Wired Magazine Prius Hack to act as Generator

jonbeck · 07-22-2006, 03:26 PM

I picked up a Wired Magazine on Thrusday, a red one with a guy hacksawing through and iPod. Inside their hack guide (this issue not on their website yet), there was a short article about using the Prius as a generator that you could hook up to your house. After talking to my friend in St. Louis today, it made me think this would be a cool feature to have, compared to those generators that are pretty dirty (emissions wise). Anyone tried doing something like this yet?

tacomel · 07-22-2006, 03:38 PM

Check out:

http://www.priups.com/

tumbleweed · 07-22-2006, 03:42 PM

I'm not quite sure how this would work? Seems to me the Voltage and the frequency would both be wrong and there would be no control. Where on the car would you make the connection? I don't think it's feasible. Much easier and more cost effective to buy a Honda generator.

EDIT: OK I see from Mel's link they are going to use DC directly from the battery. Of course as they point out the stuff in your house runs on AC, a few things like the toaster or the incandescent light bulbs would work on 120 Volts DC but this is going to be over 200 Volts. So you still need to convert it to AC and then run it through a transformer. As I said cheaper and safer to buy a Honda generator.

Godiva · 07-22-2006, 03:58 PM

Once the Prius goes plug-in....will using it as a generator become easier?

jonbeck · 07-22-2006, 05:04 PM

Well, I'll read over the article again (left the magazine at work) and see what the deal was. I'll let you know what I find.

tumbleweed · 07-22-2006, 05:29 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jul 22 2006, 12:58 PM) [snapback]290600[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Once the Prius goes plug-in....will using it as a generator become easier?
[/b]

I really don't know the answer, I guess no one will until we see the car. I suspect not however, they would provide a plug that went to an electrical outlet and you could put power into it to charge the car but it wouldn't be designed to work the other way. Toyota could design something that would work but they won't because they're in the car business not the emergency generator business. I do remember hearing somewhere that GM was selling a pseudo-hybrid pickup truck that you plug tools (like drills or saws) into. I doubt it would provide enough power to do much in your house though. I also believe it would be quite inefficient from a KWh/fuel standpoint. You would have a large ICE turning a small generator.

hdrygas · 07-22-2006, 08:58 PM

Toyota has and is testing the Prius as an emergency generator. It is rumored that there are a number of them being tested in the US. The Prius would be a 3.1KW generator and that is 3 times the one I have at my house and I spent too much on that. It sure is nice to have lights in the storm!

geraldc · 07-22-2006, 11:04 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hdrygas @ Jul 23 2006, 08:58 AM) [snapback]290697[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Toyota has and is testing the Prius as an emergency generator. It is rumored that there are a number of them being tested in the US. The Prius would be a 3.1KW generator and that is 3 times the one I have at my house and I spent too much on that. It sure is nice to have lights in the storm!
[/b]

And perhaps one day hybrid owners could also 'pump' electricity back into the grid and have them pay us for it.

rufaro · 07-22-2006, 11:21 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gerald @ Jul 22 2006, 08:04 PM) [snapback]290751[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

And perhaps one day hybrid owners could also 'pump' electricity back into the grid and have them pay us for it.
[/b]

Oh, you mean like when energy prices drop and your local utility company cuts their rates?

PriusLove · 07-23-2006, 02:32 PM

We keep a simple backup power system in our hall closet:

XPower Powerpack 1500 is a portable power system that can supply up to 1500 watts of household electricity – enough to run almost any electronic product or appliance you might connect to your wall outlet at home. XPower Powerpack 1500 consists of a battery pack that stores electrical energy, state-of-the-art electronics that convert 12 volts from the battery pack to household power, an AC power panel that contains two standard outlets, and a DC power panel that is used to run 12 volt products. These components are packaged into a rugged “cart” with a removable waist handle that allows XPower Powerpack 1500 to be wheeled from room-to-room or outdoors over rough terrain.

