Featured Toyota testing new solar powered Prius

The price is way too high. GaAs panels are really expensive, primarily because the current market size, space applications, is rather small. They are being cautious with making them mass market but on a smaller scale. Easier to fine tune small sizes in many batches. Think NiMH batteries as they make a lot of small sizes for their hybrids.

Does bug me though they keep calling these solar batteries. I believe they fully expect these to supplant regular batteries. Keeps their cars light so they are efficient. In their eyes, if they can keep the battery size down, it’s a win-win in terms of size and weight. I do believe they’ll use the term Solar Battery to convince buyers this is equal to a (fill-in the blank) size battery. This way they can sell it as that size of a battery. In my eyes, for my purposes, the only way this would be useful is if they also sold it with emergency UPS capabilities.

But let them and encourage others to buy into it. In the long run it will only bring down the costs of making them as they ramp up production and everybody may jump on the bandwagon as with Li-Ion.


Unsupervised!
iPhone ?

 

Put a similar panel on every Prius (including non plug ins) increase the battery size slightly (like a pip) and you would get some EV travel, better mpgs during the day and slight heating/cooling potential while the car sits.

 

i have no doubt that many companies (including other auto mfg's) are working night and day to increase solar cell efficiency and bring down costs.

they're just not hyping what they know is a long way off in the future. toyota is the new gm.

solar, like battery and fuel cell tech, is a long slow slog

 

Why not decrease the size of the battery to offset the cost of the PV array? You might only notice the reduced capacity when not driving in strong sunlight.

 

I would buy. I'm waiting for a 5 seater prime and extended range which doesn't exist. Think about this though. With solar you could add an asterisk and say range is 750 miles driving straight in the sun lol. Garages have light too and I'd be curious how much it could absorb. Lighten the battery load, increase the range and solar tech then we have a true winner. Id vote to simplify the console Ala tesla... If only tesla wasn't purely electric I think their sales would go even more bonkers.

 

But how many weeks are you willing to spend getting there?

Measure it some time. The light energy density there is typically in the coarse range of 0.1% that of direct overhead sunlight. The indoor power uptake rate is tiny.

(BTDT in relation to an actual project proposal from above, though for a far far different type of product. I was within a 3X factor of making the product workable before all available resources for all the many blue-sky ideas were yanked away and put on to something else that did go to market. By now, it should be workable as both PV improves and the electronic cores migrate to ever low power requirements. But I have since retired.)

 

Know your audience!
IMO, if Telsa's had an ICE they wouldn't be selling any.

Mike

 

ya, they'd probably be selling like primes

 

What toyota has been good at is efficiency. Efficiency in gas via hybrid system. In fact the electric only on the prime is very efficient that if they could keep it like that as the pack size increases the value increases. It would be phenomenal... Getting energy from another source besides braking. They could also increase the regen power. Our Pacifica hybrid can take in 40-50kw in braking power. I think the prime is limited to much less...

 

It's what the system is allowed to capture. The prime captures less as it engages actual breaking.

 

hard to say the pacifica is efficient compared to prime

 

Moreover, kW production here is supposing perfect conditions . . . sun's azimuth is somewhere in the southern states in order to predict such high kW production . . . . where it's closer of directly overhead. BUT - when does that happen? ONLY in June, & just for a couple weeks. June temps in southern states often get above 90°f temps. PV becomes less efficient when temps get hot.
So kiss off 20% efficiency on hot days
So kiss off 20% efficiency if sun is 3:00 PM _ hotter AND lower azimuth.
So kiss off >25% if it's morning time -
So kiss off >25% cloudy/raining low winter azimuth
So kiss off >25% northern/low azimuth sun penetration.
It's not nice to presume ideal conditions ... like mid June, sunny day in Colorado, with high sun AND cool temps
.

 

it is when most readers are clueless

 

you mean, Toyota panders to low lowest common denominator?

.

 

only since gm stopped. someone had to take up the gauntlet

 

I read that some (I think it was in Australia) now have a communal solar panel installation - not sure how they get credits for it as individual owners - though it firstly powers infrastructures like exterior lighting, foyer lighting, lifts, roller doors etc.

 

Yes I agree even off-grid- homewonwers could have a off grid panel on their garage, and if Toyota would supply the associated plug and aux batt and circuitry we could just plug the solar panel into the car. In my dreams, a wireless charging option...you just pull in the garage.

Keep in mind Toyota already sells solar Prius in Japan and I think it is amazing option for Japan. They have no fossil fuels and limited elec, and here we have a car 10% of miles off grid already, with potenital to improve that. Almost Nobel prize stuff here. In USA the solar Prius option fails our roof crash safety (is my understanding).