The toyota prius - solar powered AC??

[SpaceOddacy]

I recall a commercial a few weeks\months(??) ago that stated the AC was partially powered by a roof mounted Solar Cell.

Anyone have any info on that ? From reading and learning, even covering the car in PV cells wouldn't generate the wattage needed to power an AC unit.

[Sunking]

I recall a commercial a few weeks\months(??) ago that stated the AC was partially powered by a roof mounted Solar Cell.

Anyone have any info on that ? From reading and learning, even covering the car in PV cells wouldn't generate the wattage needed to power an AC unit.

Pure marketing hype. It is just a simple low power ventilation fan that operates when the vehicle is parked to keep the inside from getting rocket hot in the summer. Same principle as cracking your window open when parked.

[SpaceOddacy]

Pure marketing hype. It is just a simple low power ventilation fan that operates when the vehicle is parked to keep the inside from getting rocket hot in the summer. Same principle as cracking your window open when parked.

Wow I feel like a sucker for believing they actually designed a super efficient AC unit.
Thank you for clarifying.

[greenHouse]

Wow I feel like a sucker for believing they actually designed a super efficient AC unit.
Thank you for clarifying.

That doesn't mean it's useless. I lived in Dallas (Plano, really) for a while and the inside of my cars would get blisteringly hot. It's a very clever solution that doesn't risk killing your battery.

[Sunking]

Wow I feel like a sucker

Nah, don't do that, Marketing folks are just like Politicians and Advocates, they are good liars and like to spin numbers.

This might be helpful. Your average mid compact AC system is around 1.5 tons of Air Conditioning, or 18,000 BTU's. To convert to electrical energy you have to know the SEER rating. Window Shaker Units you find in Trailer Park Trash Dumps are on the low side SEER of around 8 to 9. while some high efficiency central units can go as high as 14. But on average around 10. To determine the electrical power in watts, take the BTU rating and divide by the SEER. So 18,000 BTU / 10 SEER = 1800 watts.

On the Pirus, I do not know what the panel wattage actually is. Just guessing due to the limited size of a vehicle roof, and using a low efficiency thin film panel, maybe 20 watts at most? At any rate it is a far cry of what is needed.

[ionized]

Note that the best mini-split AC units now exceed SEER 20.

[SpaceOddacy]

Nah, don't do that, Marketing folks are just like Politicians and Advocates, they are good liars and like to spin numbers.

This might be helpful. Your average mid compact AC system is around 1.5 tons of Air Conditioning, or 18,000 BTU's. To convert to electrical energy you have to know the SEER rating. Window Shaker Units you find in Trailer Park Trash Dumps are on the low side SEER of around 8 to 9. while some high efficiency central units can go as high as 14. But on average around 10. To determine the electrical power in watts, take the BTU rating and divide by the SEER. So 18,000 BTU / 10 SEER = 1800 watts.

On the Pirus, I do not know what the panel wattage actually is. Just guessing due to the limited size of a vehicle roof, and using a low efficiency thin film panel, maybe 20 watts at most? At any rate it is a far cry of what is needed.

I love how knowledgeable that you guys are, thank you very much for the info.
I feel a bit better now, so its only for a recirculating fan, that's actually a very good idea but to state the solar panel runs the AC unit....

[solr]

Makes sense IMHO.

The trapped air inside a car can get very hot and the moment you trun your ac, your ac has to run for longer to get the temperature to comfortable levels.....longer running means more gas.

So if there is a solar powered fan which doesn't utilize any gas then whats the harm?

[russ]

Cracking a window open is the same thing - this is just a feel good item for fools that don't realize what it is.