What is Digg?70 Comments
- Braincells, on 08/26/2008, -1/+22Didn't Mazda have one that did this years and years ago.
- AmyVernon, on 08/26/2008, -2/+20very cool.
- inactive, on 08/26/2008, -2/+20interesting technology
- Gemfinder, on 08/26/2008, -0/+14Where do I sign up?
- ironeus, on 08/26/2008, -3/+17Very innovative and will only improve as solar energy is harnessed more effectively.
- inactive, on 08/26/2008, -5/+18A cars battery will only go flat if:
A. It's already dead
B. the car has been unused for a few months.
/this is because modern cars have a little thing called an alternator - pizpot, on 08/26/2008, -0/+12yes, my '93 Mazda 929 had one. It kept the battery charged and ran a pair of fans which kept the interior from getting hot in the summer. It worked great, I had a weak battery and didn't know it until I parked underground and found out right away.
- subliminalurge, on 08/26/2008, -0/+10Awesome idea! A solar panel that size should be able to collect enough energy in one day to power your refrigerator for a good 30 seconds!
OMG, that is just so much more convenient than, oh, I don't know, mounting solar panels on your house that are actually big enough for the job...... - cashbondho, on 08/26/2008, -0/+9Audi A8's have had this option for years. It also runs the ventilation while your car is parked in the heat so the inside stays cool. Crap part is your sunroof is no longer transparent.
- serif69, on 08/26/2008, -0/+8Mercedes has it now, and has had it at least since the introduction of the current E-Class.
- inactive, on 08/26/2008, -1/+8Uninteresting comment.
- santaliqueur, on 08/26/2008, -0/+5Possibly by 2350, but definitely not by 2300.
- MattB123, on 08/26/2008, -1/+5But the market wants cup holders. Big Gulp-sized ones!
- santaliqueur, on 08/26/2008, -2/+6Which is why, total moron, these solar panels are not being used to drive the car.
- santaliqueur, on 08/26/2008, -0/+4Give him a break, he's ***** stoned.
- MattB123, on 08/26/2008, -0/+3I sometimes don't drive for weeks or months (it always feels weird to drive again after a long break) so this looks pretty cool to me! It's also cold here so that combo can kill a battery over time.
I'd like to see it as an aftermarket add-on I could just slap on the roof of my car which doesn't have a sunroof anyway. If it was affordable, of course. - makkaveli19, on 08/26/2008, -1/+4get this thing to run my AC and i'm all over it.
- ingomaro, on 08/26/2008, -1/+4Buried for being old hat (Audi has been doing this for years)
- subliminalurge, on 08/26/2008, -2/+5How in the hell is this innovative?
I've had a solar battery charger for a lot of years now. I use it to keep my boat batteries topped off from weekend to weekend when it's docked at the lake away from an outlet.
All they did is take the same damn device and mount it in a different location, and an obvious location at that.
This is HARDLY innovative. - Quintios, on 08/26/2008, -1/+4Yes, because collecting solar energy while driving around and using it in your house would be much more "green" than using it to assist in powering your gas-burning NOx spewing vehicle.
Great idea! - neilschelly, on 08/26/2008, -0/+3Mazda's 929 in the early '90s had a solar sunroof that powered fans to keep actively venting air out of the car. Genius in my opinion.
-N - yourmanstan, on 08/26/2008, -0/+2nifty...but doesn't look like it will make much impact
- subliminalurge, on 08/26/2008, -1/+3Since you generally only open the sunroof when you're driving, I would imagine the alternator will do a fine job of picking up the slack.....
sheesh..... - inactive, on 08/26/2008, -0/+2... and the 3 tons of batteries to make it worth your while will be free right?
- santaliqueur, on 08/26/2008, -1/+3Surely you must have patented this years ago then? stfu.
- inactive, on 08/26/2008, -2/+4Unless there is a way to switch between running the alternator or not.
And by switch I mean the alternator won't leach power from the belt.
Alternators only takes a very small amount of HP to run. The real improvement would be to use that electricity to run and electric ac compressor. Now that would save some gas. - chrismartintx, on 08/26/2008, -2/+4wow i did realize it was my alternator drinking all the diesel in my truck... another pointless waste of money. i guess you can up the price call it green and screw some more car buyers.
- andydumi, on 08/26/2008, -0/+2I had a 92 with the same feature. It is surprising that today's cars dont. Its not that expensive, but I guess people love their moonroofs too much.
- AndreiOttawa, on 08/26/2008, -0/+2"dusty oil"?
