In case you weren't aware, in Japan Toyota also has a pre-fab home building division.
As you might expect, Toyota is employing technology and lessons learned in the auto business to their homes as well. For example the homes have steel frames, not wooden frames. In addition, the homes have an electricity monitoring system that's designed to work with plug-in hybrids. It's engineered to power up vehicles during off-peak periods so as to cause as little drain as possible on the power grid. Another feature is it's designed so those who have [Toyota] hybrids can power up the homes should there be an electrical blackout.
Not surprising (maybe it is surprising?) Toyota engineers are also experimenting with using solar panels as house siding and powering homes with fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and air to produce electricity.
"At Toyota, we have certain technologies that we can apply to other fields," says Senta Morioka, president of Toyota's housing operations.
To date gains in Toyota homes has been rather modest. The good news here for Toyota is the government is encouraging sturdier home construction to better withstand earthquakes, as well as more eco-conscious designs both of which fit the Toyota Homes to a "T."
Wonder if Toyota is considering doing this here in the USA?
ateixeira says:
07:01 AM, 07/ 8/08
"it's designed so those who have [Toyota] hybrids can power up the homes should there be an electrical blackout"
I think that is VERY cool.
A generator setup can cost you several thousand dollars, so IMHO this is a *major* convenience that offsets a great part of the extra cost of the hybrid itself.
Those who disagree probably didn't go 10 days without any power like I did after a storm a couple of years ago. The food wasted alone was a tragedy.