1] How We Green-Tuned an '04 Prius into a PRIUS+ Plug-In Hybrid!
http://www.calcars.org/priusplus.html

2] European Plug in Prius Launched
http://www.csrwire.com/article.cgi/4030.html

3] Meet the World's First 150 MPG Plug-In Prius
http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=article&storyid=818

Those will tell you that it is do-able, with just a little effort to convert the stock Prius, available at dealers now, to a "plug-in at home". In fact, I cannot see why other hybrids could not be converted also. There is a European model that comes from the factory all ready to go as a "at home plug-in".

There is more good news - nobody is saying it, but that electricity we would use at home to charge the car batteries could be free* {*after initial small costs for minor equiptment].

Remember, most household electrical supply comes from "the grid", which is uses, partly, coal-burning generators and other polluting types of electrical generation. We can go one step better than using "the grid" for the re-charge: produce your own power at home, for free* [see*above] without any emissions.

Obviously, the easiest way would be to simply put up a solar panel- about $300 - to trickle charge the batteries in your garage [and transfer that to your car batteries at night]. Or, use windmills - various small efficient types available now .

What I really like is the idea of doing your workout and using the power YOU produce to generate electricty!! It is simple too - a generator hooked up to your stationary bicycle can provide a charge to 'the batteries in the garage'. I've often thought that all those bikes whirring around in the fitness gyms, with their "resistance belts", is a lot wasted energy, albiet sweaty human energy. They could all be hooked up to power the lights there instead of applying "artificial resistance"[the belt] to "artificial bicycling" [stationary].

Is there an irony somewhere in all this? - in needing exersize due to having 'power-assisted lifestyles' that help make us fat, where the energy stored in our excess fat plus the exersize energy are both approximately equal to the energy we saved in the power-assisted lifestyle.

Moving on, we could see "energy equations" that show us how much energy we need to find, produce, harness to charge the car for trips: 100km drive needs 5 hours of bicycling {spread out between 4 family members, for eg.} ; or the day's sunlight on the solar panel gets us a "free" trip to the beach on Saturday.

Also, reducing the demands on crude/gasoline supply will/should erase the current price rises [if the excuses they tell us are true, about refinery shortages, etc.]
The decreased gas needs will reduce greenhouse gasses emissions.
The electric cars run quiet, reducing stress on people.
They have less maintenance too.


There will be no need for the gas-engine assist once we get started on efficient systmes and get used to the range of our batteries, and have quick-charge systems at stations on the highways.

However, this will all be fought tooth and nail by the oil industry players, including governments [unless we elect non-oil funded politicians]. Government will not help us get started, there will be no incentives or rebates despite the oil industry's huge "corporate welfare incomes" , and the parts and supplies will be expensive and hard to find, and there will be much disparaging information, confusion, etc. Nonetheless, people dedicated to "the benefits of reduced dependancy on oil as our only source of energy" can still get it done - there will be 1000's and 1000s of these vehicles queitly raoming our highways soon.

Love, love, love it, for it is for the health of the earth and of all life to reduce our use of Fossil Fuels
Karlin