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Solar roof cooling duration

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Sebdoc, Jul 14, 2009.

  1. Sebdoc

    Sebdoc Junior Member

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    Is it really true that the solar roof only gives you 10 minutes of air cooling?:eek: Just came back from the dealer and that it what I was told. If I knew this before purchasing I would never have added solar!!!
     
    #1 Sebdoc, Jul 14, 2009
  2. Corellon

    Corellon Junior Member

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    No it's not true, it's true that you only get about 5 minutes of remote air conditioning, but with the solar ventalation it will circulate air as long as there is enough sun light available, on very bright days It will blow as fast as the fan usually does when set on high.

    It will only cool the car to about a bit higher then the outside air (since in solar mode AC doesn't run) but it helps a ton, remote AC though only works for 5 minutes which is how much juice is in the HV battery.
     
    #2 Corellon, Jul 14, 2009
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  3. Sebdoc

    Sebdoc Junior Member

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    I hope that you are right but that is not what the service tech said. He just had a training and showed me the printout that said 10 minutes of solar cooling on it. It does make sense that the cells keep recharging in the sun and should be able to produce continual fan power (not cooling). I think that they are still learning this new product.
     
    #3 Sebdoc, Jul 14, 2009
  4. mjrauma

    mjrauma Junior Member

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    My solar runs all the time, depending on sunlight of course, even after I get in the car. Once I start it, the solar stops of course. The remote A/C can run for up to three minutes, depending on how much charge was in your battery when you stopped.
     
    #4 mjrauma, Jul 14, 2009
  5. jasonh4451

    jasonh4451 New Member

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    The tech is definitely wrong. I've had my IV with solar for a week and it's hot today and was this weekend. The fans keep running as long as they are powered by the sun.

    It makes a difference. It's about 92 today in Palo Alto and the car was sitting directly in the sun for about 90 minutes when I was at lunch. It was hot inside when I got in but not as hot as my old car would have been. The fans were running when I got in.

    I was showing the car to some of my colleagues but forgot about the remote A/C.

    I'm still learning this new toy too.
     
    #5 jasonh4451, Jul 14, 2009
  6. grahamy

    grahamy New Member

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    Worrying when tech people get things totally backwards!
    The "10 minutes" surely refers to the timer which delays the start of fan for 10 minutes after leaving the car in order not to dissipate the a/c too soon.
     
    #6 grahamy, Jul 14, 2009
  7. carz89

    carz89 I study nuclear science...

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    What your salesperson told you is absolutely wrong, and makes no common sense. It will have energy to run the fan as long as there is sufficient incident solar radiation striking the photovoltaic cell. There is no time limit imposed.

    I think what they meant to say is the opposite -- during a total solar eclipse, the solar cooling will be off for about 10 minutes.
     
    #7 carz89, Jul 14, 2009
  8. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Agreed - the tech is confusing the ~10 minute start delay (used to keep from blowing out air-conditioned air) with total duration. The fan will run as long as it's enabled and there's adequate sunlight to maintain 10 volts or higher on the panel.
     
    #8 HTMLSpinnr, Jul 15, 2009
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