[satrya]

I don't understand why Volvo's sunroofs have that porous sunshade/screen that lets a lot of light/heat in when parked. When I close a sun shade, I want it blocked, ideally reflected back up.

I prefer that as well, maybe with a reflective surface on the top side. But instead of the feel of a rigid roof, Volvo may be going for the shade sail kind of ambience:

(image credit: coversandall.com)

 

[satrya]

Having come up with the idea, here are my questions:

• Could a sunroof sized solar panel produce enough energy to run a typical car AC?
• Where would I buy the solar panels and at what cost?
• How complicated would the hookup be for a circuitry ignoramus like me?

It doesn't look like you can get anything that even covers the whole xc90 roof and provide anywhere near what a vehicle AC needs.

This site [link] says a rule of thumb for vehicle AC at full capacity consumes 1500Watts. And this list from autoblog [link] has panels around that size to claim around 200Watts output (ideal condition). Fitting something to fit just the glass panel would be even less.

With that, the 3rd question of how complicated to install is somewhat moot.

 

[satrya]

On my XC70 it was already behind a basket so aero was already quite spoiled, and I just have it to help keep the battery charged up from when I wasn't using the XC70 as a daily.

Thanks for that. I wonder with that particular size, have you gotten some kind of measure in how fast it helps top the battery?