Proof the Solar Roadways are bull **** for the third time. (EEVBlog)

[WelshDdraig]

Original source:

 

Recently the Solar Road test built in the Netherlands came out with data containing results of the amount of energy produced in a 6 month period,

and the company is claiming it produced more than they expected. That's all well and good, with major tech blogs posting about it,

(such as Engadget).

But when you break down the figures, they not as impressive as you would have thought.

 

Ever since Solar Roadways have been considered, Dave from the EEVBlog on YouTube has smelled something off about the project,

and if it is worth it.

Naturally as a follow up, he has decided to do a 3^rd video with the findings to see if it was worth it, and the TL;DR answer,

No, not really.

 

In his video he breaks down the calculations, and does comparisons between smaller solar generators in the same area to see what they were achieving.

After collecting the information and compared to the Solar Road, it doesn't look that impressive any more.

 

His workings, provided by Dave himself,

 

His previous videos in the spoiler below

 

 

 

 

My thoughts.

I liked the concept of solar roads, but I somehow feel they will never be efficient enough (At the current moment, given 5 years or so, who knows, but right now...)  to warrant the cost of creating and fitting the panels.

It was a great idea, but I feel its either too soon or the advancements are just not there yet.

 

Your thoughts, please leave them down below!

[Prastupok]

My thoughts are these:

 

This was never meant to be the final product. It was a test to see if it worked.

Technology, including solar, evolves all the time.

 

Stay tuned.

[Lolzious]

EEVblog <3

[Fred Castellum]

I've made several posts in the past explaining how it's a nice concept but completely uneconomical at our current stage of tech and infrastructure.  
 

In other words, would not invest in lol.

[juretrn]

Another EEVBlog fan!

I like the way Dave tackles the problem and does the calculations.

 

Just another proof that solar power is not the best solution at the moment.

[itachipirate]

LOOK AT THAT NECK (In the video thumbnail)

[sirtoby]

I've made several posts in the past explaining how it's a nice concept but completely uneconomical at our current stage of tech and infrastructure.  

 

In other words, would not invest in lol.

Technology isn't going to make solar roadways economical. An angled solar panel will always be more effective than a flat laying one. 

[Opcode]

6:00 - 6:17 how I feel about every PC tech news article on the internet.

[PhilBoisvert]

I am student in civil engeneering and I knew this was bullshit 10 sec into the vid when it came out. The fact that people beleived this to be feasable is a non-sense to me.

[Fred Castellum]

Technology isn't going to make solar roadways economical. An angled solar panel will always be more effective than a flat laying one. 

I will have to disagree good sir, if the technology behind the product is feasible and can make good returns on money spent then it'll easily become economical. 

 

Angled solar panels are more effective than a flat laying one yes, but efficiency isn't the only thing were looking at. I'm a solar stock specialist so when were talking about solar panel tech my ears perk up. 

[pit5000]

this may be OK for a bike path but...

 

this tech simply would not work for a car road. You can't generate power when vehicles are covering the surface. Maintenance costs alone would not make it feasible in the long term.

[sirtoby]

I will have to disagree good sir, if the technology behind the product is feasible and can make good returns on money spent then it'll easily become economical. 

 

Angled solar panels are more effective than a flat laying one yes, but efficiency isn't the only thing were looking at. I'm a solar stock specialist so when were talking about solar panel tech my ears perk up. 

But why would you put solar panels in a place where they're less effective. You'd need to replace the glass on top of them all the time, which has a lot more slippery than regular tarmac by the way. And don't get me started about the stupid idea of putting led on these panels. 

[Fred Castellum]

But why would you put solar panels in a place where they're less effective. You'd need to replace the glass on top of them all the time, which has a lot more slippery than regular tarmac by the way. And don't get me started about the stupid idea of putting led on these panels. 

If the technology on the panels used for this purpose operates differently than your traditional commercial solar panel then it could be effective(pricing is important too). You don't necessarily need to use glass, glass itself sounds like a horrible idea for something that's going to be run over thousands of times per day by 2 ton vehicles.... 

 

Like I said the tech we have now is no able to make this stuff economically viable. I wouldn't invest in it but it does have the potential to one day be effective if the tech is good enough and cost effective. 

[sirtoby]

If the technology on the panels used for this purpose operates differently than your traditional commercial solar panel then it could be effective(pricing is important too). You don't necessarily need to use glass, glass itself sounds like a horrible idea for something that's going to be run over thousands of times per day by 2 ton vehicles.... 

 

Like I said the tech we have now is no able to make this stuff economically viable. I wouldn't invest in it but it does have the potential to one day be effective if the tech is good enough and cost effective. 

I get your point. With panels whose performance isn't affected by the angle the panel is positioned,this might work, If we can manufacture it cheap enough. You would still need a translucent material with excellent frictional properties, though. Using glass as a cover for the panels was proposed by the makers of the Indiegogo campaign, as well as putting leds on the panels. 

[Trik'Stari]

My thoughts are these:

 

This was never meant to be the final product. It was a test to see if it worked.

Technology, including solar, evolves all the time.

 

Stay tuned.

^this

[patrickjp93]

Technology isn't going to make solar roadways economical. An angled solar panel will always be more effective than a flat laying one. 

Not remotely true if you have a handle on Quantum Mechanics. The problem is that's on the bleeding edge of research, much less application.

[King_Gamma]

This was only the first test. They still need to refine the product.

 

The thing is the power that is generated from solar roads is better than nothing at all. 

 

It is a unique approach to creating clean energy and IMHO a great utilization of space.

[Megahurt]

The only way I see solar being implemented in the near future, is on rooftops with batteries like tesla is doing. Solar roads are stupid, period, they will never be the cheaper option to harness solar energy.

[Virgule]

[Yog]

No matter how efficient solar power technology becomes unideal placement of solar panels will always be less efficient than ideal placement of solar panels. Did you guys see him show the solar road with the solar panels on poles in the center of the highway? That would be ideal placement.

[connorpiper]

Daves bullshit videos are always funny!

Surprised others know about him.

[ionbasa]

Gotta love Dave. As a fellow engineer, it is nice to see him pointing out the flaws in the design and implementation.

 

But, I will say this: Although the current implementation is not practical (it never was to begin with), it at least is a start. Sometimes projects like these go through numerous development cycles, research, and analysis. Some of that involves putting them to the test in the real world.

 

While it isn't an efficient implementation, we may be saying the exact opposite 10 years from now. It is all part of the process of R&D. Eventually, the technology will catch up, and it may be viable in the future.

[Delusional Phil]

Imagine we covering our roads with solar panels like the Koreans did ... That would be amazing ... 

[GoldSrc]

Daves bullshit videos are always funny!

Surprised others know about him.

Who doesn't know about that crazy Austrian Aussie bloke.

It's always good to see Dave throwing some math in the face of BS.

[Deletive]

Well it's not disappointing considering the roadway is used, gets dirty and is on the floor instead of an angle at which the roof panels probably are. sooo it's not too bad.