In the wake of Hurricane Sandy millions of people in New York and New Jersey were left without power for days; some for more than a week.
Rather than face a difficult time without any form of electricity, one innovative man from New Jersey managed to convert his Toyota Prius into a generator. He attached an inverter (which takes 12v DC and creates 120v AC from it) to the car's battery system, and then wired the unit to his house's mains supply. His Prius supplied enough electricity to power the lights in his house, the television, and his computer, for an entire week, whilst only using three quarters of the tank of petrol.
Some people used two stroke generators to supply power for their homes; however a Prius produces far fewer emissions, although it is a tad more expensive.
Relevant Article: Why Electric Cars Don't have a Future
This is not the first time that an enterprising person has managed to use their Prius to create electricity for their house during a blackout. Last year a man in Massachusetts also turned his car into an electric generator. "When it looked like we were going to be without power for a while, I dug out an inverter and wired it into our Prius… These inverters are available for about $100 many places online," he said.
There any many sites on the internet that offer instructions explaining how to turn a Prius into a generator.
By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com
James Burgess studied Business Management at the University of Nottingham. He has worked in property development, chartered surveying, marketing, law, and accounts. He has also… More
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CARS AND TRUCKS AS POWER PLANTS
This is an example of Vehicle to Grid (V2G) power: An electric car, equipped with a two-way plug, when suitably parked, can sell 10 kW of electricity from the batteries. The car owner can perhaps earn up to $1,800 each year.
When electric cars are fueled by what presently appear as "highly improbable" technologies, such as magnetic generators, they are estimated to be able to provide even more power to the local utility when parked. No plug or wires required.
Such vehicles may eventually prove able to pay for themselves. Imagine the market for cars and trucks that are mobile generating plants.