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The next generation Toyota Prius will receive solar panels on the most expensive trim levels.
Solar panels will only provide a portion of power needed for AC system

With record high oil prices people across America are looking for ways to save money on fuel costs and to help the environment at the same time. This has led to an unprecedented level of interest in hybrid and electric-powered cars.

Toyota was the first major automaker to introduce a hybrid automobile that used both electric and gasoline engines for power. The Toyota Prius was first on sale in Japan in 1997 and made its way to America in 2000.

Since the American introduction of the Prius, Toyota has raced to meet the demand for the hybrid car as environmentally conscious buyers look to get on the hybrid bandwagon. Toyota announced this week that it would be offering solar panels on the roof of some high-end Prius hybrids next year when it refreshes the model.

According to Reuters, the catch is that the solar panels are not efficient enough to help the hybrid increase its electric-driven distance. The panels will only be able to provide enough power to offer some of the electricity needed to run the car’s AC system. The goal with the solar panels is to allow the Prius owner to run the AC system for longer periods of time before the gasoline motor has to fire up.

Reuters quotes an anonymous source familiar with the solar options saying, “It's more of a symbolic gesture. It's very difficult to power much more than that (part of the AC system) with solar energy.”

Toyota will source the solar panels for the option from Kyocera Corporation. Whether or not the solar panel option proves to be popular and cheap enough for buyers to be interested in the option remains to be seen.

There is no doubt that Americans are moving away from big SUVs and trucks to more fuel efficient vehicles like the Prius and Honda Civic. The Ford F-series trucks were replaced as the top selling vehicles in America by the more frugal sedans.

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Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Lord 666 on 7/8/2008 12:06:43 PM , Rating: 2
Masher - how long are modern solar panels strong enough to drive A/C systems expected to last?

If they couple it to the battery, wouldn't it be covered under the extended warranty that CA requires for emmission devices?

I guess there goes the possibility of FINALLY having a sunroof on a Prius.




RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By masher2 (blog) on 7/8/2008 12:11:06 PM , Rating: 2
I don't know which particular PV cells Toyota is choosing, but a 20 to 25 year lifespan is typical. That doesn't count possible damage from wind, weather, or road hazards, of course....PV cells tend to be quite fragile.


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By ajfink on 7/8/2008 12:18:03 PM , Rating: 2
20-25 years, for a car, is just fine.

The cells are more useful than they really need to be. At the minimum, they ought to just top off the battery. It'd be nice to see a Chevy Volt version with this (except the Volt is aimed at a slightly more on-the-edge market that might not enjoy solar cells on the roof).


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By masher2 (blog) on 7/8/2008 12:24:05 PM , Rating: 4
> "The cells are more useful than they really need to be"

I think few people would agree. Even a Prius engine is over 100 kilowatts. A solar cell is going to provide about 0.2 - 0.3 KW max...and that's around noon, in direct sun, on a cloudless day, unshaded by buildings, trees, overpasses, or anything else.

So you're essentially paying a few thousand dollars more to allow your A/C to run a couple extra minutes before the engine kicks in. That's a symbolic gesture to most people, as the article points out.


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By sgw2n5 on 7/8/2008 12:45:44 PM , Rating: 2
If toyota is seriously going to go down the PV cell route, I wonder why they wouldn't try to maximize the surface area of the cells on the car?

As is, the roof only has the PV cells, but there is a lot more surface area (which is easily exposed to sunlight) such as the hood, trunk, that they could put PV cells on as well. This would in effect triple their power output, maybe more.

Is it a cost or cosmetic issue I wonder?


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By therealnickdanger on 7/8/2008 12:51:37 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Is it a cost or cosmetic issue I wonder?

Both, most likely. In order to maintain any sort of profit on the car and still keep it saleable (sellable?), they can't coat the thing will PV. However, if they did coat it with PV, it would look atrocious and many people would be likely turned off by its looks, then look at the price tag and think, who would buy this fugly car for $XXXXX???!?


