I am moving into my 2012 Prius hybrid to save money in Anchorage Alaska. Rent is ridiculous. My long term goal is to save up for a tiny plot of land and build a tiny house. My short term goal is to be living out of my car in a month. So I need to figure out how I am going to accommodate my power needs. I want to be able to run and charge my computer, cell phone and accessories, a small refrigerator, a small space heater, a electrical blanket, additional lighting, my dog’s e-collar, occasionally run an induction stove top and an air fryer, and in a pinch be able to use my hair dressing tools such as my hair dryer or curling iron. I need to look professional at work and that I am not living out of my car! I am wondering what is the best solution for me. I am not to savvy when it comes to electrical things. I am definitely going to seek out some physical help in setting up whatever system I decide to go with so I don’t hurt myself or the car. All I want from you all is direction… what path should I purse? 1) Buy a power bank such as a goal zero 2) Get an inverter and hook it up to the 12v battery in the trunk. If this is the best option, what is the largest size inverter that I can use safely? I am pretty sure my Prius is a gen 3. 3) Set up an additional 12v battery with an inverter. I saw a YouTube short video where a guy did this with an optima yellow top car battery along with a 2000w inverter. Is there a better battery that I could get for this application? 4) I think this may be a long shot and if not the most expensive direction to purse. But like I said I am naive when it comes to all things electrical. Maybe this would be a best solution for my long term needs? Is there a way to tap directly into the hybrid battery without causing damage? Is this what PlugOut Power did? If I could find a person to help me install system like this, would this be cheaper than buying a goal zero? I know all these options have been discussed here in various different post in all sorts of locations on this site. To be frank, I am on information overload trying to find answers to my questions. So any advice even if it is just to point me to an archived discussion would be appreciated. Keightley
Isn’t Alaska really cold? That’s a lot of electrical demand you are wanting. Maybe you should wait until spring to do this temporary live in car plan? I guess if you leave the car running with the climate control at a reasonable temperature, it can be possible. Even then the power demands you are wanting would still need a household outlet. Maybe you’ll need to get rid of the air fryer, electric blanket, refrigerator, curling iron, hair dryers, cook top etc
It is not likely that I would use all those gadgets all at once! Yes it is cold in the winters here. I will have to make sure the car warms up with gas before doing anything really demanding on the electrical system like making dinner with an air fryer. During the day I will either be at coffee shop or library working off my laptop, at the gym, or at work. So when I am not with the car, it will obviously be off. But at night I would use the climate control feature to keep it a toasty 50 to 60 degrees. I’ve seen videos of people using a small electric heater connected to an ambient temperature sensor that turns the heater on and off accordingly. This heating setup does not seem to drain the batteries as much requiring the car to turn on frequently in the night thereby using very little gas. So I don’t think it will be that bad. Please correct me if my assumptions are wrong.
Starting below -25c(-13F) your engine will be cycling on/off every 30 sec to maintain heat, eventually the engine will be on longer than it is off. Covering the grill will reduce that only a couple of seconds per cycle but not much. A thick window insulation inside and a car cover with (strategic fresh air ventilation) might help the engine and cabin keep warm. But you have to make sure your car is pointed towards the wind so the exhaust blows away from the back of the car. If you can, renting a room will be much cheaper safer practical...even the smallest room is better than your car. This from someone who occasionally car camp a couple of days when travelling alone. Talk to friends you trust if they are willing to rent one of their rooms to you. We had a friend who considered living in her car but rented a room with us for 14 years. To this day her mailing address is still our house, and she still house sits and feed our cat whenever we are on vacation.
