Prius to go (partially) solar

According to Nikkei, Toyota's apparently going to be equipping future high-end Priuses with Kyocera-built roof-mounted solar panels. Somewhat counterintuitively, the sun's rays won't be used to power the car itself, but will instead run the AC. It also sounds like your next solar-assisted Prius won't be around for a while, as the panels aren't designed in yet, nor will they be until early next year when Toyota starts work on revamping the line.

[poulan @ Jul 6th 2008 9:35PM]

so if you don't fancy using the AC where does the juice go to?

[nerdtalker @ Jul 6th 2008 9:38PM]

Well, in your case the extra power will be used to correct grammar.

[gad get @ Jul 6th 2008 9:39PM]

Heater, dashboard lights, radio, interior lights, (please?) heated seats, etc.

[Das Gluten @ Jul 6th 2008 9:41PM]

Nowhere, I would assume. Why the hell wouldn't you have it charge the battery? Is it possibly because the amount of energy gathered from the solar panels is going to be so incredible miniscule it wouldn't make a difference? Seriously Toyota, I think we can waste our time in better and more entertaining ways.

Maybe flirt with some useful technology instead of just trying to revamp a car that technically has the biggest carbon footprint in the world after all that shipping and processing.

[Shoumik @ Jul 6th 2008 9:41PM]

Why don't they just make the power go to the car's numerous batteries?

[gad get @ Jul 6th 2008 9:43PM]

@ nerdtalker

Poulan's grammar is fine. It's the lack of capitalization and punctuation that needs correcting.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Jul 6th 2008 9:45PM]

Probably to maintain the SOC (State of charge) at the high end of its range.

Also, in cold weather, the less heat pulled away from the engine into the cabin during engine warmup, the greater the fuel efficiency.
In hot weather, electricity is better used for accelerating than cooling, so either way this helps.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Jul 6th 2008 9:49PM]

Das, are you still pissed that you got suckered into buying an H2?

[bartoron @ Jul 6th 2008 10:10PM]

Actually, Funke, Tobias Dr., I think he's acting like such an idiot because he actually believes that severely flawed Dust to Dust report that was put out by CNW Marketing Research.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Jul 6th 2008 10:16PM]

@bartoron
Agreed. That BS has been thoroughly debunked long ago. It's a shame that people constantly have to waste the keystrokes refuting it, lest it go unchallenged.

[Artie Lange @ Jul 6th 2008 10:48PM]

I don't get this board. "Das Gluten" makes a comment that is 100% factual, and yet he gets low ranked. Why? Because of his tone? It doesn't seem so. Its very enigmatic; this generation is by far the most cynical, but only certain targets of that cynicism are acceptable. Anything that runs counter to popular opinion - no matter how true - is biliously shouted down. Open-minded indeed.

Back on topic, I could do without a solar panel, but I'd by a plug-in in a heart beat.

[badbooday @ Jul 6th 2008 11:03PM]

The panels haven't been designed yet, you cluds. Why would Toyota announce their new plug-in for 2010-to-2012is can be solar powered? They are just letting this little fluffer out so nobody gets surprised when they start looking for panels.

Engadget used to actually have intelligent comments. Now its all the 12 year olds who had their online gamer privileges revoked.

[Stevo @ Jul 6th 2008 10:59PM]

@gad get, nerdtalker is right, you shouldn't end sentences with prepositions.

[jordan @ Jul 6th 2008 10:59PM]

@Artie Lange

See, if it was, in fact, debunked, it wouldn't be 100% factual anymore, now would it.

This is coming from someone who thinks Prius batteries that are going to eventually become useless once they can't hold a charge for a reasonable amount of time.

[badbooday @ Jul 6th 2008 11:06PM]

The panels haven't been designed yet, you cluds. Why would Toyota
announce their new plug-in for 2010-to-2012is can be solar powered?
They are just letting this little fluffer out so nobody gets
surprised when they start looking for panels.

3ngadget used to actually have intelligent comments. Now its all the
12 year olds who had their online gamer privileges revoked.

[Sean @ Jul 6th 2008 11:39PM]

When you end a sentence w/a prepositions, technically, it becomes an adverb, and though discouraged, is acceptable in the English grammar.

[Rogue_Genius @ Jul 6th 2008 11:52PM]

The article didn't specify that the system was designed for use while the car was running. Audi has an option available that runs a solar powered air exchanger to keep the car cool even while parked in the hot sun.

http://www.audiusa.com/audi/us/en2/tools/glossary/operation_comfort/solar_sunroof.html

And if you don't like links, here is the text:

"Even in very low sunlight, light-sensitive elements under the glass sunroof panel produce electricity to power the ventilator inside the vehicle. Even when the ignition is switched off, the interior will be supplied with a continuous flow of fresh air and temperature levels inside the vehicle can be reduced by as much as 50% with the outside air that is cleaned as is passes through the dust and pollen filter. This kind of ventilation does not put any additional demands on the car’s battery. This preliminary cooling lets the air conditioner cool the interior to the desired temperature with little energy and use of the ventilator."

