$8,000 for an at-home plug-in Prius conversion
Kim Adelman's plug-in Prius was at the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo back in October, but somehow stayed hidden from my camera and eyes. The good news is that EVWorld's Bill Moore spotted the car and talked to Adelman about the car and Adelman's new company, Plug-In Conversions, which will send people to your house to convert your Prius to a PHEV in a day while you're off enjoying a latte or a game of poker (or, OK, working).
Moore notes that Adelman has discovered a bit of a sweet spot with electric-only range: eight miles. While the big automakers are all shooting for the 25-40 mile range, Moore writes that Adelman says that with an 8-mile range (and the ability to plug the car in before returning home), "you can achieve the same fuel efficiency as a car with a larger, more costly battery pack." Customers can choose a more powerful battery pack, but for those important eight miles, Plug-In Conversions will hook you up for eight grand.
[Source: EVWorld, h/t once again to Domenick]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bryan 4:56PM (9/11/2008)
I installed a $60 after-market EV kit (under 1/2 hour). The cruise control doubles as switch for EV mode. Nice & clean.
I probably boosted mileage an extra 5% - more if I'm in stop-and-go traffic. Most of my miles are >35mph, so the EV mode doesn't help there.
I get about 6 miles of pure EV mode daily between the highway and home / office. It may take forever to pay back the $60, but it is a thrill to switch to EV (stealth) mode.
I'm driving around 100 miles daily. PHEV looks exciting but needs range before I'll buy.
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J Chen 9:25AM (5/22/2009)
A complete 2KW Li-ion conversion kit is available under $2000
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200344551230
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Phil L. 2:55PM (11/19/2007)
Hmmm - 8 miles (apparently, at a max of 35mph) for $8K. Oops: Plus you need about $20K for a latest-gen Prius whose warranty you're willing to live without.
And this in southern CA - I'm guessing chilly temps cause problems. Ouch.
This will be useful for some people, but I'm still waiting for an EV that makes sense for me.
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Peter 3:26PM (11/19/2007)
It probably does fine in cold temperatures. The standard Prius doesn't have a problem, so if they use the same battery chemistry I wouldn't expect any issues.
The extremely limited power would be a problem. The electric motor only makes 67hp, and with a 35mph speed limit it essentially becomes a big, expensive NEV until the gas engine kicks in.
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Niles 3:57PM (11/19/2007)
The A123/HyMotion Li-Ion packs to convert a Prius to a 30 mile PHEV are selling (to fleet vehicles) for $12,000 installed. Plus they don't void the warranty.
Now all you need to do is finagle yourself some "fleet vehicle" credentials!
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Mike Weston 5:02PM (11/19/2007)
The "and the ability to plug the car in before returning home" part doesn't make sense. The whole reason plug-ins (and true BEVs) make sense is that you charge them overnight when the grid isn't used that much. I suppose if you charge them before noon it's not so bad, but still, this doesn't make sense to me. The HyMotion deal seems to be a much better one.
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Chris M 2:57AM (11/20/2007)
One way to reduce the cost for plug-ins is to use a smaller battery pack and settle for a shorter "ev range". Many people drive relatively short distances on most days, an 8 mile range useful.
I must point out that the Prius can and does use electric power to reduce gas consumption even at freeway speeds, so even if your commute is a fast one, the plug-in upgrade will still save gas!
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Owain Ozymandias Buck 8:05AM (11/20/2007)
This is a good step. I like seeing all the strategies to get max efficiency. Can't wait to see what shakes out. What's good for deep urban operation, what's good for rural drivers, etc.
I've been wondering: when we get more and more PHEVs on the road, will we see a new peak electricity use time somewhere between 1700-2200 hrs.? I'm not trying to put down the concept, I'm just trying to figure out how we can do it.
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Dave Schmetterer 12:53PM (11/20/2007)
Four miles gets me almost everywhere I need to go. I may have to avoid US1 a little bit, but that's no loss! I don't think I've taken a car trip longer than eight miles in a long long time. So its not an expensive NEV - its a FREE NEV with a 28k car.
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Mike Weston 10:58AM (11/20/2007)
Owain Ozymandias Buck wrote: "I've been wondering: when we get more and more PHEVs on the road, will we see a new peak electricity use time somewhere between 1700-2200 hrs.?"
Some sort of timer system and maybe assigned slots from the power company might be the kind of thing that needs to be developed. I hope someone is thinking about this. Actually, I know someone at PG&E, so maybe I'll ask.
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Phil L. 11:47AM (11/20/2007)
There are already systems in place to help manage electrical load at the utility level.
For example, my electric utility added a radio-controlled switch to my home's A/C system. It allows them to switch off the compressor for short periods of time during periods of high load.
This same technology could be adapted to overnight EV recharging. Plug your car in and hit a button; the system figures out how much your car will need, and the most effective time to start charging during the night so it's ready to go in the morning.
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lawtrainee 3:07PM (11/20/2007)
HUh??
I'm confused, I thought it was a gas engine and electric engine working together. So do these kits make the electric engine assume all the work of powering the car till the batteries are drained?
it should sure void the warranty, I remember Toyota said they do not charge the batteries past 80% nor deplete beyond 20% in order to have that 10 year warranty on the batteries. Aren't these kits going past those threshold and working the batteries to a premature death??
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Mike Weston 7:26PM (11/20/2007)
lawtrainee: First of all, these conversions always add battery capacity, though this one apparently doesn't add much. Second, the 20% minimum probably isn't changed, or at least 20% of the original capacity. And lastly, Priuses in some countries have an EV button that tells them to stay in electric-only mode if possible, and I think the conversions often hook into that same circuitry, which as I understand it is present but not exposed in U.S. Priuses.
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Fred 3:06PM (1/17/2008)
Can anyone tell me where I can buy a conversion kit, to change a Toyota Prius to a Plug in Prius?
Any iformation about changing Hybrids to plug-in hybrids would great be appreciated. ty
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