Some new information on the non-US bound solar roof

right ..... she can just carry one of those six 'D' cell Maglites that cops use to beat on people .... 2 Tools in one ... makeup light & deadly weapon all in one.

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Of course its important for me too. Happy wife, happy life!

Have to admit she uses her sunroof on the Venza all the time.

 

To emulate a very old Ford Motor Company add campaign (remember the Maverick?) "Any Venza yours is a Venza mine".

 

My bad. I had the impression that plug-in prius sold only in California. But if those new prius panels could charge both the traction battery while car stationary, or the secondary NiMH battery when car in movement, a full 24 hours (even at night), then it might have been possible to make sense. Don't you agree?

 

Technology does keep moving forward. Who knows what we'll see down the road!

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No. You have to do the math. Collecting area, incoming solar energy, and efficiency of collection do not add up. If there are any negatives at all (like the smallest of Cd reductions or any added weight), it might even cost you power. I would pay to have it removed, not pay to get it.

 

what toyota should do is offer a portable solar array that people can set up in their yard, then the car can be in the shade or garage.

 

Decaf? I think @apt49 was making about the same point since it was pointed out taking 24 hours to charge which means there aren't a lot of places that get 24 hours of sunshine.


Unsupervised!

 

Perhaps.

 

Yes. I think I read somewhere about a rumour claiming 1000km solar energy annually on average. So I wanted to know if that rumour would make sense. Well, I had my question answered by reading the posts here.

 

Agree completely with this. And, the idea of adding weight to the roof of a car - any car - does not appeal to me.

Kind regards, Steve

 

I guess that's an idea Elon Musk of Tesla might well be toying with already. I believe he already sells a home battery storage unit you could likely plug the Prius Prime into. That storage unit can be charged from the grid during cheap rate times, or.....from a suitable array of Solar panels during daylight - depending on climatic conditions and latitudinal locations of course.


iPhone 6s +

 

no guess necessary ;

But it's not just Musk doing this - hospitals - big box stores - parking lots etc are all getting unto the act.

The real difference is that Tesla is ;
A - buying their own solar panel manufacturing plant - and -
B - building their own solar backup company, so the utility gets none or little of the excess - and that's a major rub for the utility - that gets little in the way of profit from tesla. It destroys the utility's business model - all this sustainable nonsense .... It's ridiculous !
;ł
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Thanks for the images and confirmation. I'd read this quite a while ago, but simply couldn't recall if it was real, or a figment of my oft feverish over-developed imagination


iPhone 6s +

 

Too bad the solar roof doesn’t make its way over Kia is already talking about its solar roof, would be fitting

 

Probably in the reinforced glass roof designed for the solar panels and the extra NiMH battery. I don't think they'll lose much weight when they eventually switch to the laminated glass for the US to meet US safety requirements.

Regardless 180 watts is pretty impressive. Now I have only a few more questions, ha ha!