Was the solar panel a factor in your purchase?

[FairwoodRed]

Over at CBS Business news, they wrote about 10 surprising things about the Leaf ( http://www.bnet.com/blog/electric-cars/10-surprising-things-about-the-nissan-leaf/4681 ) and quoted Brendan Jones, Nissan EV marketing director. Item 9 caught my attention :
“Going upscale. There are two Leaf models, the SV and the upscale SL, and 95 percent of buyers are going for the upmarket SL. That’s because it adds less than $1,000 to the price, and includes a rear-view monitor, fog lights and automatic headlights. But the real reason people want it is the solar panel mounted on the spoiler (which trickle charges the accessory battery and can run the radio). It doesn’t do much, but people love the idea of it. More important, SL customers have the option of buying a 480-volt fast-charging port, which can get the car back on the road in 20 minutes to half an hour. An amazing 89 percent of SL buyers are going for the fast-charging port, which uses the Japanese CHAdeMO standard. “

I can’t believe this. To me the tiny panel on the Leaf is about as useful as a tapedeck. It was a total zero factor in my purchase. So here I ask my question – Was the solar panel important to you? Do the reasons stated above match your reasons, or do you have different ones?

I’m not trying to bait anyone. I’m honestly interested in anyone’s opinion that they want to share.

 

[waitingforaleaf]

I actually ordered a SL for the rear-view camera, the fog lights, and QC port (though there aren't even any stations available yet around here :roll: ). The solar panel had very little to do with my choice as charging the 12v seems unnecessary as most of the time the car is actually parked in a garage...

 

[TLeaf]

Not a buying factor for me at all, but I've got to admit that it's the first feature that the non-LEAFers glom on to when I show them the car. Then it's just a matter of seeing how long I can bait them along into believing that the car runs purely on solar power.. :mrgreen:

 

[Bassman]

I actually ordered a SL for the rear-view camera, the fog lights, and QC port (though there aren't even any stations available yet around here :roll: ). The solar panel had very little to do with my choice as charging the 12v seems unnecessary as most of the time the car is actually parked in a garage...

+1

 

[Boomer23]

I got the SL package for the rear view camera, since I've managed to back into something in my last three cars, somehow :roll: . I also wanted the Homelink package, though it's really redundant since I only have one garage door to operate and I can easily carry a remote. Since I was interested in the SL, the fact that I needed to order the SL to get the Quick Charge was a non-event for me. I was interested in the solar panel at first, thinking that it might add "just that small additional amount of range" by taking a small amount of load off the main batteries. But it was not really a big deal, just icing on the cake. Now that I know that it is just "green window dressing", that's what I tell people who are looking at my LEAF. But I agree, people get really excited when I show them the solar panel, until I tell them that I'm told that it's only 5 Watts or so and it hardly does anything.

 

[DaveEV]

I had to get the SLe (eTec) model. But I would have gotten the SL model anyway, primary 2 reasons are the QC port and backup camera. Homelink and the dimming mirror are nice options that I wouldn't have paid for in the past, but having it now I appreciate it and would probably opt for it in the future.

The mini PV panel is pretty much useless, IMO. Perhaps if it also vented air through the car like the Prius solar roof I'd find it useful and desirable.

 

[Spies]

DC QC port for me. If the DC QC port was offered on the base model I would have seriously considered it instead but since the DC QC port was not an option I did not even bother looking what the differences were at the time.

 

[garygid]

PV panel was not important at all.
The SL was required to get the QC port, which I wanted.

I did think the Backup Camera would be useful, though not worth $950.
Now, I like the well-implemented curved guidelines on the BU Camera a lot, and use it frequently.

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

I think it's a nice way to introduce solar to the masses. On principle I like it even though it makes little difference and no, it was not the main motivator for going SL. I see it as helping to open the minds of the masses to a new way of thinking about energy that could involve a lot of solar energy, if only we started giving it the kind of support we give our military operations to secure our oil interests.
I tell people the solar panel is a symbol of what is possible! I'm all for more solar panels, bring it!!!!

g

 

[Skywagon]

I park in a garage at home and under a covered spot at work so the solar panel is basically worthless to me. Also, it is another piece of acrylic plastic to take care of that may, for some, turn opaque/sun fade over time. I would prefer my car to not have it. I figure that in the future there may be some wrecked cars in scrap yards and I would hope to find a white SV to obtain the spoiler from... I know, wishful thinking.

 

[lincomatic]

As far as I'm concerned, the solar panel is just a gimmick. How can I even tell if it's doing anything? There's no indicator anywhere.

 

[MaryC]

At the beginning of this process the prototype we all saw had a much larger solar panel. Basically just a little smaller then the top of the spoiler. Because of that size it was a consideration when ordering the SL. I have to admit that I was a bit dissapointed when I saw how small that the actual production version was. I still would order the SL for the Back up camera, and Quickport today.

 

[UkrainianKozak]

Was it a factor? Definitely YES, was it a most important factor - definitely no, to me the most important was free fast charger port in SL-e and integrated HomeLink mirror. Solar panel was mostly "coolness" aspect to it, To me the "cost" factor of it was about $100 (I would opt for the same car without solar panel, if I would pay $100 less for it)

 

[intrepion]

I'm really disappointed they didn't use the whole roof for a solar panel to trickle charge the main battery.

 

[scottysize]

We got the SL because $1000 is worth getting a loaded car. Why wouldn't you get the upgrade? We got talked into the dadburn quick charge port, though We did not order it at first. That was $800 down the drain.

 

[tps]

No. (My opportunity to order hasn't come yet (forgotten 36), but the reservation site shows "My 2011 Nissan LEAF" as an SL.) I could care less about the solar panel. I want the QC and backup cam.

 

[klapauzius]

Does anyone know how much peak power the panel can actually provide? I think from the size of it, it cant be more than
5 Watt or so...But no, it was not a factor for me. Rearview camera and QC port were.

 

[adric22]

I knew from the beginning that the solar panel was just a gimmick. It serves no purpose. The amount of power it produces is so minuscule that it is like using an eyedropper to fill up a swimming pool. The water likely evaporates faster than you can drop it in.

Add to that, my wife has a Prius with a solar roof, and that solar panel is the real deal! Not only is it made so well that it looks just like the roof of any car at a distance, but it is big enough and powerful enough to run the cooling fan during the day while it is parked at work. If Nissan were to use a panel like that, or one twice its size, a nice sunny day would produce enough power to add 2 or 3 miles to the vehicles range. Over the course of a year that could add up to over 1,000 "free energy" miles. Of course, the cost of the panel would add an extra $1,000 to the car.

So when people ask me about the solar panel on the back of my leaf, I tell them the truth, that it is a marketing gimmick.

 

[camasleaf]

As far as I'm concerned, the solar panel is just a gimmick. How can I even tell if it's doing anything? There's no indicator anywhere.

+1

I was also wondering about the $140000 a year average, mentioned on the article. It must be some celebrity that brought the average up .

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

I'm really disappointed they didn't use the whole roof for a solar panel to trickle charge the main battery.

If a solar panel was capable of replacing the juice the battery loses just while parked it would have had some value, so you could park in the airport for a week and come back to at least what you had when you left.

The other possible "useful use" would be if it powered a small fan to exhaust hot air while parked. Mazda had a system like this a long time ago and people said it worked pretty well, but maybe they were just trying to justify it.