Very nice video, Frank. I would suggest getting a cover for the battery end of the Anderson connector. That way it's completely protected when tucked away. I put my fuse (100A, because the 2010 Prius has a 140A fuse on the battery) right after the positive terminal, not on the inverter side. That gives more protection. You don't need to park another car in front of / behind the Prius when it's running to keep it from being stollen. Just don't leave your key fob in the car, and lock the doors with the manual key, which disables all locks until manually unlocked again. And close the window. I've used my Prius during a power outage caused by a storm to run our freezer in the basement, telephone system, internet, computers, and a few other small things. Unfortunately, our refrigerator's startup spike was too much for the inverter, so I couldn't run that. Because the car was in the garage, I opened the garage door manually just enough to set some 4x4 blocks under the door, then attached my shop vac hose to the exhaust pipe on the Prius with the other end out the door. The Prius tailpipe doesn't get hot enough to melt the hose, which fits very nicely, so I can vent the exhaust this way for hours.
I'm amazed the exhaust doesn't get hot enough to melt a plastic hose even after hours of use. I know the car doesn't run continuously but still surprising.
I think Gen II 2004-09 Dc/Dc Inverter fuses in the car are lower - maybe 100A. People don't want to blow that; fuse your 12v positive lead below whatever your car's internal DC/DC fuse is...
@@cawag98 I agree. Mine is a 2010, Gen 3, fused at 140A, that’s why I chose to fuse my inverter at 100A, to be on the safe side. I don’t know what the Gen 2 is fused at.
Why use the 12 volt system rather than the 3 phase output from the motor generator? Any 12v battery could charge a inverter like that, but the motor generator could run the whole house. Im looking for a plug in wire harness for the 3phase system on a gen2 Prius.
Frank, you're the man! I just pinged you on LinkedIn to see if we could connect. I have an '07 Prius I've been wanting to do this with for awhile. I'm also tinkering with battery back up for the house. Loved your blog too .. will be trying some of your recipes!
I've heard the later model Priuses and quite possibly the RAV4s can handle up to 2000W. The Toyota RAV4 Prime with the appropriate packages includes a factory 1500W inverter with the 120VAC NEMA-15R in the cargo area. If you use a hybrid with a factory inverter, use it and don't overload it. If the factory inverter breaks and you didn't overload it, it's on the manufacturer to fix it if it's still under warranty.
Big question: Does this work with a 2004 Prius which I believe has a NiMh battery? I know it is a bigger battery than they use now, but will the drawing power all the time negatively effect it?
Just so I can be clear, you are attaching to the 12 volt starter battery, not the main car drive battery and this battery is also charged by the Prius engine? Is that correct? Thanks
Correct, that’s what he’s doing. The 12v battery not the high voltage hybrid battery. The high voltage system keeps the 12V battery charged, and the gas engine keeps the high voltage battery charged.
I would not call the 12v battery the starter battery though. The 12v battery just runs the computers, relays, radio, lights etc. "The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is not started by the 12V battery like a typical automobile. Instead, the engine computer uses power from the traction battery to spin the motor-generators (MG1 and/or MG2) to start the engine." The 12v battery is charged by the drive(traction) battery with a DC to DC converter. The traction battery is charged by the motor/generators when the engine is running or you are coming to a stop while driving.
I have a 2019 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. How would I found out the Max of a inverter that could be connect to house battery? Would really like to see someone connect inverter to the battery pack. Image how much power the electric motor draws from it. That would be a lot of power to get into the house.
Thanks for cool video! Just wondering - do you have basement sump pump on manual transfer switch? Or was the starting amps above what a 1000 watt sine-wave inverter can deliver?
I'm sorry, but I don't have a basement sump pump. I would do some research online to see what the peak draw is and that should help you size the appropriate inverter for your home. You can also try using a kill-a-watt, but they don't do a good job in tracking peak usage, only current.
What is the largest inverter you can use? How does one determine how much power is too much to ask the Prius to provide at one time? If there was a power outage, I certainly wouldn't be using my dishwasher, microwave or toaster oven, but the furnace motor, refrigerator, small freezer, several laptops, routers, and lights which I might be using all at the same time could add up to a bit of wattage.
OK... rolling out your fridge to plug it in to an extension cord (cable) is out of the question. It's a nice system you there, in any event. Well done.
