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. I use it when I'm camping, to power things like lamps, a bug zapper, and even a hotplate. I'm concerned that the wattage might be too high, but I would really like an inverter that produces upwards of 2000 watts, so that it can power a number of appliances that are rated at 1500. What is the highest wattage inverter that you would install in your Prius?
What you want is just NOT practical. Divide your 2000 watts by 12 Volts and that says you need about 166 amps to produce it........continuously. The battery is designed for.....guessing a bit.....maybe 50 amps, since it doesn't run a starter motor. You REALLY need to find a different way to deal with your "high power" requirements......like find a way to accomplish the task WITHOUT any power input. What you have now is really too big and operating near it's max capacity with the car "running" might burn out the inverter in the Prius.
If the Prius is in Ready, the 12 volt converter produces 100 Amps Max. That has to run everything. So I would consider 80 Amps a peak power, 1000 Watts . https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/47204912_10217436735132677_2502961954897788928_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ohc=xGlFDKPajtUAX9Qk6uD&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=b53a17c521f35cce1df90d906880b2ca&oe=5EC92379 15:05 to 18:00 discusses the DC to DC Converter and the Air Conditioning Inverter, on the same PC board Gen 3 and 4 will be similar DC to DC Converters.
PriusChatters looking for that kind of power have typically searched out UPS inverters designed for around two hundred volts battery input, and wired them at the traction battery, not the twelve volt. A company called ConVerdant was marketing some for a while for that exact purpose, but they quit a few years ago. Seems to be back to a sort of niche/research-project vibe again.
Sounds like maybe I should just get a solar panel and another battery system that is separate from the car. That's really what I would love, but they are just so expensive. I'm new here and new to working on my Prius and have been binge-watching YouTube videos this past couple of weeks. Professor John Kelly explains it well, love his videos, thanks! Looks like I am going to have to start learning about electricity. Would love to have some serious power coming out of the car. Perhaps wiring it in to the 201.6 volt could be an option at some point. Thanks for all of your comments!
One single solar panel will never generate that kind of power. You're looking at about 300 Watt per normal sized (63"x39") household panel, on a sunny day in optimal orientation. I'm not sure what the 12V converter will do when it needs to charge > 100 Amp (blow up? blow a fuse?), but the safest way to do this is to add a huge aṣṣ 12V battery as a buffer.
Seems to me Bob Wilson checked that with gradually increasing loads, and near the limit the output voltage droops some. The IDH signal can be sent, which tells the HVAC to shed the electric heat if that happens to be on. Eventually if the converter's temperature gets high enough, it probably says "ok, I'll turn back on if you'll stop doing that."
Something done in solar circles is to add a 2nd 12V battery in parallel, separated by a Marine switch to isolate the 2nd battery when it needs to power an inverter separately. Could this work in a Prius?
"Something done in solar circles is to add a 2nd 12V battery in parallel, separated by a Marine switch to isolate the 2nd battery when it needs to power an inverter separately. Could this work in a Prius?" Can be done. See this website (with links to his YouTube videos detailing the many projects). Very interesting; very well done, IMO. See especially the first YT link, entitled "Electrical system build"...
I know it's an old thread, but it's what I'm trying to solve right now, both for on the road power and for using the Prius as backup power for my off-grid house or while responding in disaster zones. What about using 2 or 3 200 volt input 80 amp mppt controllers in parallel to charge 1 or 2 deep cycle lithium or lead acid battery and hook the inverter to that? I haven't made any measurements to see if any of these things would fit, but at the very least this could help mitigate any negative effects on your car's operating circuits if you do happen to overload it.
