A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) for your home computer is a low voltage battery system (usually 6-12 volts) that inverts power to house current (110 volts) over a short period of time providing your computer with an uninterrupted supply of power during a power failure. If your house current fails, switches in the UPS transfer power over from the power grid to the battery without interruption until the power comes back on or the battery is drained.
A Toyota Prius is basically a big generator and a 230-volt battery pack. The engine can turn on by itself if the battery drains below a certain level.
When there is a failure in the power grid, resourceful people might have a gasoline generator on hand to fire up and run a few appliances. An expensive dedicated generator system powering a house can run $5,000-10,000.
Priups.com: A resourceful site that explains how to turn your Prius into a UPS for your home for under $200. Although the execution of the PriUPS may appear to be a warranty nightmare in the works, the site offers some interesting information and is a good lab exercise for those interested in learning more about the high voltage system of a gasoline-electric hybrid.
Richard Factor of New Jersey says, “If you are frugal, one tank of gas can power the house for a couple weeks.�
that is probably the weirdest, coolest thing i've ever heard.