[jyl]

Hugh, what do/can you power with that 2000 watt Honda? Can you keep a refrigerator and a separate freezer going? That would be my main need if we lose power for more than several hours.

The thing I need to do is modify the Prius to serve as a UPS. It is pretty straightforward, so I hear. Basically you wire an inverter to the car's 12v system near the secondary (12v) battery and when 120v is needed, simply connect an extension cord and turn the car on. The car will supply power from the big (48v I think) battery, running the gas engine only when it needs to recharge the battery. Since it runs intermittently instead of constantly, it uses very little fuel.