My wife purchased four of these the other day and I installed one on our Prius yesterday. They are solar powered, and just hang on the window (I put it on the driver's side read window). It installs and removes in less than 30 seconds, unless you just want to leave it on (I don't). Here is the link to see for yourself: https://www.autocooltv.com/ Since I just put it in yesterday afternoon, I'll post how it works. Its been very hot here lately, with lots of sun, so I should be able to tell quickly whether or not it keeps the car cooler or not. Supposedly, the solar panels run the fan (they do, I can verify that) and the fan vents hot air out of the car, thus keeping interior temps lower while parked. That part I'll have to let you know. Does anyone else have one of these? I usually dont buy the stuff off tv commercials, but this item seems to do (at least so far) what it advertises it will do, and since our batteries depend (at least partially) on interior car temps to help them keep cool, I thought this may be a good idea. Any feedback???? peace all.
Hmmm... You let us know if they really work. I've seen the "infomercial" but as always, I usually tune out any credibility as soon as I see the, "Just call 1-800..." I just keep thinking about our house at the Shore... no A/C but lots of ceiling/electric fans. And on hot days, the fans do work... at blowing around a whole lot of hot air. :lol: Makes me think this contraption would be the same, no?
The egg frying on the dash is a priceless image. I can't tell you how many times that's happened to me! The idea is a little different than a ceiling fan... it blows hot air from the inside of the car, outside the car. So I guess if you leave it on too long you'll create a vacuum and your car will implode!
No, they blow exterior air into the car or suck interior air from the car and blow it outside (depending on how you look at it). I'll wait for his report, but my only question would be is there enough air flow to notice a difference. The sun is a very powerful heating device. I've also seen these devices in some stores. Cute idea. Another one to consider is the small solar panel that you place on the dash to keep the 12V battery charged. It could alleve worry when you leave your car at the airport parking lot for extended periods. You would have to connect it directly to the 12 V system though, or do the "cig. lighter always on" mod.
I am very interested to see how these work- that is one info-mercial that has caught my eye because I hate letting my car sit in the sun!
I would be suspect as well since the sun angle constantly changes. My guess is the fan speed would be variable depending upon the directness of the sun to the solar panel. Probably works best for the short trips when the car is not parked in one spot for a great length of time.
If it's the TV commercial I'm thinking of, I suspect you'd be better off by cracking your windows half an inch or so and using a sunshade on the front window.
I did a bit of Googling on it, and most people report it to be pretty much worthless. One tiny fan in a window is going to have a tough time competing with the sun on a hot day. I'd be surprised if it lowered the temperature more than a degree or two at most.
I had one in my last car, but it didn't really work that well. For one thing, it's a cheap solar panel, which loses strength after a little while. Another thing is that, for this to work, you are required to park in the sun at the right angle so the panel is facing the sun. I park the car so it faces East, leave two windows down a bit, have a sunshade for the front window and park so the car is in the shade in the afternoon.
My wife borrowed one from her mom in our '02. It seems that our solar tinted glass has a big impact on solar panel performance. I held the device out in open light, even in indirect sunlight, and the fan had some motion. However, once placed behind the glass in indirect sunlight, the fan ceased to spin. Haven't seen it in direct sun behind glass yet.
I previously used a device like this in 2001 Prius. It did seem to provide worthwhile cooling. However leaving it installed while driving increased wind noise too much, so I set it aside. For those willing to put it up and down each time (which is really not all that inconvenient), it would probably be a good summer accesory.
my mom bought it and i laughed hard...i laughed even harder when she informed me it didn't work...told ya so...lol. she got her money back.
These aren't really new. I had one back in the 1980's. The fan worked but it didn't make a bit of difference to the car's temperature. Sounds like a good idea but worthless in reality.
A Wichita TV station recently did a "Does It Work?" segment on these things. They took 3 cars, put the AutoCool units in two of them, and parked them in a public parking lot. Not only did the product not work, but the car without the AutoCool unit was ten degrees cooler than the two that did have the units. Granted, the higher temp was probably just a fluke, but the point is that the AutoCool units certainly didn't keep the temperature lower than 120 degrees F in the car. In the reporter's opinion, the product "absolutely does not work."
I tried one with my Geo Metro a few years back. It's a nice idea, but far underpowered for competing with the AZ sun. I also didn't like that it required leaving the window down enough to be a security risk (at least in my paranoid mind B) ). I think such a device would have a much better chance of working if the solar panels could be mounted on the roof, preferably flexable panels that would conform to the surface. You'd get way more output that way, without having to worry so much about the car's orientation. Going a bit further, and specific to the Prius, I would like to see the panels power the fan that cools the NiMH battery. That's a pretty strong fan that draws air from the cabin and eventually out into the world, without needing to have any windows open. Obviously, it would need some smarts to watch the battery temp and make sure it's not making this worse for the battery. Even better, could a full roof coverage panel provide enough power to operate the electric A/C, even at partial strength?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hawkjm73 @ Aug 27 2006, 03:09 PM) [snapback]310225[/snapback]</div> The guys at my dealrship try to tell me that the prius has solar panels integrated on the roof that charge the battery when its parked. I was going to walk out, but they were selling it to me like 2500 under MSRP
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(HiBreedinVA @ Aug 27 2006, 03:13 PM) [snapback]310226[/snapback]</div> WOW!! We certainly don't have those here in North Carolina. That must be the experimental 2010 Prius with solar panel regenerative batteries!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: Sure would like to give those salesmen a hard time!!! :lol: :lol: integrated solar panels...... :lol: not a bad idea though ....... just 4-5 years ahead of its time.... AS FOR THE AUTOCOOL VENT TESTING: Today in the N.C. Mountains are actually in the high 70's and a bit overcast, so not at all a very good day to test the autocool solar vent. Since I park at work in a paved asphalt parking lot by the courthouse all day, in direct sunlight, tomorrow will be a better time to "test drive" the window unit. I'll report in then, since today is rather cool anyway. I'll try to get an "in car" temp" coupled with an outside temp both in direct sun and outside in shade.
The one that I saw worked on the hot air leaving the car and turning the fan as it passed through it. (Much like heat rising from a heated pan on the stove.) No solar panel,no little moter, just a BiG rip off. P>T> Barnham said it best."there is a sucker born every minute". Sorry to be so harsh but its junk.
