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OpenD - Maybe - BUT remember these work best on roadways with LIMITED traffic on them. Busy fast food restaurants may not allow the panels to get enough sun. Vegas - well anything that glitters, glows, or lights up is gonna be hit there.
RonnieInDallas - Yes, I now they are in early development, it is why I wanted to know where I could sign up to be the Alpha Tester... Although I have not gotten my Alaskan property yet either - so maybe we will both ready at the same time.
I can see places like Disney world getting these... Especially in the long driveways up to their ginormous parking lots. Imagine a smart roadway that directs you to your parking spot. It could efficiently direct cars in several paths to parking spots. RFID chips could detect HandiCap or VIP passes too. Then you have smart sidewalks to direct you where to get to the parks or the "planes, trains, and automobiles" you need to take to get to other places. Heck maybe even get you back to your car with the right technology...
It makes no sense to replace roadways with solar panels. They would take a beating and the cars would shade the panels. Side walks might be another story though. I'd suggest they start there and prove their product holds up over time and that there aren't issues with melt water just refreezing when the temperature is 10 below zero in the north. It's safer to walk on snow than it is ice.
OpenD - Maybe - BUT remember these work best on roadways with LIMITED traffic on them. Busy fast food restaurants may not allow the panels to get enough sun. Vegas - well anything that glitters, glows, or lights up is gonna be hit there.
RonnieInDallas - Yes, I now they are in early development, it is why I wanted to know where I could sign up to be the Alpha Tester... Although I have not gotten my Alaskan property yet either - so maybe we will both ready at the same time.
I can see places like Disney world getting these... Especially in the long driveways up to their ginormous parking lots. Imagine a smart roadway that directs you to your parking spot. It could efficiently direct cars in several paths to parking spots. RFID chips could detect HandiCap or VIP passes too. Then you have smart sidewalks to direct you where to get to the parks or the "planes, trains, and automobiles" you need to take to get to other places. Heck maybe even get you back to your car with the right technology...
And they would be good places to test how the panels hold up to traffic long term. Some place like Michigan's adventure might be a good place to test them in the north to see how well this melting of snow thing works. I'm skeptical about that. There's a reason we don't just heat our driveways in the north. When the melt water refreezes, it's slick.
I see a lot of long term testing needed before anyone is willing to commit to installing these in roads.
Disney would test how the panels hold up under a lot of use and in really hot weather too. Foot and vehicle traffic.
And I also would be concerned about the melt water - However, in the Youtube, which I admit was tough to watch at first, because of how tack it was done, they have channels that take care of the melt-water. How that would work in places that don't have drainage ditches, lakes, ponds, or canals to put the melt water into - I don't know. Where I currently live (Miami) - areas around me have cisterns that overflow all the time - and without pumping, there is no place for the water to go. Several times the canals that channel water out to the bay have burst their banks... So how do the panels work completely submerged in water? At least we don't freeze here.
I would think a non-amusement park or public place wouldn't be a good place to test for the winter months at first. The inventors need to pick some really cold places that also get a lot of snow. And different areas have different types of snow too.
Disney would test how the panels hold up under a lot of use and in really hot weather too. Foot and vehicle traffic.
And I also would be concerned about the melt water - However, in the Youtube, which I admit was tough to watch at first, because of how tack it was done, they have channels that take care of the melt-water. How that would work in places that don't have drainage ditches, lakes, ponds, or canals to put the melt water into - I don't know. Where I currently live (Miami) - areas around me have cisterns that overflow all the time - and without pumping, there is no place for the water to go. Several times the canals that channel water out to the bay have burst their banks... So how do the panels work completely submerged in water? At least we don't freeze here.
I would think a non-amusement park or public place wouldn't be a good place to test for the winter months at first. The inventors need to pick some really cold places that also get a lot of snow. And different areas have different types of snow too.
But the channels would have to be heated to prevent the melt water from freezing up here. The temperature of the ground will be well below zero a foot or so down up here. You can't just dig a channel because it will fill up with ice. You'd need to heat the channel the entire length so the water can run off.
I'd also be concerned with thermal expansion/contraction as our temperatures go from -10 F in the winter to 90+ F in the summer. I went to latch one of my windows on a -14 F day and the inner pane shattered when I touched the latch. I can see some minor installations for testing. Perhaps installing a strip a few panels wide to power the street lights and test how well the panels hold up but I can't see anyone committing to putting in an entire road for a long time. I'm seeing too many things that can go wrong. It is nice to see some good old American ingenuity though. It may prove to be a good idea but it's too early to tell. It may prove to be a stupid idea too.\
I was thinking of the amusement park because no one drives on the roadways in the winter so if there are issues with the melting of the snow no one gets hurt and you wouldn't have to take the panels out because no one drives on those roads in the winter. I think that would be the perfect place to work out how they handle cold, snow and ice.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 05-25-2014 at 02:55 PM..
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