You can still lock your car. Either roll down the window, close the door, lock from inside and just roll the window up automatically. Or the way I always do it if I leave a pet in the car is use the old fashioned key. You don’t even need to leave a key inside.
fantastic Frank. Thanks for such an informative vid. I'm in Union Co NJ. Major issues with Sandy and Irene. Quick question: Reading comments and got a bit confused on Inverter sizing. Do you see a problem using a 3K pure sine Inverter? Reason is I would like to be able to run power tools if need be. Thanks again. Tom
Frank, Great video and application, we also have a Prius Plug-in... just wondering if you've used it during a power outage and did the Prius run all night?? Also any issues when having the car serviced with the "Anderson" plug dangling off the 12v battery? Also I believe if you turn the Prius on then take the keys with you the car will stay on... not sure for how long though ( It only beeps at the beginning??)
+Mike B Oddly, there hasn't been a power outage since so I don't have any real world testing (yet). The Anderson plug dongle really gets tucked down and out of the way so it's not noticeable and I doubt a service tech would even notice it. The prius does stay on, so you're right. I accidentally left it running for a few hours and came back to hear the AC still running! doh
100A x 12V =1200W x 90% efficiency = 1000W usable power. Bigger inverter will last longer and handles power spikes better. You can use any size inverter as long you will draw up to 1200W from your prius
Yes, you can get 3kw, but it's very dangerous to work with the traction battery. There are people who've done it over on PriusChat. I do not recommend it. If you mess up and live, you could still damage the traction battery and they are not cheap!
Totally agree. If you need 2, 3kw or more, then your best bet is to get a traditional generator system. This is only for short term emergencies with very instances of lost power. To date, I have had only two power outages and they only lasted a few hours so I didn't even both trying to hook up the Prius to the house. The funny consequence about losing power from Sandy/Irene is that the local utility has done a lot of work to update their service to prevent these type of outages in the future.
I disagree with you. 1000W is not very practical other than just running the electronics. If you have the fridge compressor going and the furnace fan blowing and a washing machine and a microwave oven running, then 1kW is not enough. I understand this is probably the best DIY can achieve drawing from the 12V battery. Toyota on the other hand could build-in this generator feature into their cars by tapping energy from the 200V battery. I remember seeing a Toyota concept video where the Prius is used as a whole house generator. So they know there is a market, they just don't sell it as a solution.
Thanks for the comment, but unfortunately it looks like you didn't read through my explanation on my linked blog or watch the video. The purpose of this is for emergency power. In a power outage, doing laundry and using the microwave is not an emergency. I have already tested the system and I can run my furnace and all all the electronics OR run the fridge and most of the electronics. For me, the priority was basic lighting and heat for the winter or keeping the fridge cold in the summer.
Frank Perkins I understand there is a difference in expectation. Emergency generator should supply enough power for some basic needs especially regarding food. So, keeping the food from spoiling and heating up food would probably be needed by most people. Hence, I expected running the fridge and microwave. Though you can always control via the switch to pick one OR the other, but it would be a convenience if the inverter is powerful enough to allow unsupervised simultaneous operations of these appliances. I always wonder whether the 200VAC 3 phase output to the air conditioning compressor can be stepped down to household AC current via a transformer. The prius itself has a very powerful inverter that converts from 200VDC to 200VAC for the compressor and 500VAC for the MG1 and MG2. It would be nice if one of these 3 powerful AC currents can be used via a transformer. Adding an inverter to the 12VDC battery is nothing in terms of power capacity compared to what the high voltage inverter can do.
cplai I would never try to run something like AC through the Prius. Although you might be able to tap into the 200v battery pack, I wouldn't recommend it because of safety and possible issue with frying the entire car. This is pretty "safe" and does what I need. I should also mention that I have natural gas as my heat source so if I needed to cook, it's not an issue since I can use my stove.
No worries. That’s what insurance is for. Lol. If we can get the specs off the electric motor and don’t pull more then it would I would think all would be good. Personal I just can’t find the info of the electric motor of my Hyundai just a part number.
Up in the north (or where you have valuable things that will spoil in a fridge), 1000w is the difference between suffering through a power outage in style or catastrophy to home and family. Look at Texas during the Feb 2021 'polar vortex' storm that is raging... This setup can do nothing for drinking water supply issues, but it can run either a furnace or a medium sized fridge.
