2023-04-29 12:01:50
The presentation of a new electric car is often an opportunity to unveil new, more or less interesting technologies. Recently, Volkswagen presented its new sedan ID.7 and Polestar a new SUV soberly called “4”. These two models have a very innovative panoramic sunroof with variable dimming that can be darkened instantly by pressing a single button. It’s the same technology that the electric Porsche Taycan has on board. But how does it work? We will explain everything to you.
If the panoramic roofs, or even opening, were previously reserved for the most upscale cars, this technology has generally become more democratic on modern cars. Although it is rare to find a car with a panoramic roof as standard, most models offer this equipment as an option, for between 800 and 1,200 euros, depending on the manufacturer. Except at Tesla where the panoramic roof is standard on all models.
It must be said that the advantages are multiple, starting with the light and the feeling of space on board that this provides. On the first cars equipped with a panoramic roof, there were obviously some disadvantages. The weight first of all, since if it was opening, it added an additional mechanism.
It was also without counting the reliability, the amateurs of old cars equipped with the first sunroofs are the main witnesses. There might also be sealing problems with seals that aged quite badly.
The other grievance was obviously the heat in the cabin, since a panoramic roof is made of glass. For this reason, lInfrared radiation passes through the glass and carries heat into the passenger compartment. If the car is fitted with leather upholstery and has been left in the heat of the day all followingnoon, the temperature on board can easily exceed 50°C.
It was then that the first blinds quickly appeared, shutters which, depending on the car, were manually or electrically operated and made it possible, precisely, to partially stem this phenomenon of heat stroke in the middle of summer.
High tech above our heads
Since then, our cars have evolved, and technologies too. Panoramic roofs, which until now were only “pieces of glass”, are becoming more and more elaborate. One of the latest novelties, these are the panoramic roofs with a system of opacity and transparency that can be operated in a fraction of a second and at your fingertips… or even by voice.
Several manufacturers offer this type of technology, and the most surprising is undoubtedly to be put to the benefit of Porsche and its Taycan. The Taycan’s panoramic roof benefits from a new function called ” Light Control“. That is, the roof has intelligent electric anti-glare protection with the presence of a total of nine zones that can be individually controlled.
For this reason, passengers have the option of controlling the opacity or transparency of the entire panoramic roof or of certain segments or patterns. In the photo above, we distinguish the nine zones, with five which are transparent and four opaque.
Thus, it is possible to make the rear part of the roof opaque and continue to enjoy the sun at the front. Better still, when the roof becomes opaque to prevent theInfrared radiation passes through the glass, the light continues to penetrate inside.
A “simple as hell” process
But how does it work? The roof is made up of thousands of liquid crystals and contained in a film. They are supplied with electricity by electrical contacts. The principle is generally quite simple: when the alternating voltage is low, the crystals organize themselves in a few milliseconds so that the glass becomes transparent.
Conversely, when the AC voltage is high, i.e. when there is a power supply, the liquid crystals are no longer organized and the glazing becomes opaque. And to control all that, nothing might be simpler, since in the central screen of the Taycan, it is possible to control this function with your fingertips.
At Porsche, there are four settings for the panoramic roof. We have already covered two with the modes “Transparent” and “Matte”, but it is also possible to select “Semi” and “Bold”. Let’s say it’s more of a gadget, but it will probably have a small effect on the customer who will probably have spent more than 100,000 euros for his 100% electric sedan.
These modes are actually predefined patterns with narrow or wide segments. It is even possible to carry out a dynamic closing style “roller shutter”. It should be noted that when the car is off, the panoramic roof darkens automatically, enough to avoid heatstroke inside in summer.
Anyway, according to Porsche, even without the clouding of the roof, due to its multi-layered design and even in the transparent state, the protection once morest heat radiation is so effective that it protects once morest heat better than a mechanical blind or a conventional glass roof. According to the figures provided by the Stuttgart firm, only 15% of the heat penetrates inside, once morest more than 30% for a more conventional roof.
Full-scale tests have even been carried out by Porsche. By simulating parking a car for 45 minutes in the South African sun on a summer day, the temperature inside the car was nine degrees below the temperature outside, where without the technology it would have been higher than the outside temperature.
So obviously, at Porsche, nothing is free, even less the equipment. On a Taycan 4S for example, which starts from around 115,000 euros, it will take 1,620 euros for a simple panoramic roof and up to 5,088 euros for the famous fixed panoramic roof with variable occultation.
A technology that tends to democratize
As you are surely aware, Porsche is part of the Volkswagen group, and to make a profit from a technology, what better than to share it with cars from another brand?
This is exactly what is happening with the new Volkswagen ID.7, the German manufacturer’s recently unveiled 100% electric sedan.
It is exactly the same system as the Porsche Taycan. The activation of the change of state is carried out by touch in the overhead console or via voice assistance. The roof is also provided with a layer of PDLC (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal) integrated in the glass allowing to instantly opacify the transparent roof, then to make it transparent once more.
Like that of the Porsche, coatings in the glass reflect the heat radiation inside, which increases the comfort of the occupants, especially in winter when the more intense rays do not dazzle the passengers.
Unlike Porsche, it seems that Volkswagen’s “magic” panoramic roof contains only one zone. Impossible, therefore, to obscure a single part of the glazing. It’s all or nothing. The price of this option is not yet known.
Recently, Polestar unveiled the 4, a coupe SUV which has the particularity, in addition to being the brand’s most powerful model with 544 hp, of having no rear window.
A first in the automotive world, but this absence is compensated by the presence of a very large panoramic glass roof offered as standard, with the possibility of switching to electrochromic mode to make it opaque or transparent thanks to the same technique used on the aforementioned models.
Note that not all of these panoramic roofs open. They are very bright and give a feeling of space, but do not allow hair to roll in the wind. But the first convertible electric cars are coming, like the Fiat 500, but also the future MG Cyberster.
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