The winter storm that devastated most of Texas this week left millions of residents without water and electricity – but some people were able to keep the lights and heaters running, thanks to vehicles that could provide emergency power.
Ford has even gone out of its way to ask Texas dealers to offer loans for the new F-150 PowerBoost, a hybrid version of its full-size truck that can deliver up to 7.2 kilowatts of power through a built-in generator.
“It was a lifesaver,” Jerry Hall, a retiree in Kerrville, Texas, told NBC News. ‘It gave us all the amenities. We did not sit in isolation in the dark. ”
The storm that hit Texas this past weekend dumped both ice and snow over an area not accustomed to severe winter storms. Due to a combination of factors, the state’s energy network was largely short-circuited, leaving millions of residents without power.
When Hall’s power was cut off last Sunday, he backed his new Ford truck to his garage and began rolling out the extension cords. He bought the hybrid version of the F-150, specifically to get the built-in generator – which he expected to camp or to use remote power tools.
“I did not know I needed it for something like that,” he said by telephone.
The optional generator – which Ford calls the Pro Power Onboard system – took three days to turn on again. It provided enough energy to handle a fridge, a freezer, lights, the cable and the internet box and a television.
Hall had a large fireplace to keep his cottage cozy. But Randy Jones, of Katy, Texas, said his place would soon freeze without his own F-150 PowerBoost, which he used to power space heaters, as well as lights and appliances.
“It was a blessing for me and my neighbors,” Jones said, adding that he let the neighbors pass by to connect their phones and other devices to a power strip he had set up.
Earlier this week, Ford reached out to its Texas dealers to see if they could help locals.
“Due to the urgent and unprecedented weather situation in Texas, a number of our local dealers are using brand new Ford F-150s with Pro Power Onboard to assist in their communities,” the automaker said in a statement. ‘About 415 trucks fall within this effort. ”
Ford’s new F-150 is not the only truck that can serve as a generator, but other optional systems are limited to about 2 kilowatts, or barely enough to power a single electric heater and a pair of LED light bulbs.
Ford is not the only carmaker getting kudus to help in the storm. A Reddit user who goes by the screen name Razzooz posted a comment saying “My Tesla prevented my family from freezing last night.” The family, including a newborn daughter, were able to sleep in the car in the garage to stay warm without worrying about carbon monoxide poisoning. “If I did not have this car, it would have been a very difficult night,” the Redditor said. wrote.
Other Texans addressed social media to praise Tesla’s Powerwall battery backup system, which kept the lights on and the heat on.
The California-based carmaker plans to offer a two-way charging system that has access to energy stored in the vehicle, just like a backup generator, when the lights go out. And it’s not alone. Nissan and several other EV manufacturers are developing similar systems that can help supply energy to individual homes, even the entire network, during eclipses and eclipses.