A Rivian owner facing repeated outages in Santa Barbara, California, is considering using the truck as a backup power source instead of paying for a conventional home battery install. 

After getting storage quotes above $20,000, they asked other electric vehicle owners whether a Rivian could handle a small set of essentials when the power cuts out.

Here's what to know

On Reddit, the owner wrote that their "power goes out several times a year" and said solar battery quotes "keep coming in over $20k." Because the need was limited to one built-in fridge, some lights, and a few small appliances, a cheaper backup option for essentials rather than a whole-home system was seen as the best option.

Commenters outlined a range of ways to do that, from simple extension-cord use to generator interlocks, manual transfer switches, and portable batteries that sit between the truck and the home's circuits. 

One commenter said, "The Rivian inverter has a max of 1500 W," adding that they had relied on extension cords for a freezer and refrigerator during outages.

For households dealing with repeated blackouts, adding battery storage is one of the most effective ways to protect a home during outages, lower energy costs, and gain more energy independence. 

Homeowners comparing options can explore EnergySage for home battery storage choices and competitive installation estimates, and EnergySage has teamed up with electrification brand Qmerit to help homeowners get the best price on home battery storage solutions.

More background

Cost was a major theme in the thread, especially the difference between installed whole-home battery systems and pieced-together alternatives. 

The original poster said they had started "to give up" on waiting for bidirectional charging and had seen estimates suggesting a future charger setup could cost about $8,000, which still felt expensive compared with a large portable power bank.

A number of replies focused on using a power station as the go-between for the truck and the house. In that setup, the Rivian charges the portable battery, which then feeds a home through a transfer switch or inlet. 

One commenter said a setup like that can work if household use stays under roughly 1,200 watts while the Rivian charges the buffer battery at about 1,400 watts. The same commenter said they use load shedding for server and network equipment, which "saves me 7kwh a day if i do that."

What can be done?

Even without official vehicle-to-home capability, some Rivian owners said they have already assembled outage backups around their trucks.

That kind of workaround can provide basic backup without the cost of a five-figure installation. It can keep food cold, lights on, and critical devices running while reducing dependence on the grid.

The original poster indicated in the thread that they were going to go with the Pecron F5000 system after getting a recommendation from a thread visitor.

For readers who want something smaller and less expensive than a whole-home system, Pila is another company offering strong battery backup options. Pila's plug-and-play batteries are priced at a fraction of what a whole-home backup system would cost, which aligns with the thread's focus on lower-cost resilience.

Where can I learn more?

How to keep essentials powered during an outage is a common topic of discussion.

• During an outage, EVs kept the grid operating and proved emergency backup can scale.

• GM's push to power homes in blackouts has run into steep install-cost concerns.

• More homeowners are installing backup batteries without paying upfront costs through financing.

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