TOOL TURNS AUTO INTO GENERATOR.

Byline: Julie Edelson Halpert The New York Times

If your household was among the tens of thousands that lost power this winter in severe storms, you may have wished for a backup generator that could keep your home's basic electrical systems running. If a new technology proves itself, the solution may be sitting in your garage.

Aura Systems Inc., a small electronics company in El Segundo, has developed a device with which an idling car or truck could provide household current in emergencies - or produce power that could be used in mobile kitchens or offices.

The company demonstrated its system here last week at the international congress of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

As designed, with an alternator that generates power to recharge the battery, a car cannot produce enough current at low engine speeds to serve such a function. Aura, however, has merged the functions of the alternator and the starter - which cranks the engine - into a compact new motor.

The motor contains electromagnetic coils that surround a gearless flywheel. The coils create an electrical force that, when engaged, causes the flywheel to turn rapidly, either starting the car's engine or generating power far in excess of what a conventional alternator can produce.

Ron Goldstein, senior vice president of Aura, says the alternator-starter produces about 4,000 watts while the car is idling, about double the basic electrical needs of a house. A conventional car alternator provides about 500 watts at idle.

Powering household appliances for an hour would require from a half-gallon to a gallon of gasoline - roughly three times as much fuel as the power company would use for the same purpose.

The system would likely include an automatic shut-off switch that would disconnect the home from the utility's power grid if the electricity is being generated by a vehicle, safeguarding service people from the potential of electric shock.

A car's alternator produces alternating current, the kind used in a home, but it is converted into direct current for storage in the car battery. Aura's device would direct some of this AC power to a connection that could be used for household applications - either the 110 volts that power most appliances, or the 220 volts used by electric ranges and clothes dryers.

It would not require significant modifications to a car's battery or electrical system, which would continue to operate on 12 volts of direct current.

The device would also allow for traveling kitchens or offices in which drivers or passengers could plug in coffee makers, microwave ovens or computers. Bill Baker, a Recreation Vehicle Industry Association spokesman, said that if the technology was reasonably priced, it could be used for campers and motor homes.

Lindsay Brooke, a spokesman for the Chrysler Corp., said the auto companies were struggling to meet consumers' escalating demand for the power required by electronic gadgets like car phones and fax machines.

Existing technology is "hitting critical mass in terms of a vehicle's capability" to generate power, he said.

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Photo Ron Goldstein shows Aura Systems' invention, which produces 4,000 watts of electricity. Associated Press