Solar Package feedback

There are quite a few threads regarding people's reaction to the solar roof. Do a search (through google is best; the search engine here doesn't always produce results that are actually there) and you should find these threads, both positive and negative.

 

Love it. I also got it because i wanted the sun roof. I read the other day that one of the most popular options (I think #2) for new car buyers in Seattle is the sun roof. I have to admit that the times I enjoy it most are on CLOUDY days...it seems to brighten up the interior of the car.

But the solar system works exactly as advertised...it will keep the interior of your car within a few degrees of the outside temperature on sunny (hot) day. Some people think it will run the AC. Nope. If it's 95 degree outside, the interior of your car won't be any cooler than that. But on sunny days, interior temps can exceed 130F, so it's still a lot better.

Some positives:

(1) It will reduce the heat load...so when you start your car, the AC will run less time to get the cabin temperature down. That should help MPGs...but by how much, i have no idea.

(2) Before I got this car with the solar cooling, I would never leave some items (produce, wine, etc) in the car when it was very hot...because the inside temps were so high. Even some of the pressurized cans tell you not to expose to temperatures exceeding 125F (or whatever). i now don't worry about leaving anything in the car for extended period of time baking in the sun.

 

Hi and welcome Pingles!

We've had ours (Canadian mode) since April of this year, and I found the Solar panels/fan did a decent job keeping the interior at a reasonable temp when parked our in the sun. I have jumped into many vehicles over the years were it is just sweltering inside after sitting in the sun for a while, so I was quite pleased with how well the venting seemed to work.

I only used the remote AC once or twice and it work fine to, but found I didn't really need to use it between the solar panel fan and how well the auto AC works once the car is started.

I consider the above points bonus as I bought the package mainly because I think the solar panels/sun roof add significantly to the looks of the car. The only wish would be if the solar panels could charge the traction battery while running, but perhaps in a future model.

Hope this helps

 

I love my sunroof, partly for the cooling effect of the solar cells powering the ventilation system when the car is parked in the sun, and partly for the light/airflow possibilities when driving. Now that summer is almost over I anticipate many more days driving with the roof open.

 

hmm... perhaps my expectation is a bit too high or i've forgotten how it is without the solar panel (yes, i can turn it off to test for the diff but i won't bother), I don't find the cooling effect that much of a sale pt. I rarely open the moonroof either.

i bought the prius 2nd hand from a person who was leaving the country and I found it a good deal. if I were to buy new, i would just go for the navigation and backup camera without solar panel to save $. Nav + backup camera are extremely useful and I would like my future cars to have the same feature.

 

It all depends upon how hot it gets where you live, and whether your car, at work or at home, is outside a lot in the sun. The system works exactly as advertised.

As far as the sunroof - you eitehr like them, or you don't. Personally, I would never buy a car without one, and use it almost every day. As I said, and interestingly enough, that was the 2nd most popular option in Seattle. So, apparently a lot of people do like sun/moon roofs. Having a sunroof is probably as close to getting a convertible as I will ever get. A poor man's compromise to having a convertible. But to each their own.

 

I like having the slide back even if the glass is closed...as long as the sun isn't beating on my head.

The ventilation part seems to work very well. I park it out in the sun, fully exposed during the day at work. Even in 100% sun, and 105 degree heat, the interior is not that bad when I get in...much better than my other car with just a sunshade.

I also like to tip it up on nice cool mornings, so more air comes in the vents and I can turn off the AC, and have plenty of cool without the drag of rolled down windows on the highway.

 

Wasn't it extended to July 2011?

 

If you live in a sunny state (North Carolina) and dislike frying your bottom when you get in the car, it's hard not to like the solar. More than that the sun roof is superior to most -- larger opening and clever angling to reduce downdraft and avoid hurting mpg.
The only negative would be the price if you do not want the nav - but my conclusion is that the convenience of inbuilt nav makes up for the alleged shortcomings compared to the plug-in alternatives like TomTom or Magellan.

 

Besides the comments already made here that I am completely agreeing with add this benefit; particularly in the more humid parts of the country, the fan that activates 10 minutes after you power down the car also acts to air dry the a/c evaporator and that means it may never be necessary to deal with mould growth or odour in the climate control system.

 

I love mine. I had an interesting comparison recently with our humid and relatively warm weather lately. Parked in the sun, the solar powered fan kept the interior reasonably cool. I subsequently parked in a covered parking garage, left the car for about a half-hour, and when I came back it was uncomfortably warm, apparently due to the heat trapped in the car body. So, the solar fan made the car more comfortable in the sun than not having it in the shade!

 

More important than others' experience of owning it is your own parking situation. If you garage your car at home and it's also parked inside a garage all day while at work, you'll hardly get anything out of it.

 

I like my solar roof, too.
The prius parks in front of the office in the open. Geting into the car in the evening will give a reasonable warm car with the A/C blowing cold air immediately.

Getting into the car at lunch time really makes a difference: When we go out for lunch with the colleagues the procedure for a normal car is to open the doors and let the boiling hot air escape.
With the Prius it is getting in and smiling at the others who are waiting to let their car cool down

 

I have - and like - the solar roof package too....however - I would wonder if this didn't miss the mark by a bit?

I'm not sure how much power is produced by the solar roof to power the fan - or more importantly, how much power is "required" by the fan in order to keep the cabin at +1~2 deegress from ambient temperatures -- but it would seem logical that the solar roof produces more power than what is required or the temperature inside the cabin would be much hotter than the 1~2 degrees that I have experienced.

1. Could the solar roof provide a source of power for the battery?
2. While driving, the solar roof just "sits there" - esentially doing nothing, so what about making it work for us and supplement the battery charge with solar roof jiuce?

Maybe this is what we'll see on Gen4? ... or some enterprising person will find a way to design a way to make it happen....

 

Another poster made a good point about your personal situation dictating how useful the solar panel will be for you. My car is always parked in my garage when I'm at home and by the time I leave work in the evening the sun isn't very strong, so I can take it or leave it most days. There are times on the weekend when I've returned to my car after a couple hours of shopping that I really do appreciate having it but not often enough to make it nearly as useful as the sunroof, which I love. As others have mentioned, it also adds a 'cool' factor to the look of the car.

 

This is cool...tilt the sunroof, and you have a very aggressive looking cross section.





http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ck-out-between-hatch-glass-solar-sunroof.html

 

I have an electric cooler on the back seat where I keep my vitamins and supplements, juices, and even canned food. Great for frozen groceries. The solar package keeps my cooler cold all day with blue ice. Over Labor Day, I went on a three night backpacking trip in the Sierras and left some drinks and baby carrots in a smaller cooler with just a bag of ice cubes. The solar package, plus heatshield all around, kept it cool enought for three days that the drinks and carrots were still cold getting back at the trailhead.

 

Toyota originally intended to do this, but late discovered that the solar panel makes a great antenna, radiating EMF noise as the vehicle drives. The small amount of power the PV panel generates did not justify the cost of fixing the EMF problem.

Tom