According to a report, Toyota is planning to install solar panels in its next generation hybrid car, the Prius. The solar panels will be mounted on the roof and will be used to help power the air conditioning. It’s not really designed to power anything else according to the report. Kyocera will be the ones to supply the solar panels to toyota.
I guess as long as they’re not planning to use silicon based solar cells they will have a good shot at keeping the price down. Silicon based solar cells are made from the same material that runs through almost all electrical appliances nowadays. Adding that much solar panel in a mass marketed item will surely drive the price up of other electrical goods due to the increased demand in silicon. But of course there are the thin-film technologies that look promising and will surely reduce the price of solar panel raw materials.
If this pushes through this will make the Toyota Prius a more hybrid-hybrid because of the adaption of two or more technologies to power it. Right now it is powered by a gasoline engine to charge the batteries as well as regenerative technologies which harvest the power of the brakes.
So now that we’re on the topic of multiple power sources for the Prius, how about adding wind technology to the mix? I’m not talking about adding a large prop on the roof of the car, but rather adding vents and tunnels in car panels which can increase the speed and pressure of the wind entering them then feeding it off to a compressor driven generator. Think about it, the faster your car goes the more juice you will be producing. Dreaming is indeed free.
Category: Solar, Automotive, Hybrids
