For those with solar cells
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Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 402
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From: Houston
E55
For those with solar cells
How much air does it move? How much sun is required?
When i first got mine the fan came on very low speed in bright light. Took it to the dealer the other day after the system didn't come on in bright sun but they say its turning very slowly - although you cannot hear or feel the fan. They admit it's a rare option and they have no experience with it. I'm wondering if part of the solar panel is out.
When i first got mine the fan came on very low speed in bright light. Took it to the dealer the other day after the system didn't come on in bright sun but they say its turning very slowly - although you cannot hear or feel the fan. They admit it's a rare option and they have no experience with it. I'm wondering if part of the solar panel is out.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 2,399
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From: Irvine, CA
07 M6, 05 Noble, 01 S4, Smart ForTwo
No its working. I think its more of a gimmic.. I was never impressed with it, but its really hard to tell if it works or not, because you can't turn it on or off. From what I remember, it kicks in when interior reaches 86 degrees F. Fan comes on at low speed, and just circulates air around. Probably doesn't do a lot when its in the 80s, but when it gets to 90,100+ inside, probably makes a diff. No surprise.. they don't offer it anymore on 05's.
It seems to kick in at higher temps on very hot days. I open the passenger door and I can hear the faint noise from the moving air.
I think the goal is to make it the same tempature as outside, instead of 10-15deg hotter on the insdie as many cars get.
By the way, we nearly have the same car
Except I didn't want the (IMO useless) phone pckg.
It seems to kick in at higher temps on very hot days. I open the passenger door and I can hear the faint noise from the moving air.
I think the goal is to make it the same tempature as outside, instead of 10-15deg hotter on the insdie as many cars get.
By the way, we nearly have the same car
Except I didn't want the (IMO useless) phone pckg.
Member
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 120
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From: Florida
E500, Viper, and other less-fun stuff
I doubt they could do much more. For the new house we're building, I researched solar-powered air conditioning for the garage. In a nutshell it's too humid in Florida to bother, but in drier climates even a very large array of solar panels is only able to produce extremely moderate cooling -- far larger arrays than would ever fit on the roof of a car. Furthermore, I would think a house interior (even a garage) would be easier to cool than a car (which usually isn't especially well-sealed or insulated, and has more surface area exposed to the sun relative to the volume of interior space).
For quite some time I was annoyed that solar-cooling E's were so rare, but when I started thinking about it I started to wonder if it could actually work.
(FWIW, I am still annoyed that I was unable to find a car with Distronic, but that's another story...)
For quite some time I was annoyed that solar-cooling E's were so rare, but when I started thinking about it I started to wonder if it could actually work.
(FWIW, I am still annoyed that I was unable to find a car with Distronic, but that's another story...)
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Joined: Apr 2005
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If you have problems with high temperature
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 536
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From: Orlando, Florida
**SOLD***2003 E500
I like mine
I find that it keeps the sting off the seats when parked in direct sunlight. Mind you I am also sure the extra tinting on the windows and the rear sunshade help, but all in all I like some air vs. no air moving.
Randy
Randy