So it is very possible that this is where they are going, but the system may also run while the car is on...

[oly va ha @ Jul 7th 2008 3:48AM]

wai wai wait, the '98 supra was the special edition and all its windows had solar tech in them and they charged charged the battery...this ain't a new concept

[djaymore @ Jul 7th 2008 10:04PM]

@Stevo you can end a sentence with a preposition as long as it has an object. I believe the problem here is that he has used 'go' and 'to'.

Perhaps this would be better: Where does the juice go if you don't fancy using the AC?

[Das Gluten @ Jul 9th 2008 1:12PM]

Do I sense some Prius fanboys? And no, I don't see the point in Hummers so I don't own one. And if I were to buy a new car right now, I can assure you it wouldn't be a Prius, not only because it's slow, cramped, FUGLY, has a $3000 battery that can't survive an accident, and I could get a used Honda Civic with 35 MPG for at least $10,000 less. Umm, 10 more MPG for $10,000 (and yes, the Prius gets less than 45 where I live, my very conservatively driving friend has one, plenty of hills). And thanks Artie, and I agree that a plug-in would be much more useful and realistic than a solar Prius.

[gad get @ Jul 6th 2008 9:36PM]

"Root-mounted"?

Cars don't have roots... do they?

[Shoumik @ Jul 6th 2008 9:40PM]

I guess the prius planted the roots to the hybrid industry?

[gad get @ Jul 6th 2008 9:51PM]

Oh, so in a figurative way, the Prius is the root that he was referring to? Therefore, solar panels mounted anywhere on the Prius are root-mounted?

Hmm, that's a bit of a stretch. I think it's more likely that over time, the Prius has somehow evolved to have roots-- perhaps because such a mutation would make it more likely that a particular specimen would survive, as it would virtually eliminate the chances of the car being involved in a fatal crash.

[CraigJ @ Jul 6th 2008 11:37PM]

So, will sudo rm -rf / delete my Prius?

[Matt @ Jul 7th 2008 2:14AM]

Will 'sudo rm -rf /' delete the tree in your front yard? (That is, if you have a tree in your front yard)

[Benson @ Jul 7th 2008 10:19AM]

_My_ car has a Roots blower...

(OK, my car doesn't, but some do...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roots_blower )

[Shoumik @ Jul 6th 2008 9:38PM]

took them long enough

[Chuckles McGee @ Jul 7th 2008 7:50AM]

It's a sun roof!


Hahahaaa

[Scikotc84 @ Jul 6th 2008 9:40PM]

I just hope Kyocera makes better solar panels then they do cell phones.

[Shoumik @ Jul 6th 2008 9:42PM]

true dat

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jul 6th 2008 10:21PM]

KYOCERA MAKES BETTER KNIVES THAN CELL PHONES.

[Matt @ Jul 6th 2008 11:42PM]

Add Printers to that "hope" list. The brand new Kyocera MITA printers we leased at work are constantly requiring service. It might be safer to say: "Let's hope the design teams responsible for the cellphone and printer divisions won't be touching the solar panels division..."

[Octothorpe @ Jul 7th 2008 11:26AM]

FYI: Kyocera Solar is among the top solar manufacturers in the USA. Kyocera is the world's largest vertically-integrated producer and supplier of solar energy products. Their solar division has headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, and regional sales centers on five continents.

I am personally familiar with Kyocera Solar's products and have several of their KC80 80 watt solar panels powering a remote communication site in Wyoming. Their panels are just as good as the next in my experience.

[scjessey @ Jul 6th 2008 9:40PM]

Why do all these supposedly "eco-friendly" cars have to be hideously ugly?

[Shoumik @ Jul 6th 2008 9:44PM]

ugly is the new aerodynamic

[Das Gluten @ Jul 6th 2008 9:44PM]

They just want them to look creative and different, and I have to agree, what would be so hard about revamping the Corolla or the Camry to do the same thing. Maybe they should just take what they've learned and just make a better car instead of upgrading a maxed out platform (in terms of sales at least). I don't see their sales growing that much more from a solar panel on the roof when so many other new cars are getting 30-35+ mpg with a stand-alone gas engine.

[The Dude @ Jul 6th 2008 9:51PM]

That's always been a complaint of mine. Stop making fuel efficient cars look so fuckin' ugly.

