Bob Sakala’s power might have only come back on last Thursday, but the New Jersey man wasn’t in the dark like many of his neighbors impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
How’d he do it? Sakala jerry-rigged his hybrid car to provide power to his house.
NBC New York reported that Sakala had previously read on the Internet about how to convert his Toyota Prius into a power source.
Here’s how he did it:
Using a 100-watt power inverter that plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter, and several heavy-duty extension cords he purchased at Home Depot, Sakala was able to power a few lights along with his TV, laptop and modem. He later upgraded to a 300-watt inverter, which let him power more lights.
“The neighbors kept saying, ‘Does Bob have a generator?’ No, it’s the Prius. It’s a spaceship,” he told NBC 4 New York.
Using three quarters of a tank of gas left in his hybrid, Sakala was able to have electricity for light, television and computers — although not heat — in his home.
Watch NBC’s report, which includes how other residents were coping last week with the continued outages (Note: Sakala’s portion begins at 1:11):