- yoda17, on 08/26/2008, -1/+3There's one born every minute. A lot more than one actually.
- yoda17, on 08/26/2008, -1/+3http://www.asseenontvguys.com/index.asp?PageAction ...
- inactive, on 08/26/2008, -1/+3But still be limited to the total amount of energy that falls per square meter. Even at 100% efficiency a solar roof would only produce enough power to operate a small device. To recharge a car battery would take days, to recharge an electric car's batteries would take weeks if not months.
- digitizit, on 08/26/2008, -0/+2But if you left your lights on or your battery is dead, this could come in very handy.
- NeoHomer, on 08/26/2008, -1/+3Lame. Waste of time. Cost more than would be gained. Adds weight. CAN NOT do the altrenators job. Sunroofs leak eventually.
These kinds of things play on the fact that most people have no clue of auto mechanics, laws of physics or laws of thermodynamics.
If you do not have an intimate knowledge of things mechanical, you have no idea whatsoever. - JeremyKrins, on 08/27/2008, -0/+1This is brilliant. I can't wait for 10-15 years down the line when something like this is a 'duh' moment.
- iamgnat, on 08/26/2008, -2/+3They will also go flat if you draw power from them when the engine isn't running. And without enough juice to spin your starter fast enough to start the engine, that nice little alternator does you no good.
The article gives a specific example of what this is for, but there are plenty of others. - RealmDown, on 08/26/2008, -2/+3"Solar Sunroof Recharges Car Battery and Temperature Control"
How does a solar sunroof recharge temperature control ? - ethornquist, on 08/27/2008, -0/+1Intriguing idea but the article -- and the Sunrise Solar site -- need more facts. The comments about Audi and Vee-Dub helped. Upthread someone mentioned an old Mazda project, which I remember. What happened to the research from that project?
- FeartheKnighted, on 08/26/2008, -1/+2So what about those hot days when you open your sunroof and it retracts inside the roof?
- agarc, on 08/27/2008, -0/+1Yeah... the Audi A6, Allroad and A8 models have had this for quite a while.
- subliminalurge, on 08/26/2008, -1/+2This isn't redundant at all.
The alternator doesn't charge when the engine is turned off. These solar battery chargers are great for the convenience aspect of not having a dead battery when you get home from a two week vacation.
There's nothing particularly "green" about this, I'll grant you. A panel that size doesn't produce enough juice to make the slightest dent in your fuel economy.
But just because it's not "green" doesn't mean it's redundant or useless. - slapthemonkey, on 08/27/2008, -0/+1Very innovative.
- norman619, on 08/27/2008, -0/+1sub:
While you are driving your battry is charged up pretty fast. On a dead battery my truck can fully charge my battery in just 10 minutes. If I wanted a full charge maybe 20 to 30 minutes of highway driving. No need to have your battery charging while not driving. If anything that can potentially DAMAGE your battery. - askantik, on 08/27/2008, -0/+1They already make solar panels that plug into the cigarette lighter adapter of your car to keep your battery juiced up. The only thing new about this, unless I missed something, is that it's mounted on the car instead of removable. Right? Awesome.
- BESTenemy, on 08/26/2008, -5/+6An average electric car consumes 30 kW of energy an hour. An average solar panel covering car's roof gets 100 W/h which is 0.3% energy needed to run the car. Assume the sun shines for 12 hours straight every day, unobscured. You let the solar panel charge the car. It'll take 28 days to get enough energy for 1 hour of operation.
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http://hyipnews.freehostia.com/hyip - yoda17, on 08/26/2008, -0/+1It's not practical, even with 100% efficiencies. This has been around for a very long time if you look at certain applications though
- subliminalurge, on 08/26/2008, -1/+2As I mentioned in a post higher up in the thread, I've been using something like this for quite a few years now to keep my boat batteries fresh when I'm away from the lake.
The ones I have are of a perfect size to sit on the dash of your car and work quite well. I think the last one I bought cost me about $50.
Here's one for even less:
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cg ...
Not terribly powerful, but if you're starting with a charged battery, that should be enough to prevent it from going flat. - subliminalurge, on 08/26/2008, -1/+2No, he's being dugg down for completely missing the entire ***** point of what these things are for.
This thing has NOTHING to do with being "green". They're for preventing your car battery from going dead when you don't drive it for an extended period. - KingGorilla, on 08/26/2008, -0/+1Download solar energy! Can someone seed this? The torrent is kinda slow
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