Solar Roof Info for 2023 Prius Prime

I think, the usable battery is actually 9 kWh, because 1/3 of the battery !should! be reserved for hybrid mode. At least that is RAV4 PHV usage, and new Prius should operate in the same fashion.
It seems I love to use the word "should" :-D

 

new battery technology may mean that you cannot extrapolate gen5 stats from gen4.

 

In Gen 4, 6.30 kWh is useable. I verified it many times with ChargePoint Level 2 public EVSEs.

From the BEV range/mpge numbers, In Gen 5, about 11.5–11.7 kWh is useable. We can find the exact number using ChargePoint Level 2 public EVSEs, but it requires dozens of measurements to average.

The EPA formula for the BEV range/mpge is as follows:

Useable BEV battery capacity (kWh) = 33.705 × BEV range (mi) / mpge

Gen 4: 33.705 × 25 / 133 = 6.3 kWh
Gen 5 SE: 33.705 × 44 / 127 = 11.7 kWh (with uncertainty due to two significant figures in the BEV range)
Gen 5 XSE/XSE Premium: 33.705 × 39 / 114 = 11.5 kWh (with uncertainty due to two significant figures in the BEV range)

 

I think the solar roof is a gimmick. Just for the cool factor. I’ve got a 2023 XSE w/ solar roof and I question if it even is working. Seeing this thread I think told me why. I live in Hawaii so basically right under the sun, and optimal charging conditions… but reading here it says the solar shuts off if the car get hot. Well Hawaii is hot and the sun is closest, and hot.

I was shipping my car inter island so it sat outside for several days with the shipper. The range barely went up. Maybe 3 or 4 miles over 5 days. This was when the car was new to me so I didn’t know how to look up all the info. I plan on doing a test in the middle of a clear sunny day, with the sun directly overhead, for 2 hours to see how many kW or I should say Watts are generated. So far I’m 100% disappointed with the solar roof.

 

Don't look at the range. Look at the SOC. It should be a lot more than that in five days.