Use your hybrid as a generator

[billvon 3,116]

Ran an experiment over the weekend to see if I could get backup power from a hybrid. A few pictures are attached.

The idea is that a hybrid has a quite beefy motor/generator system that is, among other things, designed to recharge the traction battery even if it's just sitting there at a red light. Since the battery is pretty large, the hybrid system is designed to do this at a level of many kilowatts, so that after a battery has been depleted (say from climbing a hill) the car can recharge from the gas engine fairly quickly. This power can be used to run other loads.

The Prius in particular uses a ~220 volt ni-mh battery for traction. It's located in the back of the car just behind the rear seats. (See BatteryView.) After you take off half a dozen plates and brackets you can see the actual terminals (see TerminalsDetail.) The terminals that you see there are fortunately de-energized when the car is off, and in addition there is a safety connector that you can remove that disconnects the batteries completely.

So the first step is to attach additional wires to the battery terminals. I used an old 12 gauge extension cord with a non-twist 240 volt 20 amp connector on the end. This is an odd enough connector that the likelihood of someone accidentally plugging into this is low. I ran the wire from the battery terminals to a spare storage box in the back (see EndOfCord.)

That gets you about 220 volts DC, which actually quite a few home loads will run off. Anything with a universal switcher input (like most computer supplies) will run off this, but of course discovering what _won't_ run off this sort of power could be an expensive proposition. So part 2 is the inverter. (See Inverter, AC_end and DC_end.)

The inverter is a Chinese inverter that accepts from 180-260 volts DC and converts it to 120V 60Hz AC. It is rated to 2000 watts and will surge to 3000 watts. It was $395 on Ebay.

I hooked it all up (with a 30 amp fuse in line just in case) and powered the inverter on. It gives out a good looking 160 volt peak to peak sine wave, which is what normal 120VAC looks like. I ran a 1500 watt heat gun on it with no problems. Haven't tried anything bigger yet.

So I am now better prepared for a longish blackout. (Of course, in San Diego these almost never happen.) I am also prepared to power entire tent cities at homebrewing campouts, tailgate parties and Burning Man.

(BTW if you look at the first picture you will notice an orange plug to the far left of the picture. That's the safety plug that disables the battery. It is a bear to get back in right, and it took me 2 hours of fussing, poking and prodding to get it back in correctly, wondering all the time if I'd have to get a tow truck to tow the thing to the dealer if I couldn't get it back in. You actually have to reach into the battery and get your finger on the other side of the signal connector as you are seating it, which to me sorta misses the point of a safety plug.)

[kallend 2,148]

billvon

Ran an experiment over the weekend to see if I could get backup power from a hybrid. A few pictures are attached.

Clearly cheaper than buying a backup generator from, say, Honda. Any issues with engine cooling?

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(BTW if you look at the first picture you will notice an orange plug to the far left of the picture. That's the safety plug that disables the battery. It is a bear to get back in right, and it took me 2 hours of fussing, poking and prodding to get it back in correctly,

Kinda like replacing a headlamp bulb in my Subaru or my wife's Prius.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[BIGUN 1,484]

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So I am now better prepared for a longish blackout. (Of course, in San Diego these almost never happen.) I am also prepared to power entire tent cities at homebrewing campouts, tailgate parties and Burning Man.

Excellent. Will there come a point wherein these cars will be able to power themselves?

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[billvon 3,116]

>Clearly cheaper than buying a backup generator from, say, Honda. Any issues with engine cooling?

Not so far, and not from anyone I have talked to who has done similar tests. (The M/G can actually provide about 20kW so the system is running at about 10% load.) Also the engine cycles on and off to keep the battery charged, and even at a 2000 watt load, people report the engine only running about 25% of the time.

[shropshire 0]

Cool.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome