Park facing west or east

I have the solar option. If possible, I park for maximum sun exposure to the solar panel for the best cooling.

 

Please tell me you are joking.

 

Here is the OEM spec.:




The Windshield has better UV Cut Rate and Solar Heat Reduction Rate than the Back Door window. The 3rd party tint or Sunshade may change that %.

Vincent

 

If the glass in my car is green, I have never noticed.

 

What ever the answer, do the opposite in the southern hemisphere.

 

Wait, are we talking Magnetic West or Geographic West? It might make a difference...

 

Mac, that's about a slight 7° for me. If you live in the Rockies near a big iron ore deposit it will be more.

But com'on,,, again, why are we talking west ?

Do you ever see solar panels mounted facing west?

If your car is parked out all day long, facing SOUTH with a reflective shield on the inside (or best on the outside)
of the windshield is the most effective,, IMOH.

Why are we talking west?

 

Yup! That's North for us.

 

The sun shield will block all incoming solar radiation. The windshield can still get heat soaked but your dashboard won't. When you turn on your AC you are not only battling the hot air in the car but the hot surfaces that continue to radiate heat as you cool the air. The interior panels can store quite a bit of heat and you will have to burn gasoline to cool those panels. Feel your dash after being parked in the sun on a hot day.

 

Solar West.

 

"Solar West."

That is one point in time.

Averaged for the day: SOUTH.

 

North. All of the spaces face North or South in our employee parking lot.

 

North leaves your back window taking in the heat. It is not as IR blocking as the windshield.

 

Probably not that significant after 9+ hours.

 

Exactly! What Mod to make my Prius increase the mpg?

 

Why not use car cover? That way you can park North, South, West and East

 

Well, I have tried parking both east and west. It is hard to compare one day to the next but I have seen very little difference.

I have recently added Window Visors and am now able to leave the front windows cracked open. This has made the best improvement, dropping cabin temps 5-10 F.

 

If we define directions as one of

North (N): 0° = 360°
Northeast (NE), 45°, halfway between north and east
East (E): 90°
Southeast (SE), 135°, halfway between south and east
South (S): 180°
Southwest (SW), 225°, halfway between south and west
West (W): 270°
Northwest (NW), 315°, halfway between north and west

Then the sun sets anywhere from 240 to 300 degrees for me in Tennessee as well. So sometimes the sun sets north of west and sometimes sets south of west. (rising is also variable from 60 to 120 so it rises sometimes south or north of east).

But the hottest parts of the day the sun is more west than anything and it is usually more south than north but the south component is almost nonexistent at the hottest parts of the afternoon.

I'd also point out that the sun is NEVER directly overhead here. It's always at least slight to one side of the car even at solar noon and is often well off to one side even at solar noon.

 

Do solar panels generally get mounted in sets of 4 lined up in a rectangular formation that resembles the windows on a car?


Do solar panels ever drive out for lunch and come back to park for the afternoon?

Why not park one way before lunch and another after lunch?


What is your strategy if the spaces are facing North/South?

What is your strategy if the spaces are facing East/West?

What is your strategy if the spaces are facing NorthEast/SouthWest?

What is your strategy if the spaces are facing SouthEast/NorthWest?

Do your strategies change if there are trees between rows of parking spaces? Keep in mind that shade will shift/move throughout the day.

Do you use parking on the side or rear of a building part or all of the day to get shade?

Do you change your habits between Winter/Spring/Summer or is it always too hot or always too cold in your part of the world?