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Jimbo1234 on 7/8/2008 1:36:36 PM , Rating: 5
It's already a fugly car, so what difference would it make?


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By RjBass on 7/8/2008 2:27:33 PM , Rating: 2
While I don't agree with you, that was a pretty funny comment. I don't see why you were rated down for it though.


By mindless1 on 7/10/2008 4:03:22 AM , Rating: 2
higher maintenance cost

What good is a tiny power savings if it takes as much power to drive somewhere, have someone pick you up, have them deliver parts to fix it, fix it, have someone drive you to pick it up, then drive it home?

What good is the tiny power savings if the increased complexity and broken state of a car causes it to be put in the junkyard so another new card (built with energy and resources of course) has to be bought?

People aren't thinking longer term on anything these days and it'll come back to bite us. Maybe it's not so economical to keep driving a 1970 Buick forever but something electric or hybrid may not have it's successors show as much of a gain as the ICE cars did over the same period unless we make breakthroughs in motor, battery, etc, that we can't assume will occur without more precusors.


By mindless1 on 7/10/2008 3:57:40 AM , Rating: 2
1) Cost

2) Cover the whole car and it's still a trivial amount of power.

Solar cells are just a token gesture, it would make MUCH more sense if the car came with a larger solar panel the owner can put on their roof to aide in recharging an electric car.

Also, the most efficient panels aren't the longest lived so these may not have good output for very long and have you noticed how many vehicle roofs degrade from sun exposure, something fairly necessary for this to have any use at all?

I would rather not have solar panels on top even if it were a free option.

No it would not triple their output, have you noticed that solar panels have to be aimed for best results? Have you noticed also that hood and truck are not 2/3rd of the top?

I'm all for solar power when well implemented and cost effective, but this isn't.


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Carter642 on 7/8/2008 12:52:52 PM , Rating: 5
Solar isn't a bad idea on a car but it's going to do very little except maybe charge the battery a bit while parked in the sun.

The prius is just too heavy, the thing weighs as much as a camery! Knocking 100lbs(>5%) off the car would cost far less than solar and have far more benefit.

This is just so that the folks who added 5 grand and 300lbs of options to their prius can feel good about themselves. Listen to Colin Chapman - Performance through light weight!


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Spuke on 7/8/2008 1:10:43 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Listen to Colin Chapman - Performance through light weight!
This car isn't about performance though, It's only about gas mileage. It's not even about cost savings either. People spend nearly $30k on these things. A Yaris would be a much better buy if one were really concerned about saving fuel.


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Carter642 on 7/8/2008 1:15:18 PM , Rating: 5
Er fuel milage IS a measure of a car's performance.

Personally I like the quote and it applies. Imagine if you shoehorned a prius drivetrain into a 1900lb elise versus a 3000lb prius.


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Spuke on 7/8/2008 2:50:22 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Imagine if you shoehorned a prius drivetrain into a 1900lb elise versus a 3000lb prius.
Let's see. A Prius motor in an Elise would increase weight (135 lb gain just in the engine) past 1900 lbs not to mention the loss of 114 hp.

You're looking at around 26 lbs per hp which is slower than a 08 Suburban and right around where the Smart Cars are.


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Carter642 on 7/8/2008 3:25:30 PM , Rating: 2
I was talking about fuel milage, not power to weight.


RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Spuke on 7/8/08, Rating: 0
RE: Life Expectancy of Solar Panel
By Carter642 on 7/8/2008 3:52:02 PM , Rating: 4
Elise runs the shortest gear ratios available for that gearbox, shorter than the Matrix or Celica not to mention it uses a lotus tuned fuel mapping. Add in bigger stickier tires for more rolling resistance, and it's not surprising.

Point is that a 2400lb low trim level lightened prius would be a cheaper more fuel efficient vehicle than adding expensive gimicks like PV panels to the current high trim chunky models.