Prius powers home during post-Sandy blackout

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Many residents who lost power during Hurricane Sandy turned to home power generators to keep the lights on. Others sought temporary refuge–and warmth–inside their cars.

Then there was Bob Sakala, who used a more unconventional, albeit not unheard of, method to power his home during the blackout that affected more than 8.5 million homes and businesses across 21 states in the U.S.

The New Jersey resident tapped into his Toyota Prius hybrid to provide power to his home, NBC News reported.

For about a week after the storm, Sakala was able to power some lights, charge electronics and power his TV using a 100-watt power inverter plugged into his Prius' lighter outlet and a few heavy-duty extension cords. Sakala later upgraded to a 300-watt inverter to power more lights.

And he did all of this on three-quarters of a tank of gas that lasted close to a week.

There are periodic reports (usually after a major storm has caused power outages) of folks who use their hybrid to provide some power to their homes. After the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, for instance, there were a number of reports of residents using their hybrids as a power source.

http://www.smartplan...t/5469?tag=main

[Danno 1,228]

Finally a good reason to buy one of these high priced things.

Or if you wanna save thousands of dollars as well as have a means to power other people homes (incase disaster strikes a friend or relative).... you could just pick up a generator to have on hand.

Edited November 14, 2012 by Danno

[Ban Hammer 13,407]

Or if you wanna save thousands of dollars as well as have a means to power other people homes (incase disaster strikes a friend or relative).... you could just pick up a generator to have on hand.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/toyota-recall-2-8-million-vehicles-worldwide-steering-055747695--finance.html

By Yoko Kubota | Reuters – 10 hours ago

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> said it will recall 2.77 million vehicles worldwide, including some of its popular Prius hybrid cars, for steering and water pump problems in the carmaker's second multimillion-vehicle recall in a little over a month.

[natty bumppo 297]

Many residents who lost power during Hurricane Sandy turned to home power generators to keep the lights on. Others sought temporary refuge–and warmth–inside their cars.

Then there was Bob Sakala, who used a more unconventional, albeit not unheard of, method to power his home during the blackout that affected more than 8.5 million homes and businesses across 21 states in the U.S.

The New Jersey resident tapped into his Toyota Prius hybrid to provide power to his home, NBC News reported.

For about a week after the storm, Sakala was able to power some lights, charge electronics and power his TV using a 100-watt power inverter plugged into his Prius' lighter outlet and a few heavy-duty extension cords. Sakala later upgraded to a 300-watt inverter to power more lights.

And he did all of this on three-quarters of a tank of gas that lasted close to a week.

There are periodic reports (usually after a major storm has caused power outages) of folks who use their hybrid to provide some power to their homes. After the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, for instance, there were a number of reports of residents using their hybrids as a power source.

http://www.smartplan...t/5469?tag=main

another story regarding this technology usage was published in the nytimes over 5 years ago.

nice to see it's old news ... made new again.

nyt story 02 sept 2007

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

I have a Prius. Great little car. As for running your home off of it using a power inverter. Being a Prius really made no difference in that, the lighter, lights starter etc all run on a single automotive battery just like a regular car. If you leave you lights on the Prius battery will die but it will not affect the hybrid batteries. Two total different systems.

A 300 watt power inverter will only power a few lights and a low TV. He could have done the same thing with a marine battery and a power inverter .

In other words if he had Yukon he could have done the same exact thing.

If the Hybrid batteries on a Prius gets drained 100% you have had a bad day

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Many residents who lost power during Hurricane Sandy turned to home power generators to keep the lights on. Others sought temporary refuge–and warmth–inside their cars.

Then there was Bob Sakala, who used a more unconventional, albeit not unheard of, method to power his home during the blackout that affected more than 8.5 million homes and businesses across 21 states in the U.S.

The New Jersey resident tapped into his Toyota Prius hybrid to provide power to his home, NBC News reported.

For about a week after the storm, Sakala was able to power some lights, charge electronics and power his TV using a 100-watt power inverter plugged into his Prius' lighter outlet and a few heavy-duty extension cords. Sakala later upgraded to a 300-watt inverter to power more lights.

And he did all of this on three-quarters of a tank of gas that lasted close to a week.

There are periodic reports (usually after a major storm has caused power outages) of folks who use their hybrid to provide some power to their homes. After the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, for instance, there were a number of reports of residents using their hybrids as a power source.

http://www.smartplan...t/5469?tag=main

An inverter would work on ANY car.

It's just science. Why are some so surprised by it.

ETA: a diesel would be a better choice to run a long time at idle.

Edited November 14, 2012 by John Galt

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

An inverter would work on ANY car.

It's just science. Why are some so surprised by it.

ETA: a diesel would be a better choice to run a long time at idle.

Your right. reporters and the media rarely get things right.

[Ban Hammer 13,407]

another story regarding this technology usage was published in the nytimes over 5 years ago.

nice to see it's old news ... made new again.

nyt story 02 sept 2007

they just had a recall, they need some positive publicity!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I wonder how many brain cells he lost by letting his car idle, and breathing the exhaust fumes.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I wonder how many brain cells he lost by letting his car idle, and breathing the exhaust fumes.

If anything it sounds like that fella was anti environment the way he was polluting the air and all by letting his car idle for that long.

[Boiler 45,670]

I think the point is that the battery pack would only need to be recharged once a day.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

I think the point is that the battery pack would only need to be recharged once a day.

Do what ??? How do you figure that ? First he was not pulling of the battery pack and how much re-charge would depend on it's draw. If all he was doing was charging a cell phone maybe, or possibly one small light.

I did not read that in the article >

[one...two...tree 2,762]

"For about a week after the storm, Sakala was able to power some lights, charge electronics and power his TV using a 100-watt power inverter plugged into his Prius' lighter outlet and a few heavy-duty extension cords. Sakala later upgraded to a 300-watt inverter to power more lights.

And he did all of this on three-quarters of a tank of gas that lasted close to a week."

[one...two...tree 2,762]

"And while it's true that any car battery would work, with the proper adjustments, a hybrid battery is ideal for the operation:

The Prius carries a much larger batter pack than a regular car, allowing someone to power more appliances for longer than the conventional AC Delco found in most cars. And . . . because the Prius automatically turns itself on when the batteries drain to a certain level, Sweeney left the car running and it automatically turned over when it needed to recharge—about once every 30 minutes. If you were trying to do what Sweeney did with a non-hybrid, you'd find yourself spending a lot more time outside in the cold.

And here's the best part: the total amount of gas the Prius used to power Sweeney's home for three whole days? Five gallons. Now that's efficiency."