Actually, there is something you can do. 1) Don't leave the key fob in the car. The car, once started, runs without it. It only beeps at you when the door is opened. 2) Use the emergency manual key that's hidden in the side of your key fob to manually lock the doors when you leave. This not only locks the doors, it also disables all entrance to the car (by another fob) until the doors are manually unlocked again. and 3) Don't leave the window open. :) Great video.
@TerrelWSmith apparently knows the solution for this by manually locking the doors. There's an easy way around this if his solution doesn't work; The Club and lock the steering wheel. I think his solution plus The Club will work. If you're going to use a hybrid as a backup generator, you should probably invest in The Club anyway as a home generator vehicle security measure if you can't garage the vehicle when it's being used as a generator. Do your due diligence and test your security options if you elect to use any hybrid vehicle as a home generator.
The idea has recently occurred to me to integrate the guts of a prius into an RV. The most useful aspect of course, being what makes it good for a home generator; the engine turns itself on to top up the battery, and uses very little fuel through regular use. Any idea how this might be accomplished? How well might the battery bank be expanded? Would this be a practical application with, for example, an older prius, being retrofit into use as an RV generator? Do you know if the engine and battery would still function the same if the electrics were left attached, but most of the other functional parts of the vehicle, the wheels, wheel motors, et cetera were removed?
Very nice video, Frank. I would suggest getting a cover for the battery end of the Anderson connector. That way it's completely protected when tucked away. I put my fuse (100A, because the 2010 Prius has a 140A fuse on the battery) right after the positive terminal, not on the inverter side. That gives more protection.
You don't need to park another car in front of / behind the Prius when it's running to keep it from being stollen. Just don't leave your key fob in the car, and lock the doors with the manual key, which disables all locks until manually unlocked again. And close the window.
I've used my Prius during a power outage caused by a storm to run our freezer in the basement, telephone system, internet, computers, and a few other small things. Unfortunately, our refrigerator's startup spike was too much for the inverter, so I couldn't run that. Because the car was in the garage, I opened the garage door manually just enough to set some 4x4 blocks under the door, then attached my shop vac hose to the exhaust pipe on the Prius with the other end out the door. The Prius tailpipe doesn't get hot enough to melt the hose, which fits very nicely, so I can vent the exhaust this way for hours.
Good tip! Thanks.
I'm amazed the exhaust doesn't get hot enough to melt a plastic hose even after hours of use. I know the car doesn't run continuously but still surprising.
I think Gen II 2004-09 Dc/Dc Inverter fuses in the car are lower - maybe 100A. People don't want to blow that; fuse your 12v positive lead below whatever your car's internal DC/DC fuse is...
@@cawag98 I agree. Mine is a 2010, Gen 3, fused at 140A, that’s why I chose to fuse my inverter at 100A, to be on the safe side. I don’t know what the Gen 2 is fused at.
Why use the 12 volt system rather than the 3 phase output from the motor generator? Any 12v battery could charge a inverter like that, but the motor generator could run the whole house. Im looking for a plug in wire harness for the 3phase system on a gen2 Prius.
Found anything?
Another option is to use 200V traction battery, but it is hard to find rhe off the shelf inverter for that.
Frank, you're the man! I just pinged you on LinkedIn to see if we could connect. I have an '07 Prius I've been wanting to do this with for awhile. I'm also tinkering with battery back up for the house. Loved your blog too .. will be trying some of your recipes!
Thanks Frank just installed a 1500w inverter in my Prius works like a charm.
Which Gen Prius do you own?
I've heard the later model Priuses and quite possibly the RAV4s can handle up to 2000W. The Toyota RAV4 Prime with the appropriate packages includes a factory 1500W inverter with the 120VAC NEMA-15R in the cargo area. If you use a hybrid with a factory inverter, use it and don't overload it. If the factory inverter breaks and you didn't overload it, it's on the manufacturer to fix it if it's still under warranty.
Big question: Does this work with a 2004 Prius which I believe has a NiMh battery? I know it is a bigger battery than they use now, but will the drawing power all the time negatively effect it?
are you just pulling power from the tiny 12V prius battery?
Just so I can be clear, you are attaching to the 12 volt starter battery, not the main car drive battery and this battery is also charged by the Prius engine? Is that correct? Thanks
Correct, that’s what he’s doing. The 12v battery not the high voltage hybrid battery. The high voltage system keeps the 12V battery charged, and the gas engine keeps the high voltage battery charged.
