Source: Toyota Prius' New Function Supplies Electricity to Home Appliances -- Tech-On! When can we get this with North American voltage and frequency? My first Prius mod added a 1.0/1.2 kW inverter and we have used it at least once each year including four days and six hours during the Alabama tornado disaster. Now that the 3/36000 warranty is over, I'm working on a 1.5/3.0 kW inverter for my wife's ZVW30. The Toyota version seems a little high, $800, but if we consider a 2x multiplier by the suppler, a real world cost of $400 seems reasonable. We don't know enough about the Toyota unit but it looks like there is no space loss. It should also be well integrated into the car instead of my 'reverse engineering.' Bob Wilson
Thanks but the article suggests the PIP version is different from the standard Prius. Normally, I don't follow the PIP threads so this might catch a few more eyes. Regardless, the Japanese news article briefly covers each . . . as newly released options in Japan. Bob Wilson
Ouch, I agree $800 is a bit high ( I was hoping it was a $300 to $600 option). Given the recent natural disaster in Japan - I think it is long overdue that Japan have vehicles that double as a emergency generators - but I'm glad Toyota is doing this. I think the most important part of having Toyota design it is to make sure there is adequate circuit overload protection and that the AC current is clean enough for sensitive digital equipment. An emergency generator option on a Prius is going to make it the the Swiss Army knife of hybrids. Every boy scout type is going to have to get one! RFLOL.
$435, twice the wattage and you can still drive to the grocery store without turning out the lights. 3000-Watt Generator-HGCA3000 at The Home Depot
This may be the solution for some folks but there are other issues: noise - the Prius is all but silent due to a better exhaust system. carbon monoxide - a fatal gas, people die from these generators but the Prius catalytic converter reduces this by a factor of 100. refuel often - typically 4 hours run time on a single tank, the Prius runs typically 40 hours on a single tank at maximum load. However, at our usage, two gallons per day, were looking at more than five days without refueling. efficient - two gallons per day for our 1 kW inverter works for us. home doesn't need power 24 x 7 - during an outage, the generator has to be refueled, about ten times more frequently than a prius. inverter power when traveling - going to the grocery store, other AC loads can be run in the car. A generator can not be used in a Prius while on a cross-country trip. Having a generator is better than 'cursing the darkness.' Having a Prius UPS meets our needs with 1 kW but if the power outage when going for groceries is a problem, get a second Prius (any excuse in a storm.) Bob Wilson
Many households have two cars. If one is a Prius that is tied up as an emergency generator, the other can be used for other needs (provided fuel is available). Also, a 1000W inverter is cheaper than a generator and still can get you through an extended emergency, as some folks have demonstrated with their Prius during Sandy.
I think the objection was to the $800 Toyota solution, versus much less expensive dedicated generator. One problem with a dedicated generator that you use infrequently is stale gas or diesel. You would think Toyota could come up with an inexpensive 1KW or 1.5KW solution though. Many would buy it just to plug electronics in during camping trips if the price was low enough.
