SolaPrius gets up to 62 mpg
Wow, solar panel technology for the Prius has come a long way since our last post on the topic, which featured a pic of the hybrid and a dining room table full of solar panels on its roof. Autoblog reader Adam pointed us to this article on the Solatec rooftop-mounted Solar Panel kit for the 2004-2006 Toyota Prius. It features two flexible, conformal panels that self-adhere to the car's roof and charge the hybrid's auxiliary battery through a system located behind interior trim panels. The "SolaPrius" gets a 10-percent improvement in fuel economy over a standard Prius, up to 55 mpg city and 62 mpg highway. The kits will go for around $2,195 and be available through nationwide dealer franchises after four seasons testing has been completed.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joel A 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Kewl. Folks who live in states with little seasonal variety (e.g., Arizona, California, Texas, etc.) or have long stretches of sunshine (i.e., Alaska) and have a hankering to show their even more green will consider this aftermarket gadget. Personally, I'd trick such a Prius with plug-in capability as well.
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J T 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Still ugly.
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Devin Lussier 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Cool, but it looks like they could put twice the amount of panels on the roof thus covering it completely and theoretically get a net 20% increase in efficiency instead of just 10%.
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Chimay 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
I wonder why Toyota hasn't just done this already as a standard feature for the Prius.
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RS 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
So, assuming that it performs as advertised ... $2200 to install, fuel at $2 per gallon, assuming an improvement from 50 mpg to 55 mpg you break even at 550,000 miles ... assuming the system never breaks down or requires any maintenance.
Half the price and double the performance, then it might be worth it for something other than the oooh and aah factor.
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Den in IN 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Zowie, at $3 per gallon that will save you $62 per 10,000 miles! At that rate it'll be paid off in a mere 354,000 miles. I'm all over that!
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Geotpf 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
That should be a factory option, IMHO. So should the ability to run purely on electricity and the ability to plug it in to charge it overnight.
Obviously, as Den said, this doesn't make fiscal sense at all, although it is kinda cool. If I owned a Prius and had two grand lying around, I might consider this mod. Using less oil, polluting less, and getting a longer range (not the mention the whole geek factor involved here) are all nice.
One will also note that the numbers they quoted are real world numbers from thier testing (not the government's). They got 55 city 62 highway with the solar panels and the government's numbers on a standard Prius are 60 city 51 highway.
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Greg Marsh 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
80 horsepower engine=60,000 watts
according to their website, the 2 solar panels put out 30 watts. To run the car at 1/2 power for one minute, you need about 17 hours of sunlight.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS MAY VARY! You may get the 10% improvement if you live in Arizona and only drive about 5 miles roundtrip daily.
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DQ 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Thats not the point, Den in IN...the point is to save some gas and help keep the environment a little bit cleaner. Get over yourself.
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7 of7 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
DQ you get over yourself. The comment made was valid. Period. Wuss
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James 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
As Den pointed out, this makes no financial sense at all. Even if the goal was to save gas or help the environment, the energy costs and associated hazmat generated during manufacturing (let alone packaging and shipping) hardly qualifies this add-on as eco friendly.
But I'll give it some marks for being cool.
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Robert 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
How many modifications of any sort pay for themselves? I don't think the point is rarely, if ever, valid when looking at it in that light.
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OtisWild 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
What is a cynic?
And http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=10260 ftw!
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Den in IN 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Hey, I'm all for customization for the sake of style, but there is a ROI implied in the claim of improved mileage. If I buy exhaust for the Magnum that claims to add 10 hp my return is improved performance which is hard to quantify financially. If I buy something to improve efficency it is easy to rate in dollars. Fact is Hybreds are a hard to justify strictly in terms dollars saved, so they must be largely a fashion statement as much as a GTO or Miata. Somehow it seems like that is lost or covered up in the discussion of efficency etc surrounding the subject.
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jm 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
well said Den
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66coronet 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
I think it would depend on how often a person drives and how far and how fast. If a person charges the batteries beyond the gas motor limits. Then the electric motor will run longer during the first part of the trip. So if you go under a 1/2 mile and under 25mph to the store and the motor doesn't start to charge the batteries. You may get better than 10-100% just on your driving habbits. Once the gas motor starts - to charge the system or for extra accelleration - then it's back to the old pruis fuel mileage estimates. So the game is how far can you drive the pruis without the gas motor starting.
Sure the sun will charge it where ever you park it and give you that extra power if you stay in one spot for a long enough time. I say every little bit helps. Plus if you were stupid and ran out of gas. Sitting in the sun for 2hrs may allow you to have enough charge to get you to a gas station.
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Jason Sinep 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
DEN in IN... I wonder if it will last that long. Probably?? Who knows!! I wouldn't spend that type of money. I'm happy just getting 50mpg.
38000 trouble free Prius miles. Love it!!
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Modelman 9:49AM (1/06/2006)
The point is: Hybrid technology is still evolving. Addition of solar panels is a new development toward total solar power. Imagine someday driving with only the power of the sun pushing you . . . similar to the discovery 10 thousand years ago that the wind would push ships across the ocean. I'm happy to be part of the experiments, driving an Insight, getting over 60 mpg everyday.
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