i'm insulted at the 3500w generator comment. there are people (i'm one)that own houses in area's of the country that lose power for many hours, overnight, and even for days. running off some dinky 3500 or 5500w generator is not a viable solution for someone looking to remain sane.

a 45-60kw whole house generator costs $15-20k w/o $5k installation. i read somewhere the volt has peak output around 55kw. i think it's a reasonable question to ask if the volt can power your house (at least most of the vitals anyway). if you can save $15-20k by using the generator on the volt it's a worthwhile discussion. of course the cost of proper installation, wiring, connectors & switch is a non-factor; you have to do it no matter what the emergency power source is.

saving 15-20k is worth it in my book. let's discuss.

 

The first time I saw this post I thought someone was just being funny. Now I'm not so sure.

If a person wanted to power their whole house in a normal fashion, that is with all the amenities such as refrigerator, dishwasher, washer/dryer, heating/ac, lights, computers, etc., with a portable generator, for an extended period of time, this is what they would need:

.

The Chevy Volt couldn't even pull this generator let alone match it's power output.

Simply put, when it comes to electrical generators size most definitely matters.

Please don't try to run your entire house off a Chevy Volt, if you are lucky the only thing you will destroy will be the car...

 

I think using your electric car for back-up power is an awesome idea.You could flip the breaker to the incoming power.There are all kinds of converters available already for high voltage solar power to 240ac.8kilowatts to 15 kilowatts is all you need for backup power.We are not talking about cranking on everything in the house.

 

Yes we can, a company MDS power inc. has an inverter that can convert 300v DC to 240-250volt AC it can handle surges of 21000watts,we just need to figure out how to tap into the battery.Don't listen to those no you can't folks.

 

There is no cause to be insulted. A cheap 3500w generator is just an option. Just because an option does not work for you does not make said option an insult. Certainly no insult was intended.

The question is perfectly reasonable and worth discussing to be sure.

For the longest time "they" were saying that the Volt was going to be a pure series hybrid (like some locomotives) with no mechanical connection to the wheels but this turned out not to be the case. Instead the Volt's transmission is very similar to the HSD in the Prius. This complicates the process of using a Volt as an emergency generator.



A Volt (or Prius) will only generate a tiny amount of power while at idle. In order to generate 55kw (74 horsepower) the Volt would need to be running a significant fraction of Wide Open Throttle. Proper airflow, exhaust venting and cooling would be significant issues at such power levels. I don't think running a car in an attached garage would be a good idea at all. If the exhaust hose fell off everyone in the house could die of carbon monoxide poisoning. The car would need to be farther away from the house to insure adequate venting and to reduce the noise level.

Now I'm not saying it would be impossible to power your house using a vehicle. I'm just saying that it is more complicated (and dangerous) than you might think.

 

Didn't you guys see the NY times article ? Some guy did it with the Prius. Using the Prius as Emergency Backup Power Generator. Should be very similar with the Volt, I would think.

Let me find the link.

 

Article >> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/au...OWER.html?_r=3

How to with Prius. >> http://www.ehow.com/how_2350809_use-...as-backup.html

 

Think about that. Wish you purchased the Volt from Utopia!!!