Man Uses Prius to Power House for 3 Days During winter storms

[Michael_Bluth]

I can't believe this is possible. It's amazing. I might do what this guy did. He somehow powered his fridge, freezer, tv, and bunch of lights for three days with is Prius using only five gallons of gas


thecollegedriver.com/posts/219-Prius-Used-as-an-Emergency-Generator

[C.RICKEY HIROSE]

Yep, 50 kw hours of continuous energy producing Prius can do and become life savers !

[bwilson4web]

This begs a home-grown U-tube commercial.

Bob Wilson

[zenMachine]

The Harvard Press has reported that a few of the residents of Harvard used their Priora (plural of Prius) as emergency generators for their houses when the power went out.

Priora??

BTW, running a freezer?!?

[MikeSF]

Yeah, snow storm and running the freezer is important. Just get an ice chest, fill it full of snow and leave it outside! (not that I know really how this "snow" stuff works here in San Francisco )

But I tried to run my saltwater reef tank off my prius when a known power outage was coming, didn't work as expected though, the modified sine wave the cheapy inverter I was using wasn't very friendly with pumps.

[Puzzler1]

Anyone know what the size limits of the inverter would be that can be used on the Prius? Even with the car left on to keep the 12 volt battery charged, there must be a limit of how much amperage the car will push out to keep the battery charged.

Running a refrigerator and freezer together is a pretty good load without adding tv and lights.

This does sound like a good emergency system if ever needed. And it costs less to buy a good quality inverter than to buy a generator.

[bob_ninja]

I am confused:

Residents did this by simply hooking up an inverter to Prius battery, which converted the current from 12 volts DC to the 120 AC

There 2 batteries. The standard small 12V for general electricity needs and the main propulsion pack which I think is over 200V, right? I assume that HSD is mainly concerned with monitoring and charging the much bigger battery pack, right?

So then how can they get any power from the smaller 12V battery? Few years back it might have been Katrina, someone in Florida did this, used Prius as a generator. However I always thought it was the main big battery pack.

Anyway what exactl did they use, the smaller 12V sealed led acid, or the big NiMH pack????

My generator which is around 10hp I think generates 15 kW which is plenty for what is described in the article. Prius engine can certainly generate even more power as Riskey noted.

Still, assuming the engine power NiMH pack, I assumed you'd have to wire the main NiMH pack. If it is 200+ volts, then you'd need something more fancy than a 12V inverter, no?

[jdenenberg]

Originally Posted by bob_ninja

I am confused:

Yes Bob you are confused.

There 2 batteries. The standard small 12V for general electricity needs and the main propulsion pack which I think is over 200V, right? I assume that HSD is mainly concerned with monitoring and charging the much bigger battery pack, right?

Yes, but there is a DC-DC converter that maintains the charge of the 12v battery that can safely deliver about 100 amps of 12v power (that's 1200 watts)

So then how can they get any power from the smaller 12V battery? Few years back it might have been Katrina, someone in Florida did this, used Prius as a generator. However I always thought it was the main big battery pack.

Both have been used, the traction battery can deliver significantly more power

Anyway what exactl did they use, the smaller 12V sealed led acid, or the big NiMH pack????

My generator which is around 10hp I think generates 15 kW

10 hp is 7500 watts but since there is some inefficiency, it will deliver less. My 16hp generator is rated at 7500 watts(continuous use).

which is plenty for what is described in the article. Prius engine can certainly generate even more power as Riskey noted.

Still, assuming the engine power NiMH pack, I assumed you'd have to wire the main NiMH pack. If it is 200+ volts, then you'd need something more fancy than a 12V inverter, no?

See: PriUPS-getting electricity FROM your hybrid vehicle for a full discussion.

JeffD

[bob_ninja]

Ooops, that was a typo. I should have said 5 kW instead of 15 kW for generator. Thanks.

Yes, but there is a DC-DC converter that maintains the charge of the 12v battery that can safely deliver about 100 amps of 12v power (that's 1200 watts)

Ahhh, didn't know that although makes perfect sense. So one can pull a limited amount of power via 12V terminals albeit using a simpler setup and cheap inverter. Cool

thanks

[Puzzler1]

If I understand jdendenberg's info correctly, a 1200 watt inverter is the maximum a Prius can handle? What kind of amperage would a regular car alternator put out to accomodate the inverters available for as high as 5000 watts. It would seem that no alternator would put out enough power for that capacity. I don't know if any vehicles have 400 plus amp alternators, but the inverters are out there. Do they just run a short time till the battery is low even with the engine running?

Thanks for any understandable explanations.


Terry