Use a Prius as an Emergency Generator

[Are_grits_groceries]

If you happen to be the owner of a Toyota Prius, or any other battery-packed hybrid car, you can use it as a surprisingly effective emergency generator.

After a storm knocked out power in his neighborhood, John Sweeney did some characteristic things to keep warm in the chilly Massachusetts winter weather. His family bundled up, they burned wood, but for lack of an emergency generator to keep the lights on they took advantage of the battery based design of their Prius. The Harvard Press reports:

"Sweeney ran his refrigerator, freezer, TV, woodstove fan, and several lights through his Prius, for three days, on roughly five gallons of gas.

“When it looked like we were going to be without power for awhile, I dug out an inverter (which takes 12v DC and creates 120v AC from it) and wired it into our Prius…These inverters are available for about $100 many places online,” he wrote.

The device allowed the engine to run every half hour, automatically charging the car battery and indirectly supplying the required power."

While using a car with an inverter as an emergency source of power is no new thing, the combination of the large battery capacity of the hybrid car and it's modest fuel consumption as a generator is genius.

http://www.harvardpress.com/Features/IcestormtestsmettleofHarvardresidents/tabid/1938/Default.aspx
http://lifehacker.com/5118575/use-a-prius-as-an-emergency-generator

Huh...Never thought about it........

[lutherj]

1. That's great. Toyota shood take notice and engineer that feature into the car. nt

[mdmc]

2. hmmmnnn

[ixion]

3. actually, you can use any running vehicle

as a power plant. I hooked up a 1k inverter to my 03 Camry for 3 days of emergency power. It's hard on the alternator, but very doable.

[fel8r]

4. An inverter will run off any car or truck.

Prius not required.

:D

[Junkdrawer]

5. DO NOT USE THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER - GO DIRECT TO THE BATTERY...

Here's a $90 adapter that one might use...



The CyberPower 750AI Inverter converts 12v DC automobile power to standard 120v AC home power - up to 750 watts. Simply attach the unit directly to a 12V battery with the supplied clamps. It is equipped with 2 (two) 120v outlets for running multiple devices at the same time, and also has a convenient USB port for charging cell phones, MP3 players, and digital cameras. It has full-time surge protection that guards against power fluctuations caused by vehicle startup and shutdown, and has an ergonomic design and small foot print. It's the perfect device to power all your mobile/consumer electronics, small appliances, emergency equipment, and portable tools.

http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/products/accessories/acmobile-power/cps750ai.html

[Dover]

8. Thanks! Sooooo....you hook this up to your battery and then what?

Sorry, I'm not the least bit knowledgable of these things.

Apparently some wires have to go from this unit to the battery, and some more wires (what type?)
need to go....where?

[Junkdrawer]

11. The unit has regular AC Outlets - Get yourself a couple of long, heavy duty extension cords...

you know - the bright orange 50-100 foot cords used for outdoor electric lawn tools - and off you go.

[Dover]

13. Oh, you plug right into it. Thanks again!...n/t

[Dover]

17. A couple of more questions if you don't mind...

How do you know how many watts of energy your home devices use? And what happens if you
plug in too many devices? Will it overload?

Also, I looked and found this device which is a 1000 Watt version of the above-mentioned device.
Is that going to make any significant difference?

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CPS1000AI-1000-Watt-2-Outlet-Inverter/dp/B0014FPNFW/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1230482859&sr=1-11

[Junkdrawer]

19. Most devices have either the watt or amps listed on a UL plate in the rear....

for 120 volt AC devices: Watts = 120 * Amps. So if the fridge used, say, 6 amps, that's 720 watts. The bigger unit would help then....

In an emergency, I'd be careful and add up what I'm plugging in - I assume the unit has a breaker or fuse in the case of overloads...

[Dover]

21. Thank you again! Good to know...n/t

[conscious evolution]

22. They even make alternators

with built in invertors.
They were designed for those in the construction industry decades ago as a means of supplying temp power on jobsites that do no have power available yet.

I have to admit that using a Prius is a brilliant idea.

[Happyhippychick]

6. The car cannot be parked in the garage when you do this - carbon monoxide poisoning can ensue.

[Dover]

9. True that! Also seems like a diesel vehicle would be better for long periods of

idling, if using a traditional vehicle, yes?

Hybrids of course are MUCH cleaner and more efficient. And I'm guessing
the Prius can produce much more electricity too than a regular 12V car battery.

[DemoTex]

7. I posted about this concept over year ago ..

I posted over a year ago about an article in QST, the Amateur Radio Relay League journal, about using a PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid Energy Vehicle) as an emergency generator. A Prius at 1000 rpm (gasoline motor) generates something like 5-25 kW, more at peak RPMs. I forget the exact fuel burn rate, but I seem to recall that I calculated that I could power the house for over three days, continuously, on a tank of gas. Can you imagine the neighbors' Prius Envy at that during a prolonged power outage (like our ice-storm of '05)! Prius Party in my comfy warm home! BYOB and BYOG (gas)!

[BeFree]

10. Prius Envy!

I got it!

Wished i could afford one. Too bad the Big Three hasn't been producing a similar auto/emergency generator for years now. I maybe could afford a used American product. Guess I'll have to wait a few years. Same old story all over the place: Hurry up and wait!

[Dover]

12. You were ahead of your time. So how long might a regular car battery run

and how much electricity would it produce?

[DemoTex]

18. Short answer: Not long and not very much.

A car battery is designed to give a short, high-amp burst of energy for cranking .. thus the rating CCA (Cold Cranking Amps).

I use sealed AGM (Absorbant Gas Mat) batteries as my ham radio station backups. A 12-v 26 amp AGM battery will give me 26 amps for one hour (or 13 amps for two hours, or 52 amps for thirty minutes, etc). The AGM battery is fine for running the receiver, but it doesn't last long once the transmitter button is pressed.

An AGM battery farm, trickle-charged by a solar array, would be better than car batteries. But it is difficult to amass enough battery power to produce the kilowatts needed to power a home.


AGM battery

[petronius]

14. Sounds very cool. I don't get how "the device allowed the engine to run every half hour,"

however; do hybrids start the engine automatically when the battery is low, as long as the ignition switch is on (i.e. the 'device' had nothing to do with that part of it)?

[originalpckelly]

15. New ad slogan: Genius or Prius? You decide.

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. Another implementation of the same idea. (12v generator)

http://theepicenter.com/tow02077.html



Thought about doing this at my cabin.

[hunter]

20. The 12 volt system of the Prius is there to run the usual accessories.

It's purpose is much the same as the 12 volt system of any car. You don't need a Prius to run an inverter.

If there was a high voltage inverter system built into the Prius for this purpose, you might not have to start the engine more than once a day, or even less, depending upon your household electric demand. Maybe Toyota could add that feature, they could design the motor control system to serve a dual purpose -- it could become a womping big 30 kilowatt generator, big enough to share power with your neighbors maybe.

In any case something like a Honda EU2000i portable generator is a less expensive solution. You can hook one of those up to a 12V battery and keep a few lights on for a couple of days with one gallon of gas.

You want to go easy on the environment and still have backup power? Buy an old used econo-box, maybe a Toyota Corolla or Ford Fiesta or something, and get yourself a nice little inverter-generator with the money you saved not buying a brand new Prius.

Or walk and light a few candles at night.