This Parking Lot Is Paved With Solar Panels

[IDemo]

The Idaho couple who created an innovative road surface made of solar panels is back with a prototype, and they’re looking to Indiegogo for additional funding.

Scott and Julie Brusaw want to replace traditional asphalt and concrete with impact-resistant solar panels that do double duty as a road surface and an energy source. When the solar roadway concept debuted in 2010, it caught the interest of futurists and government officials. Now the Brusaws have a working prototype covering a 12- by 36-foot parking lot outside the couple’s electronics lab in Idaho.

The new panels look quite different from the prototype we saw almost four years ago. The latest design is hexagonal, which allows for better coverage on curves and hills. They’re also heated for easier snow and ice removal, and include LEDs that can display road markings or even messages.

According to the Brusaws, the new glass-covered panels have been tested for traction and impact resistance, and can sustain a 250,000-pound load. They’ve even got a video of a tractor driving over the parking lot prototype. This is also the first time the panels have been subjected to real-world road conditions, and the parking lot includes a dedicated channel for drainage and utilities.

http://www.wired.com/2014/05/solar-road/

http://www.solarroadways.com/faq.shtml

[alittlelark]

1. I am re-surfacing a driveway in NM

I wish this was available NOW.....

[Electric Monk]

2. Ok, but (not mentioned in their FAQ) how well does it stand up to sand, salt, and snowplows?

Solar panels make more sense as roofing or siding on south facing walls, instead, imho.

[Yo_Mama]

5. Also they will tend to be covered during insolation hours.

I really don't understand the rationale for putting solar panels on parking lots. Roofs, well-situated sides of skyscrapers, solar farms - all of that makes sense. But why would you put solar panels on a parking lot as opposed to a roof?

Solar panels are not magic - they need rays of the sun striking them to produce power. You'll get the best bang for your buck by putting them on surfaces well-aligned to catch maximum hours of sun and which are not designed to be obstructed.

[TinkerTot55]

11. I think I understand.

Parking lots are some of the largest wasted spaces in America. Perhaps the inventors are trying to make more energy-efficient use of the spaces, IF they can iron out all the bugs.

Here in Wisconsin, the panels would need to withstand great temperature extremes, for example.

[oldandhappy]

12. well said

these were my first thots

[tclambert]

14. I guess you're not suppose to park on them.

Except at night. And for (insert deity of you choice) sake, don't let your filthy car leak oil on them.

[AtheistCrusader]

20. Probably fix oil leaks regardless.

If nothing else, for the environment and mechanical integrity of the vehicle.

[Niceguy1]

26. even the smallest drips

Accumulate in parking spots. I think these would be better suited to pedestrian areas, or places not occupied a lot, like fair c.f. roind parking, stadium parking, etc.

[jeff47]

17. You put it in the roadway.

Parking lots have a lot of space where cars don't park - the parts you're supposed to drive on when looking for a space.

[Treant]

18. Agreed

It sounds like it'd be smarter to use them in the aisles, which would be in the sun at least most of the day, rather than the parking spaces, which wouldn't be in most cases.

These might open up the possibility of making some roads into solar panel-enhanced thoroughfares. Sidewalks. Anywhere it's usually sunny during the day with only modest interference.

[demigoddess]

16. me too.

that and using designs that would work with the climate instead of fighting it would reap more results if you ask me.

We are stupidly building homes that do not fit the climate they are in. I saw an old former residence in a neighborhood after a hurricane. All the wooden houses were gone but the cement block house built there in 1920 was still there. If I lived in florida or other hurricane area that is what I would build. That house was also a lot cooler for the hot climate.

[Duppers]

21. re-read: they're heated

For snow removal.

[Kaleva]

31. A guy near me did that with his driveway.

His heated driveway stayed snow free all winter but the water flowed out on to the street where it quickly froze, turning the intersection into one big skating rink where cars slide slide past the stop signs. Too many people complained and he had to discontinue heating the driveway.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Umm ... don't pave a parking lot with it ...

because cars are, you know, not translucent.

