Parking Lot Is Paved With Solar Panels

you answered your own question with the end of your statement.
 
So this is what the floors in Doom were made out of. Seems like a waste keeping them indoors.
 
J3RK said:
So this is what the floors in Doom were made out of. Seems like a waste keeping them indoors.
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So they can capture the wasted light from the lights in the ceiling, thus a perpetual machine :D
 
One dumbass on a loader and their "tractor proof" cells become a hazmat cleanup location.
 
J3RK said:
Ohhh!!! I think I saw a Kickstarter for that! :D
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They aren't that efficient yet. I think the most efficient panel is out of Germany for roughly 40% of sun. Meaning if it receives 100watts of sun energy, it outputs 40watts. And then you lose some in conversion from DC to AC.

The issue with this is that if you use them in parking lots, CARS PARK ON THEM. Thus, you lose some degree of area from blocked light. With a rooftop system, it doesn't get blocked unless your neighbor throws up a skyscraper.

Plus, the rooftop ones for commercial (since it's a flat roof) can be actuated to move with the rotation of the sun, thus maintaining an optimal efficiency level.

I think there's someone working on translucent ones where they can replace the curtain walls on skyscrapers. Since most of those are all glass, you could make one or two whole sides of the building a giant solar panel. Obviously, new construction. Retrofit would be a disaster.
 
Spidey329 said:
They aren't that efficient yet. I think the most efficient panel is out of Germany for roughly 40% of sun. Meaning if it receives 100watts of sun energy, it outputs 40watts. And then you lose some in conversion from DC to AC.

The issue with this is that if you use them in parking lots, CARS PARK ON THEM. Thus, you lose some degree of area from blocked light. With a rooftop system, it doesn't get blocked unless your neighbor throws up a skyscraper.

Plus, the rooftop ones for commercial (since it's a flat roof) can be actuated to move with the rotation of the sun, thus maintaining an optimal efficiency level.

I think there's someone working on translucent ones where they can replace the curtain walls on skyscrapers. Since most of those are all glass, you could make one or two whole sides of the building a giant solar panel. Obviously, new construction. Retrofit would be a disaster.
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Remember that 40% is peak efficiency, presuming you're on the equator at high noon on a completely clear day.

Also "Some degree of area (due to parking)"...try losing most of it. Car parking lots are usually at 100% occupation during peak sunlight hours on 5/7 days of the week (A.K.A. 9-5PM workdays). So You loose almost all of your parking lot surface. So for all the investment you get precisely squat ROI in power generation in return a supermajority of the time.
 
Skripka said:
Remember that 40% is peak efficiency, presuming you're on the equator at high noon on a completely clear day.

Also "Some degree of area (due to parking)"...try losing most of it. Car parking lots are usually at 100% occupation during peak sunlight hours on 5/7 days of the week (A.K.A. 9-5PM workdays). So You loose almost all of your parking lot surface. So for all the investment you get precisely squat ROI in power generation in return a supermajority of the time.
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Yeah, that's why I mentioned the rooftop ones which can realign to maintain peak efficiency (or near it).

Depending on local building codes, some parking lots don't operate at full capacity. Here in Vegas, we have a lot of stores which are required to have so many spots per sq footage that unless it's black friday, they're always half full.

There's also the issue of tire-grime. If you've tried to keep a gray drive-way clean, you know how fast that stuff builds up.

I think there's an alternative design (not sure if they ever prototyped it, but I read about it). It used the heat energy from the sun for energy. I forgot how they converted it from heat to electricity.

I'm currently seeking funding for a new type of power plant. Think hamsters ... lots of hamsters. :D :D
 
Spidey329 said:
Yeah, that's why I mentioned the rooftop ones which can realign to maintain peak efficiency (or near it).

Depending on local building codes, some parking lots don't operate at full capacity. Here in Vegas, we have a lot of stores which are required to have so many spots per sq footage that unless it's black friday, they're always half full.

There's also the issue of tire-grime. If you've tried to keep a gray drive-way clean, you know how fast that stuff builds up.

I think there's an alternative design (not sure if they ever prototyped it, but I read about it). It used the heat energy from the sun for energy. I forgot how they converted it from heat to electricity.

I'm currently seeking funding for a new type of power plant. Think hamsters ... lots of hamsters. :D :D
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Yea it depends strongly on local code.

Here in my state capitol in the plains, finding parking from 9-5 on weekdays downtown (read: anywhere with a parking lot or garage)...is only slightly more likely than getting a Java/JS update without a remote code execution exploit.
 
Skripka said:
So You loose almost all of your parking lot surface. So for all the investment you get precisely squat ROI in power generation in return a supermajority of the time.
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Well they could install them on handicap spots at least? Or the "expecting mother" spots.. Or the "pastors only" or the "law enforcement only" or the "For UPS store only 15min max" spots....
 
Why stop there? Put panels on roof and roads. I have to wonder how those panels can deal with the weight of cars.
 
I'm seeing more car lots putting solar over the parking spaces which makes tons of sense. People will more likely come to your store as you can put your car in shade/out of the rain/whatever, and you get the energy savings. Doing large panel groupings like that should also lessen the wear on the pavement itself since it's not getting buried in salt/snow or baked in the heat like out here.
 
Can't imagine they're cheap hence not effective.

Also every see parking lots with two lines and right in the middle of that line is a dark splotch? That's from thousands of cars with a tiny oil leak or something dripping on them.

