Hey guys, Remember the SOLAR ROADWAYS stuff that was making quite a fuzz some time ago? Well, I just got convinced that they are a poor way to harvest the energy of the sun let alone the fact they are impossible to be efficient with the way they plan to implement the highways and the materials that are available as of now. I summarize a few points here from these 2 videos I watched: 1) https://youtube/watch?v=H901KdXgHs4 2) https://youtube/watch?v=obS6TUVSZds (need some EE background to understand it) - Solar panels arent as efficient as we wish they were. This is even in fully dedicated solar panel arrays. I dont have the exact figure of the most efficient in the market but should be between ~30% efficiency. In other words, only 30% of the energy stored gets transformed into electrical power. - Solar panels efficiency is sensitive to the position of the sun. Considering that there will be glass over these panels, and that theyd be constantly covered by all sort of vehicles, do you think these panels will be able to power 24/7 a entire LED array? To makes things worse, a whole more power will be needed to make these LEDs be noticeable (if ever) in daylight! (You get some real calculations in the second video linked) - From there, we can conclude that itll be impossible for these panels to burn ice in order to clean themselves. In the 1st video, they claim the material roads are made of are already more efficient for storing heat, and that is not even enough to melt ice, as you probably know - Finally, they havent really proven the lifetime of these glass they are using. Huge trucks driving continuously through are quite likely to break them. Also, where does water go to when there is rain over the such glass road? that is just suicidal for drivers... Its not my point to criticize for sake of it. But certainly tons of people donating their money to such a project requires some realistic and critical thinking. Also, I dont claim to be an expert here, I just got my BSc. in EE !, but I certainly understand some issues associated with this project. Itll be great to get some input from fellow EE\Physics students and professionals in here All the best! Ernesto Gonzales UWC-USA 11
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 18:37:44 +0000
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