Solar Roadways

[lays]

Solar Roadways - Introduction

What do you all think about this? Would this even be feasible?

 

[Henderson]

I think there are just as many cons as there are pros to this. Two of the biggest ones being...

1. It would take A LOT of money and time to install them.
2. Energy companies would NEVER allow it. It would be like a monopoly.

One way to fix the second con is give the energy companies the solar panels to install themselves. Then again, you are faced with the first con.

 

[4WideRacing]

It's a cool idea but there are some issues they would have to work through, maybe someday...

 

[David24]

No matter the cost it would pay for itself within a year.

I think it's too genius of an idea to not happen. They need to implement it in a small town or city and see how it goes first.

 

[Hendrick4life]

I first saw this like two weeks ago and was like "I want one!" lol. Its an incredible idea that would pay for itself. However the energy companies would see this as a bad thing for their business and thus would not be for it.

 

[Mcc457]

I would be surprised if companies start scrambling for lengths of roadways to earn money off of. Every few miles you would see "provided by xxxx"

I wonder what race courses would be like with the solar roadways... Do you think they could hold up?

 

[Brandon Howe]

One con I don't see anybody talking about is maintenance and specifically from crash damage. No matter what our roads are made of, cars will crash and damage the surface they drive on as well. Are they fire resistant? Can they withstand years of driving? Will the grease and grime of cars cause them to break down? What happens when the "paint" lights go out on a busy road?

 

[Mcc457]

I'm pretty sure the LED lights are battery powered, charged with the solar panel. The video in the link talked about it's durability IIRC.

Sent from my Huawei Y301A1 using Tapatalk

 

[David24]

a road surface will always get damaged and have to be repaired no matter what. since these are hexagonal shaped pieces I'd imagine they'd just replace the damaged ones with new ones. then they might salvage some parts or recycle the damaged ones.

 

[K.Chuck]

Test it on a racetrack, could you imagine sections of the racing surface turning yellow under a caution?

 

[Brandon Howe]

Test it on a racetrack, could you imagine sections of the racing surface turning yellow under a caution?

Doesn't that already happen at Texas? At least right up against the wall.

They could also have a ticker on the racing surface that could scroll around the apron or something.

 

[Cody Ficker]

These would have to be some super durable hexagons to be installed on a race track. Could you imagine 43 cars bottoming out on top of these things at 180 mph for 200 laps?

 

[Brandon Howe]

These would have to be some super durable hexagons to be installed on a race track. Could you imagine 43 cars bottoming out on top of these things at 180 mph for 200 laps?

They wouldn't ever be installed at a race track because you're essentially driving on glass. There is just no grip to be had with these tiles, at least not with rubber tires.

 

[The Captain]

I'm pretty sure the LED lights are battery powered, charged with the solar panel. The video in the link talked about it's durability IIRC.

Sent from my Huawei Y301A1 using Tapatalk

That doesn't exactly make it immune to failure. I imagine these would be very, very durable to begin with, but the possibility of losing a light strip would always be there and when that happens, you get to place your trust in the motorists around you. I think this is a very cool idea, I just hope we don't end up as a test market should these become reality.

 

[Cody Ficker]

They wouldn't ever be installed at a race track because you're essentially driving on glass. There is just no grip to be had with these tiles, at least not with rubber tires.

There's ways around the lack of grip on glass. You could spray something like a rough (transparent) liquid rubber onto the surface. If you can get it to crystallize, it would have a similar composition as pavement.

 

[Hendrick4life]

I thought they talked about the roadway grip im the video.

 

[4WideRacing]

I first saw this like two weeks ago and was like "I want one!" lol. Its an incredible idea that would pay for itself. However the energy companies would see this as a bad thing for their business and thus would not be for it.

You mean the same companies that provide discounts/rebates on energy saving light bulbs and appliances? I'm sure they would be for this if they are for paying people money to not use as much electricity from them.

 

[timnsr72]

I could see these being used for driveways or private parking lots to generate money/offset energy costs, but I doubt we will see this used on public roadways or racetracks. I think the initial investment to install these will be an issue despite the fact that you would be able to break even & profit with energy savings.

 

[K.Chuck]

I dont care, it could make a kickass pit road also.

 

[Hendrick4life]

Man could you imagine. They would put the sponsor logos on Pit Stalls too probably lol.