Solar Panel AC Use

I have the Solar Roof panels. I hope I don't misunderstand the feature, but it powers a fan that circulates outside air thru the cabin while parked in the sun. We have had a cold winter so I don't know how good this will work in the dead of summer.

 

The solar panel comes with remote air as well, it will run the A/C for 3 minutes. A feature I plan to use, just hasn't been hot enough here to try it yet.
The ventilation system has been running some and while again it hasn't been hot yet there is a noticeable difference when getting into the car.

 

It hasn't been hot enought yet to really test how much it works but it has worked for me on the hottest day of the winter. I just wanted to see how it worked so I turned it on. Will have to wait til summer to really find out how much it does. If it wasn't the only way to get a sunroof i wouldn't have paid for the extras but the remote AC should probably be nice in the heat of the summer.

 

Have you tried a search
There was a lot of posts last Aug & Sept
It works

 

Always turned on in mine along with moonroof cracked open slightly.

Remote air used sometimes but usually if the car is hot when I get in I open the roof fully for the first few kms.

David

 

While this sounds great for comfort, I'm wondering if it would also help with summer fuel economy. In very hot places (like here in Phoenix) I experience a summer "cool down" penalty somewhat analogous to the winter warm up penalty others deal with. When its 115 F and the car has baked in the sun all day, interior temps can easily be as high as 170 F! It then takes a good 5-10 minutes of the AC blasting on high before it starts to settle down, even with the system set at auto 80. I'd be very interested to see if this feature cuts down on that cool down time, helping bring summer MPGs back up!

 

Yeah, I've seen the AC suck the battery down pretty fast. I went through the car wash once when it was over 110 and the car was still in cool down mode. It was actually a little scary as it was one of those that you get pulled through in Neutral. First time I've ever gotten to 1 bar, was about ready to kill the AC when I rolled out and put it back in drive.

I was mostly thinking of the SPVS, pre-starting the AC seems like it would be neutral if not a net loss.

 

I live in SoCal so my SPVS kicks in a lot during the day. I actually like it very much but given the option I wouldn't spend money on just that. I do think it helps keep the car a little cooler.

The remote AC is almost useless in my experience. The reason for this is by the time you get within range of your car to turn it on you are a matter of seconds from getting in. The AC doesn't really have enough time to do it's job and at that point I might as well just get in and turn the car on. Also, when in a crowded parking lot it's hard to know if you've turned the Remote AC on or not. On bright sunny days it's hard to see the lights flash or they are blocked by other parked cars and the beeps are not very load if you're around traffic. I always keep pressing the button not knowing if I've turned it on or not. This process became so annoying that I just gave up on it. The only time I use it is if I'm standing right beside the car talking with someone so that I know it's on and I have the time to let it cool the car. It would be FAR more useful if it didn't turn off as soon as you unlock the door.

Anyone else have similar thoughts?