Convert your Car to a Plug In Hybrid
From Wired How-To Wiki
Several companies, like Plug In Supply and Hybrids Plus, are offering do it yourself kits. Entrepreneurial garages around the country, like Luscious Garage, Charlotte Energy Solutions and Advanced Vehicle Research Center, will install it for you in as little as half a day.
You'll need a little know-how, a Toyota Prius or Ford Focus, an electrical plug with extension cord and a fairly large sized cash roll to get this project done. The trade off is a clean, green driving machine and fewer trips to the gas station.
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How it Works
The conversion may sound complicated, but it really only consists of adding a range-extending lead acid or lithium ion battery pack and installing the wiring needed to plug it into the wall. Some conversions require the removal of the standard nickel-metal hydride battery while others merely supplement it with an additional pack. The additional battery pack can weigh anywhere from 75 to 360 pounds depending on chemistry and type. If there is an additional battery, your spare tire might be removed to make room for it.
'Green,' as in the Color of Cash
Converting your car to a plug-in can get the most out of your hybrid, especially in terms of miles per gallon (MPG) and savings on gas. However, the conversion itself won't be cheap. The lead acid kits start at around $5,000, while the state-of-the-art lithium Ion kits can run well north of $10,000. The conversions will likely void at least some part of your hybrid's warranty. Considering the cost of conversion versus the price of gas, you may outgrow your car before recouping the cost. Buy hey, can you really put a price on saving the planet and oil independence?
Plug-In Toyota Prius Kits
If you really want to do it yourself, check out this open source PriusPlus project CalCars is sponsoring. Otherwise, break out your checkbook and give one of these outfits a call.
A123Systems Hymotion [L5 Plug-In Conversion]
Not only has A123Systems' L5 Plug-In Conversion been crash tested, but General Motors is testing its batteries for use in its planned plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt.
- Location: Watertown, MA
- Products Served: 2004 - 2008 Toyota Prius
- Battery Type/Weight: A123 5 KW Lithium-Ion battery pack (180 lbs.)
- Expected Battery Life: TBD
- Install Time: About half a day
- Charge Time: 5 hours [approx]
- PHEV Range in Blended Mode: 30-40 miles
- Must remove spare tire: Yes
- Removes Prius' original NiMH battery: No
- Cost: $10,000 and includes 3 year standard warranty and installation. Excludes $400 destination charge and applicable taxes
- Dealer Locations: Boston, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Denver, LA, SF, Seattle and Raleigh
Plug In Supply
Plug In Supply starts accepting orders in early October 2008 for its own Lithium Iron Phosphate System, which should provide 15 - 20 miles of EV mode operation and last the life of the car.
- Location: Petaluma, California
- Products Served: 2004 - 2008 Toyota Prius
- Battery Type/Weight: PbA (lead-acid), 360 lbs.
- Expected battery life: 2-3 years ($1,000 to replace)
- Install Time: 6 hours
- Charge Time: 6 hours
- PHEV Range in Blended Mode: 10-15 miles
- Must remove spare tire: No
- Removes Prius' original NiMH battery: No
- Cost: $5,000. Shipping and installation is extra
- Dealer Locations: California (San Francisco and Berkeley), Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico and North Carolina
Edrive Systems
Edrive replaces the Prius' stock nickel-metal hydride battery with an advanced lithium iron phosphate battery system with more than 15 times the usable energy capacity.
- Location: Irvine, California
- Products Served: 2004-2008 Toyota Prius
- Battery Type/Weight: Lithium Ion (approx. 200 lbs)
- Expected Battery Life: 5 years +
- Install Time: about 4 hours
- Charge Time: 6 hours
- PHEV Range in Blended Mode: 40 miles
- Must remove spare tire: No
- Removes Prius' original NiMH battery: Yes
- Cost: $12,000 installed with 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty
- Dealer Locations: Southern California to start. Fleet and retail deliveries start in early October
Hybrids Plus
One of Hybrids Plus' Seattle clients managed to break its fuel economy record. The driver traveled 1620 miles on a tank of gas. That's 171 miles per gallon. Typically, after charging your hybrid overnight from a standard wall outlet, the average fuel economy approximately doubles until the battery is discharged. In other words, after a fresh charge, Hybrid Plus' Prius will get about 60 miles per gallon for about 50 miles and default to your engine's unassisted MPG rate afterward.
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
- Products Served: 2005-2008 Ford Escape
- Battery Type/Weight: Nano phosphate Lithium Ion Cells (300 lbs.)
- Expected Battery Life: about 100,000 miles
- Install Time: About half a day
- Charge Time: 10-11 hours
- PHEV Range in Blended Mode: 50 miles
- Must Remove Spare tire: No
- Removes original NiMH battery: Yes
- Cost: About $32,000 includes installation and a 1 year warrantee
- Dealer Locations: Boulder, Houston
Plug-In Ford Focus Kits
Ford focus kits are just starting to hit the market. This is what's available so far.
Hybrids Plus
Hybrids Plus CEO Carl Lawrence says the company is working with Boulder utility company Xcel Energy on the Smart Grid Program. The Smart Grid Program is an experimental work in progress that allows the utility to buy energy back from vehicles while plugged into the grid.
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
- Products Served: 2004-2008 Prius [available Q1 2009]
- Battery Type/Weight: Nano phosphate Lithium Ion Cells (75 lbs.)
- Expected Battery Life: 100,000 miles
- Install Time: About a day
- Charge Time: 4 hours
- PHEV Range in Blended Mode: 30 miles
- Must Remove Spare tire: No
- Removes original NiMH battery: Yes
- Cost: $15,000 but does not includes taxes and is subject to change
- Dealer Locations: Boulder, Portland
This page was last modified 23:08, 3 October 2008 by howto_admin. Based on work by snackfight.
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