Make Your Toyota Prius A Top Quality Generator With This Neat Add On
The wild weather we have faced recently had me thinking. What if I had been without power for days on end? I began to search around and see what options are out there if I were to have an emergency. Here is what I found.
Plug-Out Power, The Better Generator For All
I came across a pretty neat tool that takes your Prius and turns it into an ultra-efficient generator. The unit that plug-out power offers can come in two variations offering to give you 3kW or 5kW of pure sine wave power.
That means you can run your refrigerator, fans, and heaters (should you need to) and let your Prius do the heavy lifting. The little unit is quite impressive and interfaces right into your Prius with a few minor modifications.
What I Like About It, And What I Do Not
I think that plug-out power has a way fabulous unit. I know I have not gone very deep into what all it can provide, but I believe that you should read that for yourself.
It does provide a pure sine wave and does not "power surge" when loaded. You will also have a generator that operates at least 30% more efficiently due to the Prius' Atkinson cycle. It is also quieter and has a lot more features.
What I do not like about it. There are not many things I dislike about this unit, and honestly, these have to be taken with a grain of salt.
The unit is huge. It takes up nearly the entire hatch portion of the Prius. If you plan on pulling a small trailer or tent camping, this is a great unit to have tag along.
The price is another thing I am not wild about, but it depends on how you look at it. If you were without power to your house and needed help, this would be priceless. If you were going to a block party and needed to hook up many blenders to make drinks, this would be worth it.
Conclusion
I suggest taking a look at plug-out power and seeing what it can do for you. Remember, this is a high-powered generator that works with your car. I would also suggest comparing it to standalone generators of the same KW rating and see what it costs to maintain and buy one of them.
Do you own a plug-out power unit? Let me know how you like it. Drop me a line on Twitter. Until next time, I hope all is well.
To see more about them check out their website here. Pricing will also be listed.
Do you own a Prius, it could be worth a premium by summertime.
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Peter Neilson is an automotive consultant specializing in electric cars and hybrid battery technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Service Technology from Weber State University. Peter can be reached on Linkedin and you can tweet him at The_hybrid_guy on Twitter. Find his page on Facebook at Certified Auto Consulting. Read more of Peter's stories at Toyota news coverage on Torque News. Search Toyota Prius Torque News for more in depth Prius coverage from our reporters.