Re:Ford’s electric pickup can power a house for days
by myself248 on Tuesday May 31, 2022 @10:14AM
(#31569729)
> A nine kilowatt electric generator costs under a thousand dollars.
For just the generator, yeah.
Then you need cans for the fuel and somewhere to store it. And you need to maintain that fuel by periodically pouring it into a vehicle and refilling the cans. Even with preservative, it's good to do that yearly. If you don't own an ICE vehicle, I guess you have to find a neighbor who does, and who won't be suspicious that you're offering them a bunch of gallons of free gas?
And even with all that, it still needs oil changes and test-runs, or it's liable to not work when you need it.
And even with all THAT, most generators that large absolutely guzzle fuel. Ten or twenty gallons might get you a day, maybe two? And that's a LOT of fuel to store, when you consider having to refresh it.
If you can just use the vehicle you already own, and the battery pack that you already charge, ALL those concerns go away. You've got tons of power. It's already proven to work. It's already wired into the house. And the little maintenance it needs, you're already doing because it's your daily driver.
This approach is not without its downsides -- if you go out to run errands, the house loses power until you return -- but the benefits may outweigh that for a large number of people.
For just the generator, yeah.
Then you need cans for the fuel and somewhere to store it. And you need to maintain that fuel by periodically pouring it into a vehicle and refilling the cans. Even with preservative, it's good to do that yearly. If you don't own an ICE vehicle, I guess you have to find a neighbor who does, and who won't be suspicious that you're offering them a bunch of gallons of free gas?
And even with all that, it still needs oil changes and test-runs, or it's liable to not work when you need it.
And even with all THAT, most generators that large absolutely guzzle fuel. Ten or twenty gallons might get you a day, maybe two? And that's a LOT of fuel to store, when you consider having to refresh it.
If you can just use the vehicle you already own, and the battery pack that you already charge, ALL those concerns go away. You've got tons of power. It's already proven to work. It's already wired into the house. And the little maintenance it needs, you're already doing because it's your daily driver.
This approach is not without its downsides -- if you go out to run errands, the house loses power until you return -- but the benefits may outweigh that for a large number of people.