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I'm thinking about making a solar powered cooling thing for my car. I got the idea after seeing the aptera and reading about how the solar panels on the roof provide power to the climate control which makes it run slowly all day instead of blasting it only while driving. I couldn't find an actual a/c unit small enough for my needs, but I did some digging and I "think" I've figured out what I could do. I found a single bottle wine cooler that chills bottles down to 24 degrees. I was thinking of rigging up a fan system to blow into one half of the container and have it come out the other half. I would also have a fan to pipe hot air out of the car. Right now this is all ideas and doodles, so I thought I'd get some feedback on what people with more experience thought before I actually went and bought anything.
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May 30, 2008 16:45
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 16:40 |
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That's what I was thinking. I already had a plan to vent the hot air outside, but I like the idea of water cooling. I might be able to rig up a cpu water cooler to the peltier system and install the exhaust...under the car or something. Two tubes of fluid would be much easier to route to the outside of a car than a large vent. Thanks for the ideas!
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May 31, 2008 06:43
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I have one of those already and that's kind of where I got the idea. It also came from the fact that what I'm suggesting is what the Aptera does. I was just trying to figure out a way to take their idea, home build it, and install it on my car. I guess they must do something different...
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Jun 10, 2008 21:09
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disco volante posted:This is true. The sun will deposit a colossal amount heat in your car and actively removing it would require a gigantic cooling system. You can consider, just as shorthand, the fact that your car's built in air conditioning compressor, being sufficient to cool the car down, requires a notable amount of energy to operate (enough that it makes an appreciable difference in fuel economy). It's unlikely that you'll be able to muster that much solar power, and no matter what means you use to actively remove heat (be it evaporative, thermoelectric, etc.) you'll be facing similar energy demands. What if I just put one of those reflector thingers in my windshield and tinted the others a lot? Then the solar panel on the roof would absorb/reflect a lot. That would heavily reduce the heat getting in, wouldn't it?
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Jun 10, 2008 21:13
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So possibly 3 cm of insulation perhaps? Damnit, I am going to do whatever I can to make this idea work in some way.
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Jun 11, 2008 13:45
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