New research findings from Ford prove that the Ford Ranger Plug-In Hybrid’s Pro Power Onboard function can provide a cleaner, cheaper and more practical alternative to a traditional petrol generator for many commercial customers.
For Irish tradespeople and farmers, this could be a gamechanger. Pro Power Onboard removes the need for a separate generator and fuel cans, freeing up valuable load space and payload while cutting fuel costs, reducing administration and lowering theft risk.
TRADITIONAL GENERATOR vs PRO POWER ONBOARD
In a series of controlled tests conducted at Ford’s engineering facilities in the UK, engineers compared a typical 4 kW portable petrol generator with the Ranger PHEV’s available 6.9 kW Pro Power Onboard system across a range of real-world worksite scenarios, including charging power tools, operating heaters and boiling kettles.
The results showed substantial reductions in harmful emissions when using Ranger PHEV’s integrated power system. Compared with a standard petrol generator providing equivalent power output, Pro Power Onboard produced significantly lower levels of key pollutants. Testing found that a petrol generator can emit on average more than 450 times more carbon monoxide and almost 100 times more hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (NOx) than the Ranger PHEV when used to provide site power. These pollutants are associated with respiratory illness, poor air quality and workplace safety risks.
The testing also revealed that the Ranger PHEV used less fuel than the generator when delivering comparable power output. Once operating at normal temperature, Pro Power Onboard consumed approximately half the fuel of the generator, while operating with battery support reduced fuel use even further, cutting fuel costs by almost one-third. As a result, tradespeople and farmers could save more than €1,400 per year in operating costs by using Pro Power Onboard instead of a petrol generator for just one hour each working day.
Beyond emissions and operating costs, replacing a standalone generator with Pro Power Onboard offers practical benefits for customers including increased load space, improved payload utilisation, reduced fuel handling requirements and lower theft risk.
