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If "Tech-Savvy Prius Owner Uses Hybrid To Power House During Snow Storm" is not shown property. Visit the source link above.
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When an ice storm
knocked out power to much of New England, one Toyota Prius owner
reached for his inverter and powered some of his home with the
happy little hybrid. Smug FTW? Yes. |
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John Sweeney, of
Harvard, Massachusetts, was among the many residents of Eastern
Mass without power after a big ice storm hit on December 12th.
Sweeney, an electrical engineer, saw his Prius as the answer. Using
an inverter, he converted the DC power coming out of the car into
AC power for his house. Though he couldn't run his entire house one
his one car, they were able to get approximately 17 Kilowatt hours
of energy. This was enough to power his refrigerator/freezer,
television, lights, wood stove fan and accessories for a few days.
Although anyone can use a regular DC power supply, like the battery
found in a non-Hybrid car, but a hybrid is
ideal. |
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First, 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. Second, unlike some backup battery systems found in
homes, the Prius, like other cars, can recharge its batteries
with its normal internal combustion engine. And here's the best
part — 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. The efficiency of the auto-on
feature meant Sweeney only used around five gallons of gas. As
with any time you're trying to use your vehicle as a generator,
you'll probably want to use a well-ventilated
area. |
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