Cool Cars Regulation, Not so Cool
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If you live in California, chances are you’ve heard of the Cool Cars Initiative. If you don’t, you will be hearing about it over the next couple years. To get you up to speed, Cool Cars is a regulation, enforcing all cars sold in California to received a solar glazing on the windows, blocking the heat and thus keeping an automobile’s interiors cooler.
While this sounds like a pretty “cool” idea initially, it is certainly not without its flaws. To begin with, solar glazed glass does not exactly have a perfect track record. While the California Air Resources Board will tell you everything has been thoroughly tested, others will say that we could be in for some interesting times as far as cell phone and GPS signals are concerned.
The other problem, is even though this is a California regulation, it will most likely become national, considering the difficulty of retooling the manufacturing process just for one state. So in effect this would effect us all to some degree. Let’s look at exactly what this could mean.
The Positive and Negative Effects of Cool Cars
On a positive note, with the solar glazing in place, vehicles are estimated to reduce up to 1 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. In addition, the new layer will not be noticeable, impede the drivers view, or make the glass thicker. In other words, you won’t even know its there.
Okay, but nothing good comes without the expense of something bad. To begin with, the glazing on the windows may reduce the ability of certain devices to function properly. Theses devices are assumed to be cell phones, GPS devices, criminal ankle bracelets, etc. Now, the Board has already disputed these claims, stating that there tests show no problems, although these tests were neither extensive, or conducted in mountainous areas.
Besides telling consumers the glaze is well tested, they have also offered a few additional solutions to ease consumers minds. For one, only the windshield will be coated up through 2015, allowing signal to make its way through the side and rear windows.
Two, for such items as GPS, toll tag responders, and garage door openers, there will be a non-glazed section of the windshield where the driver can literally cram all these devices within that specified area. Three, the Board claims the GPS ankle bracelets will be unaffected according to initial tests, but some feel there should be more tests done.
Sources say there could be more of this type of (not so well planned) solutions to automobile greenhouses gases coming down the pike. Let’s hope they’re wrong…
Source: LA Times
