Solar Sunroof on the New Prius

Next Generation Prius will Sport a Solar Sunroof Option

Lots of changes for Toyota’s popular model, the Prius!  Among other things, you’ll find a solar sunroof on the New Prius, unveiled this week.  Thirty-six Kyocera solar cells are positioned on a moon roof, which doubles as a sunroof.  Energy is converted at a 16.5 efficiency rate to power the ventilation fan and air conditioning system with about 50 watts of electricity.  This allows for less overall consumption of fuel.

In short, its a cool idea to use sunlight to help adjust the interior temperature of the car!

At first, the car manufacturer planned to use the panels to charge the battery of the vehicle, like a plug-in electric vehicle but without a plug!  However, the idea was scrapped for now until additional R&D can devise a way to preserve the life of the battery that would otherwise deteriorate from repeated charging.

2010 Toyota Prius

Lest you think that the 2010 Toyota Prius revisions will cost you more – guess again.  Actually, the base-model Prius is now priced at 12% lower than the previous model.  The extra cash in your pocket could be used to help purchase the solar sunroof option, which runs about $2,000.  In addition, Toyota has pushed the mileage from 46-50 MPG (miles per gallon), which will save you even more at the gas station.

If you hope to get one of these sleek new Prius’s with the solar sunroof, you should take steps now.  The manufacturer has recieved more than 80,000 pre-launch orders.

Competition is sure to heat up among consumers looking to cool off with a solar sunroof!