Think SIDEWALKS, guys !!!!!

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Their parking lot is part of their testing, not the goal

They don't own a road, so they can't repave one. But they do own that section of parking outside their lab.

You can tell their goal is roads - "solar-road" and "solarroadways.com". There's more area of road than sidewalk, in general.

I still doubt it would withstand long-term heavy use, though - trucks stressing it time after time, temperature changes, and, as pointed out about, snow, salt and ploughs in some areas.

[Mbrow]

13. Also if you use them on the road beds

You can use them for inductive charging of electric cars as you drive. Not a original thought from me just something I read a while back.

[madokie]

4. I'd be more receptive to putting them above the roads

rather than drive on them. Our VA center in Muskogee Ok covered their parking lots with solar panels that will save them around $80,000 a year in electricity cost. All big box stores should be doing the same thing. Lots of benefits to the covers besides just the solar panels output too.

[seabeckind]

6. So in our touted POTUS global warming "plan"

where is the part where we start powering commercial properties with solar panels on the roofs? Like malls.

Where is the part where the parking lots have a roof of solar panels? Or at least some kind of green absorption material to reduce heat and simplify snow removal?

[seabeckind]

10. I stand corrected

In another thread Obama is showing the panels and plans for gov't buildings.

Let's do them everywhere.

[WillyT]

8. And At Cal-Expo (State Fairgrounds Sacramento)

Providing shade for parked cars, AND power.





And Cal State Northridge...



And Fairfield CA...



etc...

[seabeckind]

9. Yes!!!

Heard you guys are doing HSR, too.

We're putting our money into professional sports.

And ignoring parking needs or transit for those venues.

[hedgehog]

15. The other advantage of this design, I would think, is the

elimination of huge heat islands!

[TupperHappy]

24. why don't we have solar panels

...running down the median strip of every single interstate and divided highway?

I mean, yeah, aside from supply constraints and all that, but why not have a pilot program somewhere?

I live near Charlotte, NC, and right now there is widening effort going on for I-485, why not include solar panels in the median strip along the entire loop?

[WillyT]

25. I Really Really Don't Mean To Be Flippant... But My First Thought Was... Two Words...

Duke Energy

That said... you have a fantastic idea... roll with it.

[seabeckind]

28. You don't see a conflict in policy?

The article talks about an energy alternative and yet we are expanding the highway capacity to facilitate more vehicles on the road.

It's like trying to fight obesity in schools by providing a healthy lunch and at the same time subsidizing soft drink machines in those schools.

I think that our energy plans should emphasize mass transit rather than highways. Instead of widening the highway, how about transit in that median? Even better, how about both panels and transit?

[Indydem]

32. Because, accidents.

The first time a driver goes off the road into the median they caused $100,000 in damage and probably died from the impact.

Medians are for safety.

[joanbarnes]

19. Now I can FINALLY dream of a lighted, heated solar driveway which will heat my house.

[Helen Borg]

22. Maintenance must cost a fortune...

At least at first sight...

[pediatricmedic]

29. Agreed, but this still may find use in some applications

I think this application could be useful on crosswalks or intersections. Especially with the built in lighting feature. Personal driveways would also be a good application.

[Helen Borg]

30. Good point there!

They can be used as the source of energy for nearby devices. Also, they must come up with a way to easily replace them, some modular design where you pop one out and the new one in, while at the same time making it difficult to steal them.

[Curmudgeoness]

23. And every time I suggest that all roofs should have solar panels,

instead of shingles, I am told that they are not durable enough to use like shingles. This blows that excuse out of the water.

[Courtesy Flush]

27. I prefer solar panels on covered parking.

Keeps cars out of the weather, plus it can use existing solar panel design. Those pavers look like they'd cost a lot more than a covered lot would.

[dreamnightwind]

33. Yes

Our local high school has exactly this in their parking lot.