New Toyota Prius will use Solar Energy

While Ford and Chrysler are trying to outdo each other to provide car-buying tech junkies added value for their money, with the SYNC and the UConnect Web respectively, Toyota looks the other way and thinks outside the buyer.

According to a Japanese daily called Nikkei, Toyota will be including solar panels on some of its future models – the very first of which will be the 2009 Prius hybrid. The solar panels will be powering some of the car’s electronics - especially the air conditioning system which needs almost five kilowatts of energy to run. By doing so the panel saves energy, which in turn can be used by the hybrid to power the engine. The third generation Prius will be redesigned to include this concept. The model is expected to come out later this year.

The first is always the best

Toyota couldn’t have picked a better choice to be the first recipient of the solar panels. The Toyota Prius is a mid-sized electric and gasoline hybrid car first released in Japan 10 years ago. It is the first mass-produced hybrid automobile. It was released in other countries four years later and has since become one of the leading hybrid models in the world - sold in more than 40 countries and regions. North America is actually the largest market of the model; Japan only comes second.

The Prius captures what used to be lost kinetic energy during braking and converts it to usable electric power. And it makes use of its gasoline engine to charge its own battery. A computer system automatically uses this stored electric power whenever it is most efficient to do so.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the 2008 Prius (model NHW20) is the most fuel efficient car sold in the U.S. This model is actually the first ever car to operate its air conditioning system independently of the gasoline engine. According to the UK Department for Transport, the 2008 Prius is also the third least CO₂-emitting vehicle in the United Kingdom (tied with the MINI Cooper D). The U.S. EPA study says that a 1.5 liter 4-cylinder engine, 4-door Prius hybrid can get up to 48 miles per gallon.

With some power coming from the solar panels, even more energy is saved for the engine’s use. This innovation is a welcome thrust into the future, especially now that gasoline prices are skyrocketing. Automakers around the world are racing to produce vehicles that can beat this worldwide crisis.

A wrong turn?

Although it is a promising concept, further studies and development are needed before solar panels can completely power a car’s engine. Even if you live in a region where the sun stays up longer than usual, the small surface area of a typical car won’t be able to capture enough energy to run solely on the sun’s rays.

According to resource person Felix Kramer of CalCars (California Cars Initiative, a non-profit org that promotes the concept of electric hybrids), “Car rooftop panels can provide only enough energy for vehicle cooling while parked, maybe a small contribution while driving.”

“This story will get lots of attention and will give people the impression Toyota is doing something pioneering, unique and valuable. We wish Toyota would instead focus on rapid progression to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). By far the largest leap comes from adding a larger battery and grid-charging so the vehicle can have an energy source besides gasoline,” Kramer explained. He added that solar panels would prove to be more efficient if installed on buildings and structures where they can be made larger.

PHEVs use a larger battery pack that is recharged from external sources. This means even less fuel consumption. CalCars is currently working on making a PriusPlus – a PHEV converted Prius that uses lead-acid batteries. This do-it-yourself kit promises an efficiency of 100 miles gallon.

Value for money

With or without the solar panels, the Prius is already making big bucks for Toyota. According to the automaker’s numbers, the Prius has sold well over one million units worldwide, more than half of which have been sold in North America alone. A total of 183,800 units were sold in North America in 2007. In the first four months of 2008, Toyota has already sold 66,100 in the same region, 21,757 of which same in April alone. And with that many units sold, even a greater effect is consequently attained towards protecting our environment.

The company estimates that their 1 mil sales figure, in relation to greenhouse gases, equals to a total reduction of around 4.5 million tons of CO2 in our atmosphere. The estimate is based on the total savings of the energy efficient engine of the Prius compared to all the other non-hybrid gasoline vehicles that belong in the same class and size as the Prius.

The Prius was named Car of the Year Japan in 1997-98. In 2003, the Scientific American named Toyota Motor Corporation as “Business Leader of the Year” for its accomplishment in the commercialization of affordable hybrid cars. It was also named North American Car of the Year and International Engine of the Year for 2004, and the European Car of the Year for 2005. Intellichoice awarded the Prius Best Overall Value of the Year - Midsize for 2006 and Best in Class Winner for 2007. The International Engine of the Year Awards gave the Prius the Green Engine of the Year for 2008.