Sky Light Roof ?

[JPaul]

Here is the original post on Makrolon:

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

A 1.2 sqm roof is made for the Smart Fortwo vehicle.

The Pulse and Passion versions of the 'Smart Fortwo' vehicle now have, an “extremely sturdy and breakage-resistant� fixed high-strength 1.2 square metre polycarbonate panoramic roof that is adhered to the Tridion safety cell frame.

Webasto supplies the roof module, which has half of its polycarbonate area transparent. Made with 4.5mm thick polycarbonate, the company says that there is a 50% weight saving over an equivalent module designed with glass.

Supplied in a slight tint, 60 percent of the sun's energy is reflected and 100 percent of UV radiation is blocked by the transparent glazing, while a polyester sunblind is provided for additional protection.

And it was YOURS, Fredvon4!

[Fredvon4]

JPaul...now that is too funny...talk about CRS*

Karl.... 94 or lower and slightly over cast she cools just fine with several min of MAX then back off to mid range fan... but on full sun and 98~101F+ no way....

At 87F the A/C will actually get too cold on the 70F setting and #1 fan speed...

She be blowing cold brother... just not enough to keep up with the massive solar gain a Black, glass; top, front, side, and rear present to old Sol


*Can't Remember Stuff

[Karl Roth]

He would have caught the rabbit " my Grandfather would always tell me.
So Fred you think we are smarts death valley testing service and the system just can not keep up with American conditions.
Any hot climate folks have any comment?
karl

[rawlus®]

i think 90* is MA is probably a bit diff than 90* is arizona. we have way more trees, water and other stuff that mitigates it. AZ probably has alot more stuff that radiates that heat all around - fry an egg on the asphalt hot.
i'd almost suggest lining the doors and other surfaces with reflective heat-shield material like that bubblewrap stuff with a metalized side to reduce the heat gain both radiant and ambient.

[Fredvon4]

rawlusA

Not a bad idea... I am leaning to a silverized external car cover for the few super sun months

the only time it is a serious problem is the 4:30 PM commute home after 8 hour heat soak..... later in the evening when the sun is much lower and car has been parked under the car port, we can head out to a resturant in the still 99~101F OAT and the A/C manages just fine....

I am satisfied that it is simply too much solar gain

Remember mine is Black Tridion and there is a masive amount of Black sq inches above the water line on this Lil Bugger..... like the entire top half of the car!

Trust me... you do NOT want to place you hand palm down on the front section of the windshied or glass top Blacked out section... if you do, I asure you CSI will not be able to ID your prints for a few weeks...

And Yes Virginia...living in Texas I knew the two tone Blue and Black was going to be this way... I am not carping...just noting my current experiance for Rick in Yuma and any other with same question....

Maybe someone with a White / Silver that is in a full sun high OAT area can relate their perspective so we can see if the tridion and panel colors make any difference

[Karl Roth]

Originally Posted by rawlus®

i think 90* is MA is probably a bit diff than 90* is arizona. we have way more trees, water and other stuff that mitigates it. AZ probably has alot more stuff that radiates that heat all around - fry an egg on the asphalt hot.
i'd almost suggest lining the doors and other surfaces with reflective heat-shield material like that bubblewrap stuff with a metalized side to reduce the heat gain both radiant and ambient.

I think entropy is the word you are searching for getting rid of water here cools most efficiently in the desert you can use it in a swamp cooler...
karl

[74AMX304V8]

maybe smart will wise up and offer a mirror tint, pop up sun roof panel on the '09, it would definately cut down on the greenhouse effect. I'm still waiting for an aftermarket mfg. to come out with a kit for the '08. I may even tackle the job myself if I have time later this summer.

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

rawlusA

Not a bad idea... I am leaning to a silverized external car cover for the few super sun months

the only time it is a serious problem is the 4:30 PM commute home after 8 hour heat soak..... later in the evening when the sun is much lower and car has been parked under the car port, we can head out to a resturant in the still 99~101F OAT and the A/C manages just fine....

I am satisfied that it is simply too much solar gain

Remember mine is Black Tridion and there is a masive amount of Black sq inches above the water line on this Lil Bugger..... like the entire top half of the car!

Trust me... you do NOT want to place you hand palm down on the front section of the windshied or glass top Blacked out section... if you do, I asure you CSI will not be able to ID your prints for a few weeks...

And Yes Virginia...living in Texas I knew the two tone Blue and Black was going to be this way... I am not carping...just noting my current experiance for Rick in Yuma and any other with same question....

Maybe someone with a White / Silver that is in a full sun high OAT area can relate their perspective so we can see if the tridion and panel colors make any difference

By yours truly.
The wife and I took a trip down the NYS Thruway in the smartie on Saturday afternoon to a good friends 60th b-day celebration....2.5 hour ride thru 95 degree (unseasonable for UpState NY!) I had installed a sheet of 2 mil reflective mylar above the shade.

The AC kept the car cabin at a very nice and comfortable temp the whole trip down. Radiator temps at 75 mph sitting in the 197-203 range (96 degrees on the car outside temp gauge)

Nothing to compare AC performance to this time but on the way home, I noticed that the mylar had become folded back in half from rolling the shade back the nite before so half the roof was *foiled* and the front half was not with the shade closed. I decided to leave it that way on the way back home and qualitatively determine if the back with foil was cooler to the feel than the front was.

We had gotten about an hour up the Thruway and the wife, who happened to be driving this time, commented that the AC did not seem to be working as well as it did on the way down. She likes hot weather and was actually complaining about it being too hot so I could take that as a verifiable complaint. The shade was closed at that time but only half was foil covered.

Since she was driving, I was able to unfold the folded back half of the foil and then completely cover the shade as it had been when we drove down the day before.

As soon as I foiled the entire shade and closed it, my beautifully assembled spouse (thermostat) exclaimed, *Now that's more like it!* She could notice an almost immediate improvement in the AC performance.

So I think we have something here, by George.

[Old SGM]

The temp here in Virginia got to 104 with an index of 110, the AC handled the heat very well, after about 10 minutes I put the blower on a lower setting. Nothing wrong with the AC in my Smart. The problem is with heat soak while parked, I continue to think the way to go is with a sunshade type car cover that just covers the entire roof and windows. I just hope enough Smart owners can express their interest to get someone to make one. Look at the videos on California Pop Top website, it looks like an answer. I am convinced.

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by Old SGM

The temp here in Virginia got to 104 with an index of 110, the AC handled the heat very well, after about 10 minutes I put the blower on a lower setting. Nothing wrong with the AC in my Smart. The problem is with heat soak while parked, I continue to think the way to go is with a sunshade type car cover that just covers the entire roof and windows. I just hope enough Smart owners can express their interest to get someone to make one. Look at the videos on California Pop Top website, it looks like an answer. I am convinced.

SGM,
The foiling test that I posted above proved to me that the AC in the smart was adequate even in pretty hot weather.
What I wanted to see {and did}was IF doing it improved the effectiveness of the AC by reducing the heat absorption thru the black shade (or cooling load), allowing me to run the blower at lower speeds or the temp setting at a slightly higher temp (to reduce compressor load overall) OR BOTH simply by cutting down on that absorption thru the black shade by reflecting the sun's rays back outward. It did seem to do that but alittle more repeatability on that test is needed to fully confirm that it indeed does do what I think it is doing.

John