IMO, if you want to make a big push for solar, work on getting every wasted surface that isn't created to have stuff on top of it covering it (i.e. roofs) first.
 
if they could do that with roads and highways safely, it would be such a huge step to fix our energy problem.

That is cool
 
Solar panels lose a lot of efficiency the further they are from perpendicular to sunlight. These would be largely worthless, even moreso in the winter.
 
celeron300 said:
The Tesla is a great idea for an automobile too... until you look at the price.
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All tech goes down in price as time goes on. Tesla is a great idea for people in the market for a luxury car. It's expensive, but so is a Mercedes.

At one time, an HD TV was insanely expensive. There are TVs that sell for 100k.
Those insanely expensive products become mass market in a matter of years.

With that said, solar isn't for everyone/place. If you live in the desert, it makes sense. If you live in Seattle, not so much.
 
What a bad idea, low efficient overpriced paving tiles that will be very high maintenance. The idea of solar roofing panels/shingles was much better.

Speaking of paving I am one of those flat earthers who think that we have no energy problem. We have enough coal and oil in this country that with out another import we could energize this country for eternity. Proven fact that one small volcano burp puts out more pollutants and C02 than humans could try in 10 years or the fact that our Vast farms of asphalt parking lots and highways have risen the environmental temperature by 15°.

Don't get me wrong I am very pro solar, why dig up the earth and destroy the environment when we can harvest the sun but how about the government, big oil and the EPA stop treasonously lying to us and bring back the cars of the 70's that were developed that exceeded 140+ per gallon of gasoline.
 
Wow that looks pretty futuristic.

Would only really work in summer though, in winter it would be covered in hard packed snow.
 
AK0tA said:
Proven fact that one small volcano burp puts out more pollutants and C02 than humans could try in 10 years
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Yeah that's the great thing with "proven facts" is that just because you say it's a "proven fact" doesn't make it true.

2003 numbers put put all the volcanoes world wide at 200 million metric tons, and that's not a "slow year" remember we have ones like Kilauea that are constantly "burping" all year round. Meanwhile human causes... almost 30 BILLION metric tons. So volcanoes put out less than 1% of CO2 that humans do, and that's each year.

So yeah your "proven fact" is 100% wrong
 
Red Squirrel said:
Wow that looks pretty futuristic.

Would only really work in summer though, in winter it would be covered in hard packed snow.
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You must not have watched the video.

Its heated. Along with other things.

I applaud the dude for thinking outside the box. I've always felt that ashphalt roadways were a waste and too expensive, but they keep repair crews in business and keep that cash cow coming in for governments, so they love it, constant, point to it maintenance that can be used to strangle your constituents into doing shit they wouldn't normally do, just to keep those roads repaired.
 
celeron300 said:
The Tesla is a great idea for an automobile too... until you look at the price.
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The model s is more 5 series, E class competitor. As a competitor to the mid sized luxury sedans it is exceptional. The cost of the car and running cost to own are very reasonable and actually cheaper over the long run granted that the batteries last as long as they are rated for. I contemplated a Tesla but they cant sell directly in Texas and I dont want to bother with all the headaches of getting on.
 
but IN IDAHO??
Good thing he drove a tractor over it, will confuse the pitchfork and torches crowd.
 
stiltner said:
You must not have watched the video.

Its heated. Along with other things.

I applaud the dude for thinking outside the box. I've always felt that ashphalt roadways were a waste and too expensive, but they keep repair crews in business and keep that cash cow coming in for governments, so they love it, constant, point to it maintenance that can be used to strangle your constituents into doing shit they wouldn't normally do, just to keep those roads repaired.
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Haha you will need TONS of heat (aka electricity) to actually keep it clear of snow, more than what the panels will generate in the time it takes to melt the snow. Neat idea nonetheless, it could work in places that don't get much snow like Toronto and other southern places.
 
stiltner said:
You must not have watched the video.

Its heated. Along with other things.

I applaud the dude for thinking outside the box. I've always felt that ashphalt roadways were a waste and too expensive, but they keep repair crews in business and keep that cash cow coming in for governments, so they love it, constant, point to it maintenance that can be used to strangle your constituents into doing shit they wouldn't normally do, just to keep those roads repaired.
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bro, you don't understand, TECHNOLOGY takes away jobs. :D therefore, technology is EVIL
 
cageymaru said:
I can see whole forests replaced with these.

:) :) :)
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Build these things in the desert and leave my trees alone.


stiltner said:
I've always felt that ashphalt roadways were a waste and too expensive
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That depends on a lot more than just keeping road crews employed - things like climate, average traffic, etc. Concrete roadways are more expensive up front, and are not as easy to repair as an asphalt surface. I've seen entire lanes on the freeway here in socal ripped up, replaced, and drivable in just a couple days. Of course the downside of asphalt is a lower lifespan - its just not as hard as cement. In warm climates (think: no snow plows) asphalt can be more cost effective.

There are also other considerations, like the condition of the roadbed. We had a concrete freeway system where I lived in Iowa, but over the decades the soil had compacted and shifted in ways that made it impossible to maintain the road without digging down 2+ feet to re-condition the roadbed. In this situation, it really didn't matter what material they decided to patch the potholes with because many stretches were beginning to look like a quilt of old and new areas, impossible to tell where the original road was. And it drove like shit. They finally rebuilt the 235 loop, but after I moved away of course.
 
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