Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos
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Hannibal Oryen
Slick Fondorian
I DID
I LIKED IT
WOWIE ZOWIE
I LIKED IT
WOWIE ZOWIE
Alexandra Feanor
The Lady in Silver/Grey Historian
Hmmm cool
Delila Castillon
#OldRedheadsReign
I'm still waiting for the road to drive me, like Jurassic Park.
Belle of the Brawl
Hate hitting moose? Solar FREAKIN' roadways.
This ... this is amazing.
Avalore Eden
If there be light...
^ what this kid said.
Tallia Farn
Flustered Amnesiac
Don't mean to be a downer but, that means school would never be canceled again.. It would break my heart.
Other than that though it sounds freakin fantastic :lol:
Other than that though it sounds freakin fantastic :lol:
Engineer in me says it isn't happening.
The abuse a normal road has to deal with is insane.
The abuse a normal road has to deal with is insane.
SHATTERED DREAMS, DAELLA.
Yeah, shattered dreams.
Had a thread on 4chan's /g/ about this too. Most anons had the same opinion. While the idea is novel, something like this will likely never be used for roads with high-occupancy. One can pretty say it isn't happening for roads that ever have to deal with 18-wheelers or even just a large truck in general.
Plus, a road isn't necessary clean. Oil, dirt, and dead animals litter it - drastically lowering the intake of power.
And in general, we electrical engineers like to avoid having our power lines and systems anywhere below ground level due to how expensive it is to maintain it at that point.
Best place for solar panels is still the rooftop - and even then, it's a hassle. #Oil4Life
Though, it's crazy how people are throwing money at this guy with his Kickstarter.
Had a thread on 4chan's /g/ about this too. Most anons had the same opinion. While the idea is novel, something like this will likely never be used for roads with high-occupancy. One can pretty say it isn't happening for roads that ever have to deal with 18-wheelers or even just a large truck in general.
Plus, a road isn't necessary clean. Oil, dirt, and dead animals litter it - drastically lowering the intake of power.
And in general, we electrical engineers like to avoid having our power lines and systems anywhere below ground level due to how expensive it is to maintain it at that point.
Best place for solar panels is still the rooftop - and even then, it's a hassle. #Oil4Life
Though, it's crazy how people are throwing money at this guy with his Kickstarter.
Seris Vant
The Unsung Hero
[member="Daella Apparine"] [member="Fatty"]
The Daella speaks the truth. I read over several discussions on this and the wear and tear these would receive on normal roads makes them impractical. 18 wheelers are what do most of the damage to our roads, these would also get the crap beat out of them by it. And then things like rain, snow, ice, SALT, dirt, grime and everything else that gets on a road either blocks the light from getting to the cells or can damage them.
Good news is though they can still be used for your driveway. If your looking to still use them. Wear and tear wise the damage from your call is very minimal. I heard they can have heaters to melt the ice and snow in winter environments, but I don't recall if power consumption is equal to or greater than the energy necessary to do so. Novel idea, not useful for the main purpose, still sucky due to efficiency rates of photocells. Roof top is the way to go, and prices are dropping for them. But its a long term investment either way. If you can sell electricity back to your utility, you'll be in this for 10 to 20 years to make your money back. these things would just be more expensive. You need a concrete pit for all the wiring and access. Leveling the ground, drainage, installation. Price just keeps going up and up.
TL
R: Rooftop solar good, ground panels bad investment... right now.
I'd also like to note I'm no expert on this subject, barely amateur. And am just remembering things from over a month ago I read. Sorry for possible incorrect facts.
The Daella speaks the truth. I read over several discussions on this and the wear and tear these would receive on normal roads makes them impractical. 18 wheelers are what do most of the damage to our roads, these would also get the crap beat out of them by it. And then things like rain, snow, ice, SALT, dirt, grime and everything else that gets on a road either blocks the light from getting to the cells or can damage them.
Good news is though they can still be used for your driveway. If your looking to still use them. Wear and tear wise the damage from your call is very minimal. I heard they can have heaters to melt the ice and snow in winter environments, but I don't recall if power consumption is equal to or greater than the energy necessary to do so. Novel idea, not useful for the main purpose, still sucky due to efficiency rates of photocells. Roof top is the way to go, and prices are dropping for them. But its a long term investment either way. If you can sell electricity back to your utility, you'll be in this for 10 to 20 years to make your money back. these things would just be more expensive. You need a concrete pit for all the wiring and access. Leveling the ground, drainage, installation. Price just keeps going up and up.
TL
R: Rooftop solar good, ground panels bad investment... right now.I'd also like to note I'm no expert on this subject, barely amateur. And am just remembering things from over a month ago I read. Sorry for possible incorrect facts.
It's also very easy to argue that roof top solar panels are not practical. The first is that the area required to produce even just a nominal amount of energy would be very high - so much so that a residential house may have to wait for years for a payoff if maintenance isn't factored in.
But when maintenance is factored in, things become a hassle. The PVCs are fragile if exposed. Not only that, but they're liable to be covered up by leaves and, of all things, bird crap. Heard from my supervisor that he had lamps for his driveway installed and they're solar powered. Yet, just one bird roosting on it messed up the lamp's day/night cycle and severely decreased the power drawn from it.
But when maintenance is factored in, things become a hassle. The PVCs are fragile if exposed. Not only that, but they're liable to be covered up by leaves and, of all things, bird crap. Heard from my supervisor that he had lamps for his driveway installed and they're solar powered. Yet, just one bird roosting on it messed up the lamp's day/night cycle and severely decreased the power drawn from it.