Toyota Prius Air-conditioning System
April 20, 2009 by Alborz Fallah
There is nothing more annoying than getting in a car that is boiling. In the Australian climate temperatures in a normal car have been shown to rise to around 80ºC when the ambient air temperature is 35ºC.
The idea of having a remote in-car “hot air” remover has been around for some time, but Toyota has come out with an evolution of that technology. The Big T’s next-generation Prius uses the car’s battery to power remote activation of the air-conditioner. Not bad!
To be precise, the battery will power the aircon’s electric inverter compressor, so you can turn the aircon on as you walk up to the car, it will stay running for up to three minutes prior to getting in the car.
The remote activiation system is triggered by an A/C button on the key fob. The technlogy is combined with solar cells on the car’s roof that power a fan to discharge hot air from the car when it is parked (if you’re thinking that’s a little silly, wait till you get in a cooled parked car and wonder how that happened!).
The idea is to produce a quicker overall cool-down time, thereby saving fuel and enhancing the driving experience.
Toyota has worked out that when combining the solar-powered ventilation (parked) with operating the remote air-conditioning system for just one minute, the Prius can reduce its in-car temperature by more than 40 per cent.
Critics have argued that given the high cost to the environment for producing solar panels, their benefits in the Prius will not be realised.
Do you think this is juts a gimick or are we going to see more of this technology as hybrid cars get more popular.
Print it: 
Well it’s interesting that Toyota is adopting this technology that you regularly find in well specced Benz and BMW’s, before Lexus! Prius the usurper.
Any technology that maximizes driver comfort without negatively affecting the drive is a good thing.
Pitty the new Prius looks like a wedge of cheese had relations with a 370Z.
My Range Rover’s done that for years without the pretentious solar panel.
Aren’t Prius drivers supposedly all about saving the planet from the spectre of anthropogenic global warming? So therefore shouldn’t Priuses should be built entirely without A/C since it uses more power/fuel and generates more CO2? I’m sure they can put up with squishing in their own butt-sweat for the greater good of humaity.
What a groundbreaking idea Toyota has invented (Not). My HZ ute has a similar system that helps to keep it cool when parked, and it is a very simple one. We call it a window, and found that if you leave it open a little then hot air magically escapes when parked.
Ha..ha..ha Ockerman. With jokes like that its easy to see why you drive a HZ Ute.
Well done Toyota.
Another thing used in this area is something called Global Close. You basically hold unlock on the key and the windows go down/lock and the windows go up. My Skoda Octavia RS has it (as well as most other Euro cars) and if it’s parked in the sun and you put the windows down the hot air mostly escapes. It’s a bloody good idea and a cool party trick.
The Prius cool-down aside…
If every car in Australia (electric or petrol) had a solar panel on it’s roof, and every on-street car space (non-shaded) had a DC inlet embedded into the curb – can you imagine how much free electricity we could be generating to the grid when we’re parked?
Efforts to make your car cooler don’t sound “revolutionary” or very environmentally directed – but at least Toyota are having a crack at utilising renewable energy for something. It’s a step in the right direction. And I’d like to see more of it.
ps. Why don’t we have mini-floating-turbines in our stormwater drains?
pps. Why don’t all our tall building have wind generators on them?
ppps. Why can’t my household qualify for the $8000 solar rebate when we’ve only been on one income since our baby girl was born 12 months ago, dropping our household income by 50% per day?
Mazdas 929 – the bubble shape from the mid-90’s offered this concept, but you watch – Toyota will claim they invented it in their marketing campaigns, and the lemmings will believe it.
oh no! it’s raining! what now? stupid solar pannels >:(
but yeah, s’all good as long as it’s not cloudy.
You won’t need to cool down the inside of your car if it’s cloudy Yanzo :D
Lexusboi
Its clearly stated, that it is an “evolutionary” of the technology.
And you are assuming Toyota will say that they “invented” it… there are patents in the automotive industry (as all industries), so its not that easy to “lie”.
So your post is purely based on something non-existence, except the mazda bit.
The way I look at it, if it benefits the driver/owner without compromising environment or other people… then its a step to the right direction… doesnt matter which company..
so stop the hate, and appreciate..
One solar panel to expell hot air for one minute? Seems alittle over kill to me.