I would not call the 12v battery the starter battery though.
The 12v battery just runs the computers, relays, radio, lights etc.
"The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is not started by the 12V battery like a typical automobile. Instead, the engine computer uses power from the traction battery to spin the motor-generators (MG1 and/or MG2) to start the engine."
The 12v battery is charged by the drive(traction) battery with a DC to DC converter.
The traction battery is charged by the motor/generators when the engine is running or you are coming to a stop while driving.
I have a 2019 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. How would I found out the Max of a inverter that could be connect to house battery? Would really like to see someone connect inverter to the battery pack. Image how much power the electric motor draws from it. That would be a lot of power to get into the house.
How is your gas efficiency compared to honda 2000eu ? Hours per gallon at 1500w?
Thanks for cool video!
Just wondering - do you have basement sump pump on manual transfer switch?
Or was the starting amps above what a 1000 watt sine-wave inverter can deliver?
I'm sorry, but I don't have a basement sump pump. I would do some research online to see what the peak draw is and that should help you size the appropriate inverter for your home. You can also try using a kill-a-watt, but they don't do a good job in tracking peak usage, only current.
What is the largest inverter you can use? How does one determine how much power is too much to ask the Prius to provide at one time? If there was a power outage, I certainly wouldn't be using my dishwasher, microwave or toaster oven, but the furnace motor, refrigerator, small freezer, several laptops, routers, and lights which I might be using all at the same time could add up to a bit of wattage.
How did the system work with everything running at the same time? Can you post links to where to find all the connectors, cables, etc. that you used?
OK... rolling out your fridge to plug it in to an extension cord (cable) is out of the question. It's a nice system you there, in any event. Well done.
Does it have to be a prius plug-in or prime, or can you use the regular prius hybrid?
You don't need, prius use the big battery charge the 12V battery With DC 100A current, so it can power this 1000w inverter
You can still lock your car. Either roll down the window, close the door, lock from inside and just roll the window up automatically. Or the way I always do it if I leave a pet in the car is use the old fashioned key. You don’t even need to leave a key inside.
fantastic Frank. Thanks for such an informative vid. I'm in Union Co NJ. Major issues with Sandy and Irene. Quick question: Reading comments and got a bit confused on Inverter sizing. Do you see a problem using a 3K pure sine Inverter? Reason is I would like to be able to run power tools if need be. Thanks again. Tom
That seems to be a common question. Check out the comments here: www.fperkins.com/me/prius-home-generator.php
Anyway to derIve 220Vac for a well pump?
Frank,
Great video and application, we also have a Prius Plug-in... just wondering if you've used it during a power outage and did the Prius run all night?? Also any issues when having the car serviced with the "Anderson" plug dangling off the 12v battery? Also I believe if you turn the Prius on then take the keys with you the car will stay on... not sure for how long though ( It only beeps at the beginning??)
+Mike B Oddly, there hasn't been a power outage since so I don't have any real world testing (yet). The Anderson plug dongle really gets tucked down and out of the way so it's not noticeable and I doubt a service tech would even notice it. The prius does stay on, so you're right. I accidentally left it running for a few hours and came back to hear the AC still running! doh
Could u get a bigger power inverter and power your whole house all year ? Seems like it would be cheaper
100A x 12V =1200W x 90% efficiency = 1000W usable power. Bigger inverter will last longer and handles power spikes better. You can use any size inverter as long you will draw up to 1200W from your prius
Is the hybrid battery recharge the 12V battery when is low without the ICE started?
Yes. After some time the traction battery will get low, and the gas engine will kick in and charge it back up.
For emergency needs
Frank, could you have connected a higher power inverter to the high voltage side of the prius to get perhaps 2kw power instead of 1kw?
Yes, you can get 3kw, but it's very dangerous to work with the traction battery. There are people who've done it over on PriusChat. I do not recommend it. If you mess up and live, you could still damage the traction battery and they are not cheap!
Totally agree. If you need 2, 3kw or more, then your best bet is to get a traditional generator system. This is only for short term emergencies with very instances of lost power. To date, I have had only two power outages and they only lasted a few hours so I didn't even both trying to hook up the Prius to the house. The funny consequence about losing power from Sandy/Irene is that the local utility has done a lot of work to update their service to prevent these type of outages in the future.
