I just purchased a new 2012 Prius, but disappointed in the remote AC on my fob. It has a limited distance, would like to see this feature as an app for my phone.
They do make it as an app, but you have to buy a Prius Plug-in Advanced to use it... I hear ya' though, incorporating it into more models would be nice.
Hello Mark Thanks for the info! I do have the solar roof option on my new Prius, it's hard to believe that Toyota would use it just to power a fan. When will the solar roof be utilized in charging the battery? The Prius already has the battery indicator inside why not just utilize that logic to control the rate of charge to the battery from the solar roof. I would think that having this ability would increase the mpg even more.
I understand the solar array is too weak to charge the propulsion battery, but, since most of the battery problems involving the prius stem from the small 12 volt one, I never understood the logic in not having its charge maintained via the solar panels. That seems to make a lot more sense than having it power only a small fan in the summertime.
This is an idea that has been tossed around many times. The solar panel is good for about 60 watts of electricity in optimal situations. When the Toyota engineers attempted this, there were a few challenges they chose not to overcome: * EMF - the solar array when attached to the HV charging circuit acted as a large interference-radiating antenna when the car was operating * The amount of energy the panel contributes is negligible. Because of the panel orientation, parking variations, "solar coverage", etc. the realized "fuel savings" the panel would offer would be very minimal. Someone with more time can do the real math on that, but it'll work out to "not cost effective".
Also note, the Surface Area necessary to do the serious recharging of the main battery for your car is closer to the size of a picnic table or two. The array on your car is barely the size of a kid's table. And also, please understand, our current solar cell technology is about 15-20% efficient in converting Solar energy into electrical energy, which means the effective energy the sun could generate, we are only getting 15 to 20% of that heat energy into electrical energy. So to get the most out of it, you need large panels until the efficiency is improved by 200-400% of what it is now. As for it not charging the aux battery, more than likely, because it is not offered with the other models, never really thought as an option. Also, the array also might not be powerful enough to even charge that, as you do want to charge a battery with at voltage or above its voltage. The Solar array does not need to be 12v to work a low powered fan.
The panel is rated 22v nominal in full sunlight at 3.6 amps maximum. That will drive a battery charge controller to charge a 14v battery easily. I am going to install a switch, charge controller and a accessory jack so I can use my panel to charge my 14v SLA when I am out operating portable with my QRP Amateur Radio station Mike
