Could my FEH be used as a emergency generator to run my refrigerator and some lights in my home? I have the little 150 watt outlet in my cab but is there a way to tap into the high voltage battery with a power inverter that can output more power than the 150 watt outlet. My fridge pulls 145 watts at 1.81 amps.

Could I connect a power inverter to my 12 volt battery and draw power from the HV battery and when the HV battery gets low the car will recharge the battery automatically???

If this is not possible is there another way or will this involve a total hack of the system.

I'm trying to prepare myself for a future disaster. California is past due for a large earthquake.

I think the idea of having such a large battery to store power is a great resource to tap into. If I bought a stand alone generator it would have to run constantly and I would have to pay $300 to buy one.

What do you guys think?

The battery is not so large, but the generator capacity is large enough. You would need special controls for the motor and a 300Vdc to 220Vac inverter. THis application would likely void your warranty!

2008 FWD Escape Hybrid

I read an article a few months ago about this. Someone is looking at converting hybrids into emergency home generators, using the ICE w/ EV generator (and not the HV battery) to power one's home.

What would one call such, a "plug out" hybrid ??

Best single LD trip: 35.3mpg

It is possible if Ford would allow this patented unit to be available. They must be concerned that we would use this unit as a plug-in method and save to much gas or something.

Just think of the possibilities of the FEH/MMH carrying 15 gallons of gas in the tank and being able to just about go anywhere and supply power. It could start and recharge the HV battery and the air pollution and noise would be much less than than one of those portable generators. On top of that, you could turn on the cabin A/C to cool down or get some sleep.

Those of us that have been through a disaster like myself (hurricanes) know what the value of this unit could be. In fact, this is one of the reasons I got my FEH. When Ford stated the FEH could get over 400 miles on a tank of gas, I started thinking about those long gas lines before and after a hurricane I've faced. Flooding and the higher clearance with AWD gives you a better chance to get into or out of a disaster area. What about the slow moving traffic as everyone tries to evacuate? Running out of gas at an idle on the Interstate was also a thought.

HEV charger/generator unit

The present invention provides an apparatus, system, and method of utilizing a Home Power Unit ("HPU") which functions as a battery charger for a Hybrid Electric Vehicle ("HEV") or as a generator, utilizing the HEV's electrical power to operate external electrical devices. In its simplest form, the HPU comprises a Transformer, inverter means, rectifier means, a control unit, connection means to the HEV and external electrical loads or sources and switching means to change operation between charger and generator function. Alternative embodiments of the present invention utilize the HEV's existing components thereby avoiding component redundancy within the HPU. Specifically, in the first alternative embodiment, the inverter means are utilized within the vehicle, therefore, requiring only filter and transformer to be added to the vehicle. In the second alternative embodiment, the vehicle's DC-to-DC Converter is utilized as opposed to implementing a transformer. Therefore, only an inverter and filter are added to the system.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/672...00&stemming=on

This is down right crazy that this unit isn't available. Did Ford just get the patent to prevent someone else from selling them? Maybe Ford wanted us to void our warranty by hooking one of these units to our vehicle. All I can say is Ford had the Tech taking pictures of my FEH looking for signs of plugging a charger into it. It's all about money!

GaryG

I asked about this in a similar thread a while back and we came to the conclusion that you can pull a steady 1300 watts off the 12 volt system. I just ordered a 1000 watt inverter (2000 watt surge) from Costco for $68 (free shipping). My plan is to attach this (square wave) inverter to my battery and run an extension cord to the refrigerator, etc.

A 150 watt inverter won't start or run a refrigerator. My refrigerator draws about 600 watts to start, 200 continuously.

I have a 4000 watt gas generator, but who wants to run it all night to keep the refrigerator cold?

Good idea Tom. That is what I would do.

If you manually cycle the ignition key, you can pull about 250 watt hours between engine starts, or 500 watts for 30 minutes, 1000 watts for 15 minutes ( you get the picture ) but if you leave the key in, everything will work in "auto" but the gas engine will cycle every 5-10 minutes regardless of charge status just to keep the engine hot. Good Luck!

P.S. I slept in mine to keep warm while stranded without a hotel in a snow storm last winter, and just at idle, for heat, ( no electrical devices ) I used less than half a gallon in 5 hours of sleep.

In comparison, I think my generator uses 5 gallons fuel / 8 hours run time and pollutes like crazy / is deafeningly loud.

A popular solar grid tie system from Germany connects the solar array for 300 Vdc. They also make an off grid system that is 300 Vdc. These systems will provide quality sinewave AC with an input voltage between 220 and 35 Vdc. THis is an easy interface to the HV side of the FEH.

On another issue in this post, you can purchase an inverter generator that produces DC voltage. The DC voltage charges a battery and powers an inverter. The ECU controls the ICE RPM to produce only the required DC corrent. Thse generators are very quiet and very efficient. On the down side, I have never seen one tht produces 220 Vac, so they are best for plug in power.

2008 FWD Escape Hybrid

David, that is interesting. Do you have any links to share?

The inverters are by Sonny Boy, www.sma-america.com

The generator is the Yamaha EF3000iSEB at www.yamahagenerators.com

I am really tempted to take a DC feed from my FEH to my grid tie inverter, just to see the FEH spin the power meter backwards!

2008 FWD Escape Hybrid