Comments on: More details on Toyota's solar-powered Prius

Not only will the car feature a hybrid electric-gasoline engine and automatic self-parking, but it will soon get solar panels on the roof to power its air-conditioning system.

[markb1967]

I just DO NOT understand why we (GM, HONDA, TOTOTA) are stuck on HYBRIDS...Does anyone remember the EV-1 (1990's) Fully electric, fast as a corvette, 90 miles per charge, and soon after someone was able to double that distance with another battery (sold to GM, who then sold it to an oil company and has yet to see the light of day)

So tell me Car Makers....Why could you get 90 miles per charge in 1990, but can't do better than 20 miles per charge in 2008???????????

Are you still ashamed that you recalled all those electric cars and CRUSHED them in the desert???

I believe there is only one left in the world, and it's at the Smithsonian in DC, but guess what, GM disabled the car and engine, so it will never start...

Good going GM, you could have changed the world for the better and cornered the car market, but your GREED killed those noble ideas.

[bakedpatato]

???
While the EV-1 did get more than 90 miles(150 for the final revision), I don't get what you are talking about afterwords. Stop trollling.
The EV-1 was only made to meet CA's zero emissions requirements(that by the mid 2000's, 2% or so of cars sold here would have no emissions). GM was under no obligation to keep them around after the requirement was lifted,and 'cmon, they are in the business of making money and the EV-1 could never be profitable.
And there are a couple more than 1 EV-1 in the world, and the one at the Smithsonian is in storage, replaced by Stanley, the winner of the DARPA Grand Challenge.
And there is the Volt.

[nobama]

The EV1's were horrible cars - low range, too expensive. What killed that electric car was the lack of consumer demand. If I'd been GM, I'd have crushed those gawdawful ugly cars too.

[aerosky1229]

Take the class in "thermodynamic" or a class about efficiency of engine, then you will know.
If you have a great solution to it, your idea should worth to company millions, billions of dollars and can save the world. Unfortunately, no novel prize winner, MIT professors, or any genius yet found the answer to a perfect engine we only dream about.

[nobama]

This is pure HOGWASH. The title is SO misleading! Toyota is NOT making a "solar powered Prius." Not even CLOSE. Solar power technology to run an air conditioner is a big fat YAWN. Show me a solar-powered or even a plug-in electric car that has a range of 200 or better miles and costs less than 30 grand, and you've got my attention. Until that car exists, we need to drill for oil.

[ronwagn]

Very few people need a 200 mile range very frequently. 20 miles is more like it. An on board generator is the best answer for long trips. Of course range will increase quickly.

[ronwagn]

Very few people need a 200 mile range very frequently. 20 miles is more like it. An on board generator is the best answer for long trips. Of course range will increase quickly.

[flarekit]

The title is definitely misleading.


http://flarekit.blogspot.com

[Manhattan2]

Putting solar panels on moving vehicles is silly. Tell Toyota the engineers at the Manhattan 2 Project are not falling for this push for solar on vehicles. It simply does not make sense. The world does not have a chance to solve the energy crisis with the current solar products put forth. It seems common sense was left out of the decision. Check out solartransfer.com to learn why many installations of solar panels are actually hurting the Planet.

[thriftyT]

To: People that are constantly frustrated and disappointed about the lack of significant power generation from solar.

Re: Redirect your frustration

The fact of the matter is that technology isn't the only limitation when it comes to solar power. If we really wanted a boost, we'd need to dial up Superman and get us a new sun. The fact of the matter is that the amount of light striking the roof of a car from our sun just doesn't amount to much; certainly not remotely enough to power the drivetrain of a 3000 lb. car.

Consider this: The largest solar farm in the United States covers an area of 140 acres (about 109 football fields) and provides only enough electrical power for 25% of ONE Air Force Base's electrical power consumption. Or to put it another way, it is approximately enough power for ~10,000 average US households. During the day. If it's sunny.

Solar power has some problams. Much of it is because of the sun.

[b_baggins]

Here are all the numbers you need to know regarding solar power:

solar energy in one square meter of land: 1 kilowatt.

Energy in 8 cubic inches of uranium 235 87 million kilowatts.

[JamesAWhite]

The best place for a solar array to power the Prius that has been converted to plug-in hybrid electric car or GM Volt is on the roof of your garage. It only takes 350 square feet of solar to produce as much energy as one of these cars will use in a year driving 15,000 miles. The solar array will be putting power into the electrical grid, thereby reducing the electric utilities' peak daytime loads. The vehicle will be plugged in when you get home and then charged during off-peak periods at night when there is plenty of power available. As far as costs go, solar power is cheaper today than gasoline. You are better off paying $0.35 per kWh for solar generated electricity than you are paying $4.25 per gallon gasoline which is equivalent to $0.42 per kWh = $4.25/gallon / (33.4 kWh/Gallon raw energy of gasoline x 30% Engine Effiency)

[thriftyT]

But the solar-generated electricity is only a better deal if the electric car is charged and runs at 100% efficiency. It does not. Surely a car like the GM Volt will convert electricity to movement at a much higher efficiency than 30% (perhaps 60%?), but solar power is just still not a clear winner. And that's not even considering the upfront cost of installing photovoltaics on your roof. Would you pay for 2000 gallons of gas upfront? I'm sorry, but I can't afford it. I can't afford to install photovoltaics on my roof either.

[b_baggins]

350 square feet gives you theoretical maximum of 38.9 kilowatts. A Prius uses 100 kilowatts peak and about 30 kilowatts cruising.

So, at theoretical maximum output, you'll need three hours of charging for one hour of realistic operation.

Of course theoretical power output is far above actual. Actual output will be about 1/5th theoretical in the summer at low latitudes. That means 15 hours of charging for one hour of driving.

The math is what it is, and all the wishful thinking in the world is not going to change reality. Like a previous poster said, you want efficient solar, have superman dial us up a new sun.

[mnichols6556]

Folks, don't believe the Toyota hype (or poor reporting). There is only 1000 W/m2 of sunlight hitting the earth's surface (at noon in Miami during the summer). In the north it is only about half of this, and if you average it out over the day it is less than 250W/m2 for most of the country. The roof of the Prius is about 1 m2. So at best you can harvest about 250 W from the roof. However, most solar cells are only about 10% efficient. So in effect you can harvest about 25 W from the roof of a Prius under most conditions. Not enough to power the air conditioner, let alone a car. Even if you left it in the sun for 10 hours, you would only charge up the battery of your EV to about 25%. There just isn't enough solar energy to power the car. It is just physics until someone comes up with a photovoltaic cell that is closer to 70-80% efficient.

[mumblegum]

The fact is that a lot of cars do not have a garage and are in the sun all the time. Try calculating whether in this scenario, with the battery constantly charging, it would make an appreciable difference to the average 10,000km per year motorist. I bet it would.

[mattpease]

While putting a solar panel on a car rooftop may seem symbolically like a good idea -- there are several reasons why it makes more sense to have the solar panels on your rooftop:


MIT explains this here:
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/21073/

[anantesh17]

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