I disagree with you. 1000W is not very practical other than just running the electronics. If you have the fridge compressor going and the furnace fan blowing and a washing machine and a microwave oven running, then 1kW is not enough. I understand this is probably the best DIY can achieve drawing from the 12V battery. Toyota on the other hand could build-in this generator feature into their cars by tapping energy from the 200V battery. I remember seeing a Toyota concept video where the Prius is used as a whole house generator. So they know there is a market, they just don't sell it as a solution.
Thanks for the comment, but unfortunately it looks like you didn't read through my explanation on my linked blog or watch the video. The purpose of this is for emergency power. In a power outage, doing laundry and using the microwave is not an emergency. I have already tested the system and I can run my furnace and all all the electronics OR run the fridge and most of the electronics. For me, the priority was basic lighting and heat for the winter or keeping the fridge cold in the summer.
Frank Perkins I understand there is a difference in expectation. Emergency generator should supply enough power for some basic needs especially regarding food. So, keeping the food from spoiling and heating up food would probably be needed by most people. Hence, I expected running the fridge and microwave. Though you can always control via the switch to pick one OR the other, but it would be a convenience if the inverter is powerful enough to allow unsupervised simultaneous operations of these appliances. I always wonder whether the 200VAC 3 phase output to the air conditioning compressor can be stepped down to household AC current via a transformer. The prius itself has a very powerful inverter that converts from 200VDC to 200VAC for the compressor and 500VAC for the MG1 and MG2. It would be nice if one of these 3 powerful AC currents can be used via a transformer. Adding an inverter to the 12VDC battery is nothing in terms of power capacity compared to what the high voltage inverter can do.
cplai I would never try to run something like AC through the Prius. Although you might be able to tap into the 200v battery pack, I wouldn't recommend it because of safety and possible issue with frying the entire car. This is pretty "safe" and does what I need. I should also mention that I have natural gas as my heat source so if I needed to cook, it's not an issue since I can use my stove.
No worries. That’s what insurance is for. Lol. If we can get the specs off the electric motor and don’t pull more then it would I would think all would be good. Personal I just can’t find the info of the electric motor of my Hyundai just a part number.
Up in the north (or where you have valuable things that will spoil in a fridge), 1000w is the difference between suffering through a power outage in style or catastrophy to home and family. Look at Texas during the Feb 2021 'polar vortex' storm that is raging... This setup can do nothing for drinking water supply issues, but it can run either a furnace or a medium sized fridge.
Thank-you soo much . This video answered all my questions.
which Gen Prius?
G Wernette it’s a 2012. I think that is gen3?
I've thought about doing this with a Volt.
Thanx, nice job
Would be nice if Toyota had a generator-only mode so people can't drive off with your car.
GoatZilla nice idea! I would park my other car in front so they would have to steal that one before they can get the Prius ;-)
Frank Perkins Yes, I'm just thinking for people without second cars, or worse yet, for more desperate times where that might not deter people.
Actually, there is something you can do. 1) Don't leave the key fob in the car. The car, once started, runs without it. It only beeps at you when the door is opened. 2) Use the emergency manual key that's hidden in the side of your key fob to manually lock the doors when you leave. This not only locks the doors, it also disables all entrance to the car (by another fob) until the doors are manually unlocked again. and 3) Don't leave the window open. :) Great video.
@TerrelWSmith apparently knows the solution for this by manually locking the doors. There's an easy way around this if his solution doesn't work; The Club and lock the steering wheel. I think his solution plus The Club will work. If you're going to use a hybrid as a backup generator, you should probably invest in The Club anyway as a home generator vehicle security measure if you can't garage the vehicle when it's being used as a generator. Do your due diligence and test your security options if you elect to use any hybrid vehicle as a home generator.
Videos del prius
thanks!
Here is a link to my blog entry which has all the details and more links: www.fperkins.com/me/prius-home-generator.php
The idea has recently occurred to me to integrate the guts of a prius into an RV. The most useful aspect of course, being what makes it good for a home generator; the engine turns itself on to top up the battery, and uses very little fuel through regular use. Any idea how this might be accomplished? How well might the battery bank be expanded? Would this be a practical application with, for example, an older prius, being retrofit into use as an RV generator? Do you know if the engine and battery would still function the same if the electrics were left attached, but most of the other functional parts of the vehicle, the wheels, wheel motors, et cetera were removed?
f****** genius