I find this interesting

[Burgundy Burner]

Please, no politics. Anyway, this has real promise imho.

 

[Boone]

It's an interesting idea, and not poo-pooing it by any means (all great ideas get mocked at first), but seems cost prohibitive. It's fine to say 'it pays for itself' - but how does it 'pay for itself'? It's one thing to create panels that are both solar batteries and can serve as building materials, it's something altogether to build the infrastructure to collect and use that energy. And what about reliability? Asphalt doesn't do anything, other than last for decades with very minimal upkeep requirements. You trying to tell me that these panels are going to have anything close to that kind of durability and sustainability. I'm very skeptical that this could really be practically put into place anytime soon.

I think replacing all roofing materials with solar versions would make a lot more sense, as it would be much easier to harness the energy collected for practical home purposes... I think that kind of paradigm shift, away from shingles to solar roofing materials, could happen very soon and make a big difference in energy use. Building roads with solar panels - seems a lot more challenging just at a glance...

 

[Burgundy Burner]

I don't think we can do the whole country or do so in a short time frame. The technology is new, so time is needed to refine and implement at a deliberate pace. At homes, buildings, parking lots, etc.? Sure and it could be done sooner. I just find it interesting for now.

 

[Miles Monroe]

The texture of the panels scares me a bit. While it's conducive to better drainage in a light rain, it's removed contact area for the tire / road contact. While asphalt is slippery when wet, I can't see that surface having equal adhesion to asphalt or concrete.

It's a very cool concept, but the practical application as a road surface my not pan out as well as expected. I can't remember what their called, but circuit boards are subject of the growth of microscopic fingers from solder connections that cause all sorts of problems. They can grow in the void of space, as was found back in the 80's when this caused a communications satalite to cause major loss of service. So, for me being a bit of a tech person, I don't see it being an option for actual roads.

Of course, I know less then I think I do

 

[Fear The Spear]

So, it doesn't pass the 'motorcycle test' ?

 

[Miles Monroe]

So, it doesn't pass the 'motorcycle test' ?

It would downright suck for bikes to be honest. I couldn't picture being on that surface for a couple hundred miles without having more then one part of my body going numb. I'd equate it to a bridge with the metal grating surface in the type of buzz / vibration you'd have, and adhesion properties that are much less then good. The thought of hitting that stuff, and sliding is pretty scary. All those lovely bumps would hammer you, and all those seams... Ouch.

Generally speaking, tires are designed to work on asphalt and concrete. That alone brings up a number of important safety factors for the average vehicle. Will a tire come up to temp at the same speed on a surface that is essentially ventilated. With the reduced contact area, I can't see how they could heat at the normal rate. Will the tire reach and hold it's operating temp under normal use ? How will it change the stopping distance of vehicles with or without ABS systems ?

Basically, I'm left with more questions then answers....

 

[MikeSr619]

price
durability
acceptance
where to put it

so many questions. initially and theoretically it looks awesome. but how well does it translate from idea to reality?

 

[Fear The Spear]

The best way to experiment with it, is to beta-test it in some already chaotic and meaningless state like California, so if it doesn't work, and creates a huge cluster-****, then there's not much lost, anyway

 

[Lanky Livingston]

As far as infrastructure, they'll have wire tunnels on either side to handle the wiring, with the additional benefit of handling fiber optic cables as well. Never thought about road vibrations, that's an interesting angle. Surface traction/tire performance is also a potential problem, one that could instantly shut this down.

There's also a difference between being able to hold the rolling weight of a semi, it's another thing to be able to hold that weight hundreds of times a day for years. They need some long term testing to ensure these things don't start cracking after a year.

It'll be interesting to see this in action, as I believe they hit their funding goal of $1M.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[MikeSr619]

If the wires are buried you have to now ask about the environment and animal impact. If an animal digs it up or one that naturally burrows comes across how much does it effect on that stretch of the highway or even harm to the animal itself.

 

[Miles Monroe]

If the wires are buried you have to now ask about the environment and animal impact. If an animal digs it up or one that naturally burrows comes across how much does it effect on that stretch of the highway or even harm to the animal itself.

The higher risk is from a road workers digging for some reason and damaging it. Underground utilities don't generally have damage done by animals. I don't see it disturbing much more than any other road project, so the environmental impact would be minimal if replacing an existing roadway. I think the greatest risk to loss of service would be from accidents and fire. A roll over could take out quite a few tiles over a short distance. Even a good hot vehicle fire could damage a good number of the tiles.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

To be fair, that's a problem already with buried gas lines, which are far less demarcated than these would be.

They're burying fiber optic cables all over the country already, so this might actually help.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[Burgundy Burner]

To be fair, here is an article that is not totally gung-ho on the project.

Solar Roadways passes $1.4 million in crowdfunding: Just short of the $56 trillion required, but not bad for a crazy idea | ExtremeTech

And here is one that is rather positive.

Solar roadways could melt snow, create energy - KCTV5

And here is another article/promotoin that details how it will be funded in the early stages. Much to read and many graphics all the way to the bottom of the page.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways

One thing is certain - this has gone viral and there seems to be no turning back. Once a business has this in their parking lot, another one will want to keep up. A small town converts and another one will want to do the same. Succeed or fail, it will be fun to watch this unfold.

 

[MikeSr619]

once something flashy like this hits Facebook its all over but the crying...

we'll see how well it comes in to reality though. People have the attention span of a goldfish and spending millions can cause quite the few to grab on to their wallet with both hands.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I don't think the crowd funding was ever meant to raise $56T to put them on every road surface in America. It was meant to do one small town as something of a prototype.

I do agree with the first article, that focusing on existing solar tech, like rooftop solar panels, would be much more efficient. Let's perfect that stuff first.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[Boone]

People frenetically sharing something like this on Facebook, and the subsequent gazillion web 'articles' 'published' parroting the idea does not make it inevitable. Business leaders don't make decisions based on hype but on practical information and feasibility. I don't think this is inevitable - I'm not even sure any due diligence has been done to show its a practical or desire able alternative anytime soon.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

All of that may be true, but it is now being picked up by mainstream media. We'll see where it goes.