Scottsdale's Resideo Technologies partners with Ford on EV-to-home power project

A Scottsdale-based home technology company is partnering with Ford on a project to explore the use of electric vehicle batteries in home energy management.

The project pairs Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric trucks with Resideo Technologies’ (NYSE: REZI) smart thermostats to test how leveraging bidirectional EV charging can reduce energy consumption in homes during peak demand times.

Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric trucks are equipped with bidirectional charging, meaning they have capability to supply energy to homes in the event of power outages.

"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," Bill Crider, head of global charging and energy services, Ford Motor Co, said in a statement. "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."

Ford and Resideo are envisioning a possibility for electric vehicles and homes to share the same energy source, automating heating and cooling systems and interacting with each other to shift power usage when needed to save customers money.

"The two largest contributors to an individual's carbon-emission footprint are usually their car and the heating and cooling of their home," Dana Huth, Resideo’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer, said in a statement. "With this EV power partnership project, we can discover new ways for F-150 Lightning owners to utilize their EV battery to power their home's heating and cooling and to help build a home energy management strategy that can optimize their home's comfort and energy use."

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Bidirectional charging essentially allows owners to turn their electric vehicles into four-wheeled batteries, sending power back to their homes, appliances and the electric grid. The practice is growing in popularity as more automakers — including Ford, Hyundai and Kia — are adopting the feature in their electric vehicles.

In August, GM announced bidirectional charging will be available in all of its electric vehicles, beginning with its 2026 models. Additionally, Tesla’s newly-launched Cybertruck features bidirectional charging and the company is planning to include it in all of its electric vehicle models by 2025.

Resideo declined to provide additional comment on its partnership project with Ford, stating it's premature to share more details as it's in the “simulation phase.”

The company, however, told the Business Journal work is underway on the project, which is expected to be complete in the first half of 2024.

Resideo relocated HQ to Scottsdale in 2022 

Resideo, a spinoff from Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON),  is a global provider of home security, safety and smart home automation products.

Resideo is the 15th largest publicly-traded company in Arizona, measured by annual revenue and net income. The company generated $6.37 billion in revenue and net income of $283 million in 2022, according to Business Journal research.

Resideo moved its headquarters from Austin to Scottsdale in 2022.

Resideo’s CEO and president Jay Geldmacher told investors on a 2021 earnings call that moving to Scottsdale better positions the company near key customers and suppliers, while consolidating its real estate – a move that was expected to generate more than $2 million in annual savings.

At that time, Resideo was one of Austin’s largest publicly-traded companies by revenue, according to the Austin Business Journal.

Resideo has more than 15,000 employees worldwide with 3,700 based in the U.S.

The company declined to provide the number of employees based in Scottsdale. It occupies an office at 16100 N. 71st St. in the SGA Corporate Center at Kierland.

Resideo’s stock closed $17.24 a share on Thursday, up 1.3%. Track the stock here.