Inverter for Toyota hybrid?

[Joe1]

I am casually thinking about buying an inverter for my Toyota hybrid to use for camping activities and potentially for an emergency backup power generator for an elderly family member.

The YouTube videos of those doing this look cool, but l am wondering if it is relatively safe to do and if l risk frying the hybrid system on the car by going this route.

 

[meep]

Don’t do it in the hybrid. Iirc, the 12v power is supplied through an electronic step-down inverter off the traction battery, not a traditional alternator. That’s going to be limited in its capacity. A 12V -120VAC inverter can pull a significant amount of current. this really isn’t a good approach.

youd be safer buying the inverter and a deep cycle battery, and a small tender to keep it topped off, or buying a premade unit that is user friendly. Do make sure you buy a pure sine wave inverter - they have become affordable. Consider that a 100W load at 120v equates to 10-11amps on the 12V side. A 500W load will be a bit over 50A At 12v.

 

[brianl703]

Don’t do it in the hybrid. Iirc, the 12v power is supplied through an electronic step-down inverter off the traction battery, not a traditional alternator. That’s going to be limited in its capacity.

The one in the Volt has a 2kW capacity, what size is the one in the Toyota?

 

[nthach]

The one in the Volt has a 2kW capacity, what size is the one in the Toyota?

Significantly smaller than that. In the Volt and any pHEV/BEV, there’s the hybrid system inverter with a DC-DC converter for auxiliary loads and the separate AC-DC battery charger. The inverter can handle big loads for a small period of time but the cooling capacity to keep the IGBTs and buck-boost device cool is limited.

Honda offered a breakout box on the JDM Clarity pHEV/FCEV for it to double as a generator - you plug it into the charging port.

 

[meep]

The one in the Volt has a 2kW capacity, what size is the one in the Toyota?

I want to say 40A but that’s based on 2008 knowledge

 

[brianl703]

I want to say 40A but that’s based on 2008 knowledge

40A is sufficient to run all the 12V loads in a 2008 Prius?

Most cars, the HVAC fan on high and the radiator fan both running would come close to 40A by themselves...

 

[nthach]

40A is sufficient to run all the 12V loads in a 2008 Prius?

Most cars, the HVAC fan on high and the radiator fan both running would come close to 40A by themselves...

The DC-DC converter in a Prius(or any hybrid) serves the same purpose as an alternator but at a lower output, the 12V aux battery is there for the hotel loads. There is a 120A fuse at the aux battery.

 

[brianl703]

The DC-DC converter in a Prius(or any hybrid) serves the same purpose as an alternator but at a lower output, the 12V aux battery is there for the hotel loads. There is a 120A fuse at the aux battery.

I don't understand how a hybrid has any less 12V electrical load than a conventional vehicle, unless some of the 12V loads found in a conventional vehicle are being powered by the high voltage battery in the hybrid.

 

[meep]

Here you go

The highest wattage plug-in Inverter you would use?

I have a 1200 watt (2400 watt peak) modified sine wave inverter that I have hard-wired (with huge battery cables) right next to the normal 12v battery....

priuschat.com

 

[eljefino]

The Prius can support 100 amps of 12V needs. Figure the engine needs 25, you have 75 to work with, or about 850 watts.

You should leave the car in "ready" mode when doing this, it'll kick on and off as needed.

The 12 V battery is tiny and intended to just boot the car up and let the hybrid system take over. Many of these batteries are in awful shape and will get drained quickly, stranding you, if the car is "off."

An inverter and this car are great for CPAP machines and Oxygen generators, that don't take a whole lot of 110 power.

 

[PandaBear]

First of all, what kind of load are you looking to power in an "emergency" and for how long? Is it a continuous load or just a bursty one? Maybe finding a UPS that can be powered by 12V is the right way to go for bursty load, and if it is a continuous one you really want to make sure having a hybrid powering it is the right way to go (leaving it on 247 for hours may get the car stolen).

For computer use in "camping" I would probably get a 12V to USBC charger, and then maybe some 12V cooler instead of inverter to AC powered stuff.