Toyota Prius to come with solar panels
Eco geek, get uber eco-geek!
Toyota is now planning to install solar panels on the roofs of the ultimate common man’s eco-car, the Prius.
The solar panels on roof will be an option. The third generation Toyota Prius hybrid, due 2009, will probably have it.
The benefit? It would produce some electricity that can be used to run the radio, fans and the AC. AC? – we somehow doubt that. Maybe the extra electric power once stored in the battery, can be used for everything. The solar panels are likely to produce close to 5 kilowatts of electricity. Kyocera has supplied the panels to Toyota for incorporating on the roof of the 2009 Prius.
We went about checking what people are talking about using solar panels in a car, and here is a quote we found:
The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado tinkers with solar-supported cars. They attached “the most powerful rooftop solar panel on the market” to an experimental Prius plug-in. The array coats the entire top of the car, providing up to 215 watts – but it usually delivers about 165 watts.
While not much of a kick, it could push the plug-in from 100 miles per gallon to 105. But is that 5 percent boost worth the extra $3,500?
While industry observers have lost no time in hailing the innovation by Toyota, there are cynics who think the solar panel buzz has everything to do with a neat marketing trick by the company.
However, the Japanese car giant has preferred to stay quiet on the solar panel Prius. It hasn’t even come out with any statement on this. Even aspects on production whether the solar paneled cars would roll off the assembly lines at all, or whether they would be shipped to the United States or stay in Japan, have not been clarified as yet by the company.
The laurels have come from many lauding the efforts taken by Toyota to harnesses the power of technology to help fuel economy. The Prius will have a hybrid electric-gasoline engine and automatic self-parking which will be powered by robots. The solar panels on the roof would add more charm.
Meanwhile, US-based SEV has already demonstrated a modified, solar-powered Prius that improves fuel economy by about 29 per cent. It has said that the solar powered car has the potential to give a daily electric-only range of 20 miles.