Solar roadways
- Impenitent
- Throw me a rope.
- Posts: 7262
- Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:13 am
- Location: Deep in Oz
Solar roadways
I never know where to put my stuff, but this pushes so many positive buttons for me that I thought I'd take the plunge and start a thread.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways#home
The project promises so much!
A modular paving system of solar panels that can withstand great weights and can be installed on roads, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, bike paths, playgrounds, etc.
They will generate electricity, which can power homes and businesses connected via driveways and parking lots; heating elements to stay snow/ice free, LEDs to make road lines and signage, and attached Cable Corridor to store and treat stormwater and provide a "home" for power and data cables. EVs will be able to charge with energy from the sun (instead of fossil fuels) from parking lots and driveways and after a roadway system is in place, mutual induction technology will allow for charging while driving.
It's the coolest innovation I've seen in a long time, and this is only its first iteration - I suspect eager minds will create other uses.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways#home
The project promises so much!
A modular paving system of solar panels that can withstand great weights and can be installed on roads, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, bike paths, playgrounds, etc.
They will generate electricity, which can power homes and businesses connected via driveways and parking lots; heating elements to stay snow/ice free, LEDs to make road lines and signage, and attached Cable Corridor to store and treat stormwater and provide a "home" for power and data cables. EVs will be able to charge with energy from the sun (instead of fossil fuels) from parking lots and driveways and after a roadway system is in place, mutual induction technology will allow for charging while driving.
It's the coolest innovation I've seen in a long time, and this is only its first iteration - I suspect eager minds will create other uses.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
-
- Posts: 3154
- Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:31 pm
That would be cool.
I was just reading about Teslas today, and of course if they can be charged off solar, that would be awesome. I can't afford a Tesla, but I've been thinking about electric since my employer installed free charging stations in the parking lot.
I was just reading about Teslas today, and of course if they can be charged off solar, that would be awesome. I can't afford a Tesla, but I've been thinking about electric since my employer installed free charging stations in the parking lot.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Re: Solar roadways
Damn.Impenitent wrote: after a roadway system is in place, mutual induction technology will allow for charging while driving.
Think of that. Your car will never stop for lack of energy.
My main concern is how dirt will affect the performance. Roads are filthy.
When you can do nothing what can you do?
Wow, the possibilities there seem astounding......you'll forgive me if I wonder if it's too good to be true. The obvious question which they don't address in their video is - money! That and materials. How much would it cost to do on a large scale? What kind of materials do you need? Are those materials readily available in such mass quantities? Ect ect!
If this, or something like this, ends up being the future then WOW, how kewl! I'll also give extra-thumbs up because it would make the future look more futuristic!
If this, or something like this, ends up being the future then WOW, how kewl! I'll also give extra-thumbs up because it would make the future look more futuristic!
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
Did you happen to read that on theoatmeal? 'cause that's where I read about them yesterday and now I really wish I had / could afford one! They can go 0-60 almost twice as fast as my sedate V4 Camry does. That's quite impressive, considering that many people think of slow as treacle vehicles when they think electric.Frelga wrote:That would be cool.
I was just reading about Teslas today, and of course if they can be charged off solar, that would be awesome. I can't afford a Tesla, but I've been thinking about electric since my employer installed free charging stations in the parking lot.
River wrote:My main concern is how dirt will affect the performance. Roads are filthy.
Yeah, I wondered about dirt, too. They partially address the question in the FAQ: http://solarroadways.com/faq.shtml#faqClean
This kind of technology is the stuff that gets me excited, too.
Reading through that FAQ...man, this sounds really serious! They've really put a ton of thought into the many possible problems. This is clearly not a hippie-green pipe-dream to them but something they really intend to make a reality!
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
- Impenitent
- Throw me a rope.
- Posts: 7262
- Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:13 am
- Location: Deep in Oz
I've been following this project for some little while, and they've had government grants for early development and are about to produce a prototype parking lot. And, they're asking for investors in their start up. If I had any spare cash, I'd be investing in this - such a brilliant, brilliant idea!
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
- axordil
- Pleasantly Twisted
- Posts: 8999
- Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:35 pm
- Location: Black Creek Bottoms
- Contact:
You can patent the design features and the particular combination of ways they're put together. Basic construction techniques, like the hexagonal shape, probably not--and of course you can't patent a broad idea, or you shouldn't be able to anyway. That doesn't keep patent trolls and some corporations from trying.
- Dave_LF
- Wrong within normal parameters
- Posts: 6812
- Joined: Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:59 am
- Location: The other side of Michigan
Forgive my cynicism, but "a bigger company with more money" is not going to bother with something like this. At least not until someone proves they can make money off it.yovargas wrote:Is there anything preventing a bigger company with more money from seeing this and stealing their idea? Can you patent "solar panels on a road"?
I dunno...if they can get it doing everything they want it to do, it seems like a product cities world-wide would be begging them for. Even if it ends up just being used for parking lots, the potential consumer base here is gigantic if you can get the market cornered. If investors only looked at guarantees and not possibilities, I'm sure a whole lotta things would never have gotten done!
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists