to power a small home during load-shedding. In the US electric trucks, specifically the Ford Lightning, are the backup generators of today! The Lightning can pump as much as 9,6 kilowatts into your home; enough to power everything you’ll need during another stage 4 power cut.
But there’s a catch!
For all this to work, you need to purchase the home integration system, which transfers the electrical energy from the car into usable power for your home. More on that here.
There is light at the end of the load-shedding tunnel, but is SA ready?
The traditional home solution for most SA households is to buy a portable generator to pick up the slack during load-shedding. Although driving range has improved to 400 km+, battery prices are coming down, and more charging stations are available – we still have some way to go before EVs can become commonplace in Mzansi. Affordability is still an issue!
SA’s middle to low LSM groups can barely afford the cost of generators as a source of backup power, nor solar or wind technologies, so the idea of using our cars to power our homes will remain just another great idea for the future in most South African households.
