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Solar Powered AC Can Reduce Car Fuel Costs by up to 20%

caaneo.ca — In the category of better late than never, apparently next year a car is being released with solar powered AC. Research has shown, using solar powered AC may help to reduce car fuel costs by up to 20% on really hot days. Now ... if small panels could just recharge the batteries of electric cars.

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  • jquipp, on 07/15/2008, -0/+6More cost efficient and environmentally friendly ... we need more solutions like this!
  • PoliticalMan922, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2I wonder, though, why they can't put small panels on cars for electric cars. It'll happen, I think, in another...few years.
    • jquipp, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1They've even got window film solar panels now ... which makes previously unusable space usable. So I agree they'll have it for electric cars soon.
  • rgladstein, on 07/15/2008, -0/+6Why use the solar panels exclusively for the air conditioning? Wouldn't it make more sense to just tie them into the car's electrical system and use them to offset some of the power that's generated by the engine? If you don't happen to be using the AC, use that energy for something else.
  • bhartzer, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1that would be cool, but how big are the solar panels going to be? I mean really, I don't want to go around with some huge flat 4x8 foot solar panel on my roof.
  • MoreInStore, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3If we can put solar panels on purses and backpacks (for laptops, iPods, etc.), then it only makes sense to use them in less fashionable and even more productive ways. Sign me up.
  • ryan83189, on 07/16/2008, -0/+0Can I put one in my moonroof?
  • psogle, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2What happens when I want to use the AC at night? I hate sweating at night its the worst
  • neognostic, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Don't get me wrong, I'm completely for alternative energy sources, but according to several reports, the A/C unit does not reduce gas usage by 20%.
    "There's no question air-conditioning makes extra work for the engine, increasing fuel use. But car air conditioners are much more efficient today than they used to be. In around-town driving, using the A/C will drop fuel economy by about a mile a gallon.
    Meanwhile, driving at higher speeds with the windows down greatly increases aerodynamic drag. As speed increases, drag becomes more of an issue, making A/C use the more efficient choice at high speeds.
    At most speeds and in most vehicles, A/C use drains slightly more fuel than driving with the windows down, contends David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "My final take on is that it's very close," says Phil Reed, consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com. "It's hard to measure the difference and every vehicle is different."
    The best choice - if temperature and humidity allow - is to keep the windows rolled up and to turn the A/C compressor off. You can keep the fans running to blow in air from the outside, but your car will be as aerodynamic as possible while still letting you breathe. You will save gas, but the fuel economy improvement will be slight."
  • akaoldschool, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3These are the kinds of solutions I can get behind. We are all feeling the effects of not using the right resources for energy, and we are paying for it at the gas pumps.
  • mattwardman, on 07/16/2008, -0/+0Now I can go back to Air Con again!
  • smoothdzion, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2I agree with rgladstein . Why not other things besides the a/c. They're probably just trying to nickle and dime us by making solar panels for every electric powered element in our car. Next thing you know little solar panels will be on/in cars like antennas are on red neck trucks.
  • starexplorer, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1it's refreshing to see solar technology get a second life again - my wife and i talked about adding panels to the back of the house/roof some day.

    Solar car technology also has promise outside of singular applications like the A/C - see this article http://auto.howstuffworks.com/solar-cars.htm for a look at how these new solar cars aren't the itty bitty versions you remember rolling down a deserted California highway.
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