In the US, 2015 was the last year that a solar roof was offered. Abroad, a solar roof option is offered on the Prius Prime (they call it Prius PHV) from 2017 onwards but not in the US.
Is it not true that some (or all) of the solar roofs only provide power to a ventilation system and not to the battery ?
^ My understanding is that this is true for the US spec models. I'm not excluding our beloved neighbors to the North, because I've seen subtle differences betwixt the two. My understanding also is that the "solar" part of "solar" Priuses was somewhat problematic.
Any details on the 'problematic'? Mine's been trouble-free. In my 2010, from the factory, it does only do ventilation to keep summer temps down. It's not just a gimmick, it's around a 60 watt panel, which is enough to run the HVAC blower strongly enough to noticeably help with the temperature when you get into a car parked in the sun. In the models that have it, they used a brushless HVAC blower motor so it could handle the extra runtime hours; the non-solar models have a conventional blower motor with brushes. I recently did a mod that was successfully done by several people before me, to use the same solar panel to keep the 12 V battery charged. It was fairly easy and I am quite happy with it, and sorry I didn't do it four years ago. Under COVID driving conditions, it might be a more useful function than running the blower. People who've done the same mod before have reported that in the summer the combined system still does useful ventilation; given the battery being well charged (as this setup tends to keep it), it isn't drawing much power, and the rest is still available for the blower.
I hope the design includes an isolation diode......to prevent the vent fan from running off the battery during times when there is little or no sun, causing the solar array to have no output.
The panel is about 22 volts nominal. So the factory ventilation circuit already includes a buck converter (part of the "solar ventilation ECU") by which it supplies the 12 volts to the blower. Anybody who has done the panel-to-battery mod has of course added another buck converter for that (some have spent more and bought an honest-to-Pete MPPT controller; I followed Michael Cline's example and used a cheap generic bucker). So there isn't really a path for the battery to go feeding the blower. The buck converter I bought had pads for an output diode but none installed, and a jumper around it, so to use for a battery charge application it was necessary to cut the jumper and install the diode just to prevent a nighttime drain through the converter. But it took adding a bag of Schottky diodes for my order to hit the free-shipping threshold anyway.
2010-2011 Solar Roof Package: One-touch open power tilt/slide moonroof, Solar Panel Ventilation System with Remote A/C, DVD-Based Navigation System, Bluetooth Streaming Audio, USB w/ iPod Connectivity. For the Prius IV/Four Solar Roof package, add Safety Connect 2012-2015 Prius Three Solar Roof Package: One-touch open power tilt/slide moonroof, Solar Panel Ventilation System with Remote A/C Prius Four Deluxe Solar Roof Package One-touch open power tilt/slide moonroof, Solar Panel Ventilation System with Remote A/C, Premium Hard-drive-Based Navigation System w/ Splitscreen Capability and Entune, JBL Audio System with DVD Playback, Head-Up Display, Safety connect For Gen 3, all provide power to the ventilation system only. There is a Remote A/C function for cooling via the fob.
I have a 2011 and thus far all has performed well, no issues. I was looking to identify more recent models that included the feature and determine if any options were available for a feature like this being used to recharge a battery? I’m thinking of buying a second used Prius and need it as a delivery vehicle, thinking about the V? Does this have a solar option?
The Prius v does not have a solar roof option. None of the Prius models for sale in the US offer a solar roof that charges the hybrid battery. The current car that does that is the 2021 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited. Generally the Gen 2 is highly regarded as the most reliable.
Chapman fit it in to 10 words, exactly. For readers wanting a far more words and detail, try this: Buck converter - Wikipedia
The Gen 2 ran until 2009 so I’d get a later model year ... 2008-2009. Earlier ones are ok but just ensure all TSBs and recalls have been done. Also, try to get one with side airbags as the Gen 2 only achieve “acceptable” in side impact tests without airbags.
2020 Lexus UX Hybrid 250h F Sport AWD , what is this vehicle comparable to in the Toyota lineup , I looking for a reliable hybrid that I can haul some equipment within 200-300lbs.. any thoughts on a vehicle that I can get 40plus mileage or 50 and not required to have an SUV and my Prius...