XPower Powerpack 1500 is an excellent alternative to a generator – no noise, no fumes, no fuel, and no moving parts. With the accessories provided, recharge XPower Powerpack 1500 using utility power from your wall outlet, from your vehicle, or from a solar panel.

So far we've only needed it for a few hours to run a laptop computer and provide some low watt lighting at night, but if power should be out long enough to drain the battery, I plan to recharge it through the dc connector to the car

The unit was about $250 last year.

More information:
http://www.4lots.com/xpower/xpower_1500/xp...d_Unpacking.htm
http://www.crn.com/sections/testcenter/pro...D=11&Prod=31514
http://www.invertershop.com/xantrex/xpower...rating_time.htm

07-22-2006, 03:42 PM	#3
tumbleweed Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Eastern Oregon Posts: 1,692 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: V Package: Adv. Technology Thanks: 33 Thanked 104 Times in 84 Posts Friends: 0	I'm not quite sure how this would work? Seems to me the Voltage and the frequency would both be wrong and there would be no control. Where on the car would you make the connection? I don't think it's feasible. Much easier and more cost effective to buy a Honda generator. EDIT: OK I see from Mel's link they are going to use DC directly from the battery. Of course as they point out the stuff in your house runs on AC, a few things like the toaster or the incandescent light bulbs would work on 120 Volts DC but this is going to be over 200 Volts. So you still need to convert it to AC and then run it through a transformer. As I said cheaper and safer to buy a Honda generator. __________________ Tom

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07-22-2006, 03:26 PM	#1
jonbeck Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 43 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I picked up a Wired Magazine on Thrusday, a red one with a guy hacksawing through and iPod. Inside their hack guide (this issue not on their website yet), there was a short article about using the Prius as a generator that you could hook up to your house. After talking to my friend in St. Louis today, it made me think this would be a cool feature to have, compared to those generators that are pretty dirty (emissions wise). Anyone tried doing something like this yet?

07-22-2006, 03:38 PM	#2
tacomel Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 152 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Check out: http://www.priups.com/

07-22-2006, 03:58 PM	#4
Godiva AmeriKan Citizen Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 10,342 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: Package: #1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 7	Once the Prius goes plug-in....will using it as a generator become easier?

07-22-2006, 05:04 PM	#5
jonbeck Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 43 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Well, I'll read over the article again (left the magazine at work) and see what the deal was. I'll let you know what I find.

07-22-2006, 08:58 PM	#7
hdrygas Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Olympia Wa Posts: 3,650 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: Package: #9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Friends: 0	Toyota has and is testing the Prius as an emergency generator. It is rumored that there are a number of them being tested in the US. The Prius would be a 3.1KW generator and that is 3 times the one I have at my house and I spent too much on that. It sure is nice to have lights in the storm!

07-23-2006, 02:32 PM	#10
PriusLove Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 31 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	We keep a simple backup power system in our hall closet: XPower Powerpack 1500 is a portable power system that can supply up to 1500 watts of household electricity – enough to run almost any electronic product or appliance you might connect to your wall outlet at home. XPower Powerpack 1500 consists of a battery pack that stores electrical energy, state-of-the-art electronics that convert 12 volts from the battery pack to household power, an AC power panel that contains two standard outlets, and a DC power panel that is used to run 12 volt products. These components are packaged into a rugged “cart” with a removable waist handle that allows XPower Powerpack 1500 to be wheeled from room-to-room or outdoors over rough terrain. XPower Powerpack 1500 is an excellent alternative to a generator – no noise, no fumes, no fuel, and no moving parts. With the accessories provided, recharge XPower Powerpack 1500 using utility power from your wall outlet, from your vehicle, or from a solar panel. So far we've only needed it for a few hours to run a laptop computer and provide some low watt lighting at night, but if power should be out long enough to drain the battery, I plan to recharge it through the dc connector to the car The unit was about $250 last year. More information: http://www.4lots.com/xpower/xpower_1500/xp...d_Unpacking.htm http://www.crn.com/sections/testcenter/pro...D=11&Prod=31514 http://www.invertershop.com/xantrex/xpower...rating_time.htm