Using car as generator for house power

It's the output "100 volts x 15 amps = 1500 watts, so 20 amp #12. Should be fine, is voltage is a bit higher, even better.

Alan.. Sent with Tapatalk 2

 

A 9A AC, 110V AC, steady-state works. Short surge, 2-5 seconds to 12A AC is feasible if the battery is directly connected. I agree that 20A AC is impractical ... even 15A AC is impractical.

Bob Wilson

 

There is some confusion here...

An inverter on the 12V side can not really provide 1500W. 100A fuse 14.6V ... and there loss (5-10% min) .... 1460W max so on the AC side you can not have that 15A just NO WAY ....

Whether the car inverter is capable of more I do not know or would try. The inverter I have 12VDC-110VAC is for 1000W sustained/2000W surge .... so I am no even expecting that current level

If you are referring to tapping the HV battery directly ... that is 200V plus so you would see 7-8A for that power (1500W) feeding the inverter and double that for the 110V AC side

 

No problem, I was just going by the article in the above link.
" It supports a voltage of 100V and a wattage of 1,500W."
Toyota Prius' New Function Supplies Electricity to Home Appliances -- Tech-On!


Alan.. Sent with Tapatalk 2

 

I don't think we're confused. The 12V side is pretty much limited to 1 kW. The traction battery side is an open question although Richard has already achieved 3 kW.

Based upon my studies, the limit should be about whatever the traction battery can provide which I believe is in the 20-26 kW range. For sustained power, whatever the current (unknown) control laws will let the engine-MG1 supply.

Bob Wilson

 

Not quite true. These are legit, as they physcially prevent someone from backfeeding the utility line. They make all different ones for different panels.

 

I was aware of those. They make one for my breaker box. I am not sure if i meets code. They also well locks for a single or dual breaker.

 

I had an electrician recently to do a survey for sandy damage and I specifically asked about it. He said I can do interlock switch and use the house wiring and he can have a plug (some kind of special thing) installed outside and it is legal the main issue physical generator feed and main feed cannot be on at the same time. Then you can connect any generator. So this is not a hospital or datacenter live failover but for a home this is sufficient...

Since I am doing full rewiring of the main floor this is not really any extra at all and a good idea to do at the same time.

 

And for those of us in 230v countries? Publically available 12v to 220v, 1000w or 1500w inverters can be had for very reasonable money in the same way they are to yourselves in America. Are the amps the same? I'm sure I remember something about Ohms law where there's a connection with volts, amps and watts etc. What we gain on volts over here, would we lose out on amps? Can I run a 230v fridge off the inverter or a 400w tv etc?

I do like the idea of a 1000w inverter for the car. Could be handy.

 

The watts are universal. Amps multiplied by volts is watts. So in the 110V AC USA, a 1kW inverter is ~9A circuit. In the UK, I would expect ~4.5A.

What I would suggest it making sure every important load (including house heaters,) be on a "plug in" circuit. This allows you to 'fan out' the Prius power to where it is needed using extension cords.

Bob Wilson

 

That is what I did. I installed a 50A plug on the side of the house a quick connect natural gas line. When the power goes out I turn off the main breaker and flip a 50A breaker connected to the generator.



If I was doing a full rewire of the house I would pay $200 for a transfer switch.

Amazon.com: GenTran R500250 One-Circuit Outdoor Generator Transfer Switch for generators up to 12500 watts: Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

exactly right ... if you want a heating or cooling A/V system ... make sure that a circuit for it is crated and you PLUG IN the unit ...

That way you have the choice to run a direct line to that particular equipment ...

Right now I don NOT have that ...

Also Bob is right in 220V you would have the same "power" 1300-1450W watts max about just a little over 4A ...

But many appliance with "motor" in them have big kick in currents especially anything with compressor ..... i.e. frigde AND AC....

watch for that

 

The math is simple:

Watts = Volts * AMPS
AMPS = Watts / Volts
Volts = Watts / Amps

Often a motor will have an in rush of current that is 5X what the device really uses. Devices like a refrigerator, garbage disposal, air conditioner will all have a hard time with 1,500 watts. I suggest a normal generator for items like that.

