No Electricity? No Challenge for Electric Vehicle Owners

For immediate release:

Contact: Charlie Garlow, 202-564-1088
Or: Dave Goldstein, 301-602-4892

Hurricane Sandy’s power interruptions have been no challenge for members of the Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington, DC (EVA/DC) who use their EVs to help power their homes. “When the lights went off at 12:30 a.m., I plugged my refrigerator and coffee maker into my Nissan Leaf,” said Rockville, MD EV owner Doron Shalvi, “saving my food and waking up to hot coffee.”Doron, together with EVA/DC members Bob Bruninga, Dave Davidson and Scott Wilson, is on the leading edge of electric car owners who have found a way to use their batteries as an emergency power source for their homes. Each uses a device called an inverter to change direct current (DC) from their batteries into alternating current (AC) for the house.

Scott Wilson, another Leaf owner says, “I run an extension cord to the kitchen, connect the fridge and coffee maker, and I have enough ‘juice’ to last for about four days.”

If the power stays out longer than that, Doron, Bob, Dave or Scott can simply drive their EVs to one of 130 public charging stations in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area – or to friends’ homes with electricity – and refuel. They are then ready to “charge” their kitchen appliances for another four days, much to the appreciation of neighbors who are invited to store their frozen food.

EVA/DC President Charlie Garlow, who has also used this arrangement with a Plug-in Prius, believes that this will become a standard feature on electric vehicles in the near future. “We had a party for the neighbors at my house during the last power outage,” said Charlie, “and there was plenty of ice and cold drinks to go around.”

For more information on the Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington, DC, please visit www.evadc.org or contact President Charlie Garlow at 202-564-1088.

Doron Shalvi (Rockville, MD) can be reached at 301-496-8434.

Bob Bruninga (Annapolis, MD) can be reached at 410-293-6417.

Dave Davidson (Glen Burnie, MD) can be reached at 240-271-0120.

Scott Wilson (Silver Spring, MD) can be reached at 301-924-7479.

President Emeritus Dave Goldstein can be reached at 301-602-4892.

####