14-Hour Power Cut: Did the F-150 Lightning’s Home Backup ACTUALLY WORK?

From Transport Evolved.

Late last Friday, while preparing to publish that week’s episode of TEN — Transport Evolved News — the power to the TE Studio flickered. Then the lights went out.

We’ve owned a Ford F-150 Lightning for four years, and the Ford Home Integration System — recently discontinued entirely, and never 100% reliable — for nearly as long. Yet only recently have we seen Ford’s system show even an interest in working properly.

This power cut wasn’t a freak event. It wasn’t a planned outage, or a safety disconnection to prevent forest fires. Someone lost control of their car and took out a power pole — and it was 14 hours until mains power came back on.

So were we sitting in the dark? Or did the Ford system actually behave well enough to keep us reliably powered? It’s time to find out.

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*⏱️ Episode Timeline*

00:00 Introduction: Ortegas & the Ford Charge Station Pro
01:34 Ford discontinued it — how truck backup works now
03:43 In the cool! (and a "peak power event")
05:17 What actually happened that Friday night
06:09 Ford’s original promise of the Home Integration System
06:45 Why we got it in the first place
07:46 What caused the power cut
09:44 We lost internet — and why Starlink’s gone
11:20 Getting it working: the manual start
12:17 How much power did we use? (Home Assistant)
14:50 The needs of the well
16:33 The power glitches on cue
17:53 AC heating and cooling
20:09 Two circuits, and why we use Ford over Pro Power
21:19 We’re a ways out — having this system is a bonus
24:13 The little compromises (kettle vs espresso)
25:21 Better than a generator: the morning chorus
26:16 Thanks and goodbye!