 

Your in twice as good a shape for amps as us in the US.

For a given wattage if your voltage is double, your amperage is half.

Alan.. Sent with Tapatalk 2

 

Electrician here-

If you use one of these

You won't have to make a "suicide cord" (a cord with 2 male ends) and used with a UL listed breaker interlock kit it does meet the requirements of NEC article 702. Local standards may vary slightly but I have installed systems like this before and had them inspected personally.

 

Actually his Prius drives his UPS during an outage, while it can recharge the UPS batteries that isn't the primary purpose. I have the same setup and I unplug my battery bank after hooking up the Prius since the voltage isn't exactly compatible (too high).

Connecting to the house isn't a big deal, the UPS handles the load for a little while until you pull out an extension cord and plug in the Prius. Everything else is already in place - subpanel, all AC connections to/from the UPS, etc.

 

I went the exact opposite route. 8 1/2 years ago I researched the hell out of options and determined our 12 kw Generac supplied via LPG would be the most secure option. One thing Generac doesn't talk about though, just how much they cost to run during a long outage. An hour or two is no big deal, but neighbors here talk about being out for 2 weeks after an ice storm and we were out for 55 hours after Sandy.

Now I have the UPS & Prius option and the best thing about that is it is very efficient. Uses about as much gas as a 2000 watt Honda inverter-genset which is perfect for running base loads overnight and during the day... plus it is completely silent. Where the Generac would have cost a ton to keep a few hundred watts going for hours on end, the Prius costs only a few bucks.

 

Give us numbers. Did it cost $10 a day to run a 12K generator or $100 a day? My 10K generator runs 6 hours on a 20lb propane tank. That is $80 a day. Half that for natural gas. Who cares about $40 a day when you do not have power.

Saving $30 a day using a 1k Prius to power a couple items compared to powering the entire house for a little more does not make sense to me.

 

Many of the numbers are in my signature link. My Prius/UPS setup puts out 4000 watts, not 1000, powering almost all of my 120 volt circuits. I could do 240 volt appliances but the few I run were already on my 12 kw genset so I left them there. Bottom line it IS running the whole house... three televisions, satellite boxes, furnace blower, wood stove blower, all lights inside and outside the house, laptops, clocks, etc. 4000 watts will run all of that at one time so no load management is necessary.

My 12 kw Generac uses 1.5 gallons of LPG per hour from base load to half-load. So for the 16 hours a day I only need 200-300 watts for base loads it would cost $84. I rarely go above half-load even with an electric water heater and well pump, so for the other 8 hours a day when we are awake/home I would burn another $42. $128 per day @ $3.50/gallon. If I had used it for all 55 hours I was without power after Sandy it would have cost me $288. Your 5871 uses 1.25 gallons/hour from base load to half-load so yours costs $105 per day @ $3.50/gallon.

The Prius averages me 0.13 gallons per hour when being used to power everything listed above during normal use so 24 hours costs me $11 @ $3.50/gallon. 55 hours would cost me $25.

That's a savings of $117 per day, not $30. And if I had used either option exclusively for the full 55 hours after Sandy the difference would have been $263.

I would much rather pay $11 per day to run my whole house than $128. Plus I can take that 4000 watts on the road and power anyone else's house for 2 1/2 days from one tank of gas.

 

This is a persuasive argument- if taken only on a comparison of the dollar amounts. But your argument ignores two very important facts, bot of which I pointed out earlier.
One, we're talking emergencies. In the year and a half since my generator was installed, we've had exactly two three-hour outages, not counting the weekly 12-minute exercise cycle. And, if I weren't interested in giving the generator the occasional real run, neither of those three-hour outages would have been actually necessary. We were here both times, and I could have just as easily shut the Generac down until it was over, as nothing was going on that really needed electricity.
Two, no matter how efficient the Prius (which I conceded in my earier post), it is not and cannot be a standby generator, barring leaving it at home when one travels, and having it hooked up to some sort of standby / startup rig.
So- the two aren't so comparable after all.