No wonder Toyota are making a loss.
This confirms my suspicion that Prius drivers are Uncool.
Dumb ass Toybota….Today was like many Autumn, Winter and spring days, it was very sunny BUT very cool, almost cold what a waste that panel will be on days like today!!! How about giving the owner the option to charge those toxic batteries on days like today or on hot days BUT when you know you won’t get back to your Priarse until after dark????????
Carl: “How about giving the owner the option to charge those toxic batteries on days like today or on hot days BUT when you know you won’t get back to your Priarse until after dark???????? ”
Because so many other manufacturers give you that option don’t they?
Seems like a bit of a gimmock/waste of time to me
so they can reduse the in car temperature from 80 degrees to 48 degrees in one minute????
Thats no real achievement.
Winding down the windows for 30 seconds will have a greater effect.
RoFlmaTiC,
Never had to use the A/C on cloudy days???
Perhaps one could use the excuse that “Its was a cloudy day Officer, thats only why i locked the kids in the car whilst i was at the pokies”
I was merely responding to Yanzo’s post above mine which said this system would be ineffective in cloudy days. Don’t bother using a straw man’s argument on me.
“The idea is to produce a quicker overall cool-down time, thereby saving fuel and enhancing the driving experience.”
And if it does indeed achieve this goal then it’s not a gimmick.
Winding down the windows works Andrew M but the whole point is that you can do this remotely… you don’t actually have to get into the car, put the keys in, wind the electric windows down etc.
The wonderful thing is that you still can wind the windows down if its not cool enough too! I don’t think the article mentioned it was mutually exclusive…
The 2nd paragraph was sarcasm btw.
always have negative views about the world’s largest and respected auto maker…huh?just stick with your dinosaur.jealousy creates few loud hollow voices.
RoFlmaTiC,
Windows can be rolled down via remote.
If you read other posters comments you would see that “Jake02″ already pointed out that such a feature was available.
QUOTE…………
“Another thing used in this area is something called Global Close. You basically hold unlock on the key and the windows go down/lock and the windows go up. My Skoda Octavia RS has it (as well as most other Euro cars) and if it’s parked in the sun and you put the windows down the hot air mostly escapes. It’s a bloody good idea and a cool party trick.”
Oh,
And perhaps calling it a “Gimmock” is a little untrue, I will concede that point, perhaps a little over the top.
I will rephrase my view and claim it is not as effective as other options.
Doing something in the less efficient way is a waste of time to me.
Perhaps, Andrew M. However I think this starts to show the lateral potential of hybrid/electric cars. They could use the batteries to power heaters in winter etc without having to start the car up. Could be used to start defogging the windows for when you leave your car out on the street but then need to drive.
How bout using half or (whatever % set by the driver) of the solar energy collected to recharge the battery as well. Or will this be in Lexus’ version of the Prius instead?
Yet another gimmick from Toyota of an old idea.
I recall the old ( early/mid 1990’s ) Mazda 929 limo sedan had a similar system but was given the flick due to not delivering on its promise to actually work.
Toyota never gives up with their regurgitated crap!.
The Mazda could run the A/C remotely could it Steven A? Reading comprehension skills not up to scratch?
its sad to see that this website in particular is full of Toyota haters.
correct me if im wrong but did these older cars have electric a/c compressors or engine driven?
because i fail to see how it would be done in the past without the engine running unless they were electric?
Good point Cg, but don’t let the facts get in the way of a Toyota bashing.
I had the global opening of the windows via remote on my old car. Its a good idea in theory, but I wouldn’t want to leave all the windows open on my car unless I could see it, so its a bit ineffective really. As for the drop from 80 to 48 degrees in one minute being no big deal, which car would you rather get into?
I dont hate Toyotas I love them,they grow on you.
Ockerman Says:
April 20th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
“What a groundbreaking idea Toyota has invented (Not). My HZ ute has a similar system that helps to keep it cool when parked, and it is a very simple one. We call it a window, and found that if you leave it open a little then hot air magically escapes when parked.”
The problem is Ockerman that leaving your windows down in a “public” car park, even a little bit, is technically illegal if you are’t near/in your car. Not to mention the insurance implications if anything was stolen…