Hello,

For those living in somewhat harsh desert environments and drive dark
cars with black leather interiors, what a combination :-), there seems
to be a need for a unit that can be left inside the car to slightly
cycle the air in it and somewhat cool it down.

This would allow the airconditioning to take affect sooner when the
person slides into the car and not actually be half cooked by the time
the temprature is lowered.

Are there such units out there?

I wouldn't be interested in units which require damage to the car or
windows.

/Lizardnation

Hi lizardnation,

Units such as the one you describe are readily available. They
comprise a thin vent which you secure at the top of a window (by
winding up the window). Attached to the vent (on the inside of the
window) is a small solar panel and fan.

Whenever the sun is shining, the fan turns and expels hot air from the
car.

Two suppliers of these solar car vents are:

Bruce Medical Supply:
http://www.brucemedical.com/ik1605.html
(this page shows a clear picture of the unit)

Sunpowered:
http://www.sunpowered.co.uk/solar_ventilation.htm
(scroll part-way down this page to see the unit)

I had one of these units when I used to live in a hot area. It worked
well, but the cooling effect is not that great. You may wish to
consider purchasing two units, and fitting one to each of the rear
windows.

Fitting white sheepskin covers to your black leather seats will make a
bigger difference to the thermal comfort of the car.


Google search strategy:

"solar powered" fan car
://www.google.com/search?q=%22solar+powered%22+fan+car


Regards,
eiffel-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by lizardnation-ga on 28 Jun 2002 05:24 PDT

Hello Eiffel,

Good stuff.  Are there units that actually cool instead of simply
replacing higher temprature air inside of the car with fresher air?

/Lizardnation

---

Clarification of Answer by eiffel-ga on 28 Jun 2002 05:57 PDT

Hi Lizardnation,

Unfortunately there are no solar-powered units that cool the air (as
opposed to simply moving the air with a fan).

The power required to cool the air would exceed what can practically
be provided by solar-powered units such as these.

Regards,
eiffel-ga

Thank you for the complete answer. 

/Lizardnation

it might be expensive, but you could buy a new vw phaeton (their new
luxury car) it comes with a built in solar panel in the sunroof which
keeps the interior at 20c. not much help if your not in the market for
a new car

Hello Hugoagogo,

The A6 Audi 3.0l comes with the same type of roof, doesn't quite do it
well enough and it doesn't feel like 20c to me. ;-)

/Lizardnation