[Sopherion @ Jul 6th 2008 10:12PM]

That's were TeslaMotors comes in. Their car designs look really clean.

[jordan @ Jul 6th 2008 11:01PM]

Exactly. The 2nd generation RX-7 had a .27 coefficient of drag, and was amazing to look at (to me), at the time. The Insight only gets a .24, which is the best for a mass-production car, IIRC.

[Temple @ Jul 7th 2008 2:19AM]

Americans like a long hoodline, which can be space enough for a larger engine. . . or "Three-box design" in transportation design speak. Problem is, for a car that can seat 4-5 people plus a decent boot, and yet is light-weight, small, and aerodynamic will have a difficult time with the conventional three-box design that Americans are used to. The one-box design that the Prius uses offers the most interior space with the least exterior dimensions (hence better aerodynamic profile).

[Macro @ Jul 7th 2008 6:55AM]

There are cars that seat 5 people and don't look like they were drawn on an etch-a-sketch.

[elliot.sawyer @ Jul 6th 2008 9:43PM]

So... Toyota is diverting an incredibly useful and essentially free source of energy to powering something so extraneous as the air-conditioning? I'd roll my windows down if it meant the sun was even partially powering my commute, and I live in Phoenix, where the daytime temperature can easily exceed 120 degrees. By the time you buy your "high-end" Prius for $35K to $40K, you may as well buy a $20K car with A/C and spend $20K on gasoline until the car falls apart.

I commend Toyota for taking a step in the right direction, but a solar panel shouldn't be designed into a car until it's intended to be used as an automotive power source.

[Lord John Whorfin @ Jul 6th 2008 10:04PM]

So just because it can't be used to power the car it shouldn't be used at all? That's ridiculous. Every little bit helps; and the AC is a perfect target since you always need it in conditions where solar panel output is at its peak. Even if you don't save all that much, at least you won't think twice about running the AC feeling bad that you're burning non-renewable resources to power it.
Oh, and driving in 120 degree heat without running the AC? Not smart.

[bertbusdriver @ Jul 6th 2008 10:35PM]

Depending on the situation, you might actually be using more gas with your windows open as opposed to using the AC. This is because of the extra drag that the open windows cause. It depends on what speeds you're going at and whatnot.

[BigD145 @ Jul 6th 2008 10:45PM]

Stop living in Arizona and you won't need the AC.

[jmkovey @ Jul 6th 2008 10:51PM]

According to an Edmunds.com test, driving with your windows down has no measurable difference over the AC.

Report at:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/106842/article.html

[elliot.sawyer @ Jul 6th 2008 11:00PM]

@Lord John: That's exactly what I'm saying - why wouldn't Toyota enable this solar panel to even partially power the vehicle? Anything less is a waste of money - solar panels aren't cheap; tacking on a few thousand dollars to the price of the vehicle simply because you want guilt-free air-conditioning is ridiculous if you ask me. Driving in 120 degree heat isn't smart, PERIOD, but while you're judging me for something I have no control over, I'd think that such an environmentally conscious person like you would be opposed to air-conditioning given how damaging modern refrigerant is to the ozone layer. Air conditioning units fail frequently in this heat and require an expensive recharging every year or so to replace the coolant.

@bertbusdriver: That's true, but I'm not blasting down the highway at 85 with the windows down. On surface streets at a reasonable speed limit, impact on fuel economy is negligible. See Mythbusters for more info.

@BigD145: That makes plenty of sense - spend several thousand dollars moving to a climate where I'm less likely to need a Prius with a solar-powered AC. I'll get right on that.

[jordan @ Jul 6th 2008 11:03PM]

I'd take your 120 degree low-humidity over my 100 degree high-humidity NC climate any day. :/

[elliot.sawyer @ Jul 6th 2008 11:08PM]

@jmkovey: I don't run without the AC to conserve gasoline. I do so to reduce strain on my engine in an extremely hot environment. I'd rather sweat in my car than break down on sweltering pavement because my engine overheated.

@jordan: It's actually crappy right now - we just started our monsoon season, which means hot temperature + moderate humidity. It's not 100%, but we get miserable heat as well as moisture. At least we get thunderstorms at night to cool off.

[Temple @ Jul 7th 2008 2:26AM]

The Prius is $21-30k. A solar panel won't add tens of thousands of dollars, and if anything Toyota has enough money that resources won't be diverted. The problem of course is that AC/radio/etc etc take up an incredible amount of battery power, if that same battery power that isn't being used to run the compressor on the AC can instead be used to power the electric motors then the car will be more efficient.

If however you aren't using the AC or radio or any other feature most people use, then the energy collected from the solar panels will instead be used to power the hybrid motor. The benefit is that solar power can be collected even when the car is off and is parked in a parking lot.