Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Good Idea, Silly Justification?

This is what I read:

The solar panels could also be used to keep the ventilation system running on hot days while the car is parked.
Good idea, I think.
That would reduce interior temperatures, cutting the load on the air conditioning when the driver gets in.
Load? Since when does a car's AC do anything but run till it's turned off?

Since this:
the new Prius and likely the Lexus-badged version will be equipped with photovoltaic cells on the roof. The solar cells won't generate enough power to do any significant charging of the battery pack but will be able to power accessory drives like the air conditioning.
Ok, that makes sense.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Most air conditioners have different settings of fan and compressor speed. In new cars, this can even be computer-controlled for a given target temperature.

It's not a lot of difference, but most changes aren't.

NotClauswitz said...

Ages ago I remember SAAB had a car with a solar-panel powered fan that was thermostatically controlled to exhaust hot air and keep it cool in the summer - I guess it's hot in Sweden in the summer.