NJ Man Powers Home with Hybrid Car During Blackout (house, water, good)

[Dude111]

Some tri-state residents who lost power during Sandy found temporary refuge from cold and dark homes inside their cars. For one New Jersey man, he used the power from his hybrid car to light up his entire house.

Bob Sakala of Paramus says he bought his Toyota Prius Hybrid in June to save gas. In the week since the storm, he powered his home on three-quarters of a tank of gas. [more]

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local...177998891.html


Good for him!!!!!

[NJBest]

I reported in the NJ forum that I did this. My first time was during Irene in 2011. It worked well, so I did it again during Sandy. I don't have a prius though.

I used a 2400 Watt inverter. This guy used a 300 watt. You can't even run a refrigerator off 300 watts. I was able to power the fridge, furnace (ng), water heater(ng), all the needed lights, tv, radio, computers and cell phones.

It's common sense imo and pretty common among folks who own hybrids. You don't need a hybrid to do it, but hybrids will be more efficient.

[eskercurve]

Way to go for this guy!

An interesting note ... the Fukushima nuclear accident might not have been as bad if quick-thinking employees weren't hamstrung by procedure and following the rules... there's a story out there that a plant manager needed to get a battery - plain old car battery - to power some of the equipment to sensors in the plant. If they could power them up, they could redistribute power to where it was needed most. Further, a string of them could have powered the generator to turn a valve to redistribute the diesel in some of the damaged generators to other good ones, which would have "only" resulted in one or two of them exploding.

The response? Go to the hardware store. Which was 10 miles away. And wait while he called HQ. And wonder if one of the employees could buy on their personal card and get reimbursed for it. All in all, it took 18 HOURS to do all that flubbing about. The guys who said let's string the car batteries together were stopped because of "safety reasons."

Needless to say, once this leaked out, people were incredulous how "procedure" and "protocol" and "rules" and being a brown-noser could go so far. So yeah. I don't trust the guys who run TEPCO any futher than I can throw them. And we all know the results.

Moral of the story - don't underestimate the ability to improvise. And don't let stupid sh get in the way. Do now, ask forgiveness later.

[Themanwithnoname]

I keep a $60 800 watt inverter in the back of the truck I've run a fridge off of.

I keep a 200 watt inverter that plugs into the cig lighter to run small appliances off of.

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by NJBest

I reported in the NJ forum that I did this. My first time was during Irene in 2011. It worked well, so I did it again during Sandy. I don't have a prius though.

Well good for you also my friend,im glad you were lucky as well!!

Better than a generator?? -- Sounds like it

[NJBest]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Well good for you also my friend,im glad you were lucky as well!!

Better than a generator?? -- Sounds like it

It has its pros and cons.

Pros:

- It's much more efficient than a generator (Power is supplied by the battery and the engine only has to turn on a few times an hour to charge the battery; whereas a generator runs constantly, not matter the watt load).
- You already have the car for another utility, so it's not an added expense.
- It's easier to fill up if you have to rely on it for an extended period of time.
- You can run it during a hurricane if you have to.
- Burns cleaner (cars have catalytic converters and other components that reduce pollution)

Cons:

- In order to get more than 2400 Watts, you have to tap into the 240AC wiring (which can supply upwards of 30,000 Watts)... but this requires a bit more work and can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.
- A natural gas generator doesn't require refilling and is cheaper to operate.
- A generator can be permanently wired into your home. A car requires you to wire it up every time you need it.
- A portable generator can be more mobile. You can lend it to a neighbor or family member more easily.

There's other pros and cons I'm sure. This is just what came to mind.