Not to get too far off topic, but from my previous measurements (using a Kill-A-Watt) of my year old Lenovo T61p w/2.2 ghz Core 2 Duo T7500 and Nvidia Quadro 570M graphics draws ~27-37 watts at idle w/a fairly high power usage power plan in Vista. With a more conservative power plan, I couldn't get it below 20 watts, even w/the LCD off. The included AC adapter is rated at 90 watts and it doesn't get that high even w/both cores maxed out + battery charging.
FYI, Toyota Japan published a two pages preliminary brochure for dealers, and a chart of the solar ventilation/remote A/C effect is shown. Ken@Japan
What the chart is missing is outside ambient temp, the graph curve cuts off before things get back down to 25°C, so it would seem like the test ended at 38-40°C?
I would think that the outside ambient air temperature for that chart is at least 90 degrees F, maybe a lot more. The interior maxes out at 176 deg F, which is hard to get unless it's really hot out. Typical summer highs in my location are about 80 degrees (I'm right on the coast), and the interior will get up to about 150 degrees.
combination of two looks really nice... despite of tinted windows and windshield protection, it is so hot here that after few hours, you cant touch steering wheel in the vehicle... heck, gets 45C in the shade .
Initially, I thought it drops 35 degrees so not much of a deal. I just converted to Fahrenheit and the drop is from 174 deg F to 113 deg F. That means 63 deg F drop! That's a huge drop!
All you folk who'd like a moon roof, have you had one already? I had one on my Lucida and I'm afraid it was rather worse than useless: I had to cover it with perforated plastic film to reduce the heat and glare - the sunlight was just too bright and it was too hot! I wish I'd not ordered it after all The solar bit without the glass roof, please Toyota. (Oh, and more padding on the central arm rest in the G2 - I felt obliged to add another wodge of foam as by elbow was getting sore! Fortunately, it was not too hard to fix.)
The moon roof in the Prius has a sliding blind to block out the sun, not that I understand the moon/sunroof thing, I just don't get it. I love the remote AC thing but I see little value in the solar ventilation. It would have been interesting to see a comparison chart including another line without the solar ventilation. I think the solar panel will appeal to the tech set,, it will never pay for itself but what option on a car does? I park in the shade when ever I can to avoid the heat build-up.
You could try our technique, where the snow blocks the sun. That helps keep the interior of your car cool. Tom
Yes, my spouse has had moon roofs in two previous cars. I hated them. To me, they have limited usefulness. I think they appeal to people who can't get enough sun or wind in their face & hair, but who feel unsafe in a convertible. That's how my spouse feels. The only time I ever use them is to more quickly let the heat out of a car after sitting in the hot sun for a while. I'd rather nix the moon roof and have twice the amount of solar panels on the roof (maybe even on the hood), and provide the control circuitry to provide a small charge to the traction batteries.
I have one on my Hycam. Can't say I'd go out of my way to have it again, though we do sort of like having more light in the car sometimes, as long as it's not direct sunlight. It's also very useful for quickly airing out dog and people farts without having to crack a window!
patspark - you can see that it lowers the temp between 10 and 15C in this example... Here i park my car in shade if possible, which does not help that much.... my windows are tinted and winshield gets protector and nevertheless, it is hot as crazy for first 10 minutes when i turn the car on...
This is what I am talking about. The graph shows a vehicle which is driven to a parking space and left in the sun for about 10 minutes, then the vehicle with the solar roof has the remote AC activated while the vehicle not so equipped continues to build heat in the cabin. It has already been shown that the Prius battery can run the air conditioner for 3 minutes without harm or Toyota wouldn't be able to offer the remote AC on the solar roof model, no energy goes into the traction battery from the solar panel so all the AC energy comes from the ICE. Here is what I suspect the graph would look like if someone hacked the Prius or better still, Toyota offered remote AC across the range with and without the solar panel and solar ventilation. You can see that there is little benefit from the solar ventilation after 3 minutes of AC.
that shows 5 minutes of AC (maximum)... you graph suggests that without solar vents, your AC would cool down cabin sooner? Basically, according to graph, solar vents cool down that specific situation 10-15C better... so thats what you are getting there - 10-15C better temp than without it. Not in all instances will you be able to run AC 5 minutes before you enter vehicle... in fact, in most of them I wouldnt be able, but maybe for 10-12 seconds.
I think your slope is WAY too steep. A hotter cabin takes more energy to cool down that a cooler one. You would not have the continued solar venting benefit either. While certainly it would help some I don't think it would be nearly as dramatic as you diagram.
I'd rather nix the solar panel and have twice the amount of roof windows. Like the Mini's panorama roof. Fixed glass in the the rear half, moon roof in the front half. We really should make a trade. But first I'd have to get you to buy me the car.
