Glass Solar Panel Roads

They re more than just solar energy collectors too.

Glass solar panel roads.

The key to making this work will be the glass. Sr glass is textured to create proper traction for vehicles and pedestrians. Glass was chosen for its hardness strength durability and transmittance. These solar highways or solar roadways consist of individual solar panels with three layers.

Instead of the regular lamp fixtures on. Welcome to solar roadways solar roadways sr is a modular system of specially engineered solar panels that can be walked and driven upon. It s cheaper easier more efficient and actually reparable if you just put the solar panels on all the street lights. Going off of an estimate made by caltech solar energy expert nate lewis who estimated that covering 1 7 of the u s land surface with 10 efficient solar energy converters would supply our.

The glass passed traction tests load tests and impact resistance tests at university civil engineering labs around the country. Since launching a viral crowdfunding campaign a few years ago for their hexagonal glass solar panels idaho company solar roadways has finally begun a number of test trials on real roads including. Our panels contain led lights to create lines and signage without paint. The netherlands made headlines last year when it built the world s first solar road an energy harvesting bike path paved with glass coated solar panels.

Solar roadway panels are made of tempered safety glass. One solution to the problem of safety on solar roadways is to texture the glass covering any solar cells used on roads but that will likely reduce the efficiency of the solar panels. A top layer of high strength textured glass that provides traction for vehicles an array of solar cells beneath that for gathering energy and a base plate that distributes the collected power according to solar roadways. Solar roads are not the way ahead.

Their proof of concept technology is a hexagonal road panel that has a glass driving surface with underlying solar cells electronics and sensors to act as a part of solar array with programmable capability. They contain heating elements to prevent snow and ice accumulation. Solar roadways incorporated is an american company based in sandpoint idaho aiming to develop solar powered road panels to form a smart highway.