As snow falls around the United States, one of the major challenges to municipalities is clearing snow from roadways so that people can travel safely. Snow removal can be costly, due to the unpredictable nature of winter weather, and slippery conditions on highways can lead to traffic accidents.
The standard practices for dealing with winter weather include put down a salt-sand mixture to lower the melting point of water and to provide traction to vehicles traversing the roads. For snowfalls, armies of plows take to the streets and highways to push snow out of the way. In longer storms, roadways have to be cleared multiple times, leading to large embankments and piles of snow.
The Concept of a Solar Roadway
A recent article on CNN.com highlighted some of the directions that researchers are taking to tackle highway snow removal in unconventional ways. Scott Brusaw is the inventor of the Solar Road Panel, a multi-layered system that combines a structural solar panel that cars can drive on, integrated lighting, heating coils, and control electronics.
The solar panels take in sunlight during the day and turn it into electricity. The electricity is used by the Solar Road Panel itself, or can be connected to adjacent structures or to the general electrical grid. According to the Solar Roadways website, each panel consists of three layers:
- Surface Layer – The top layer of the Solar Road Panel is essentially a high strength solar panel that can withstand the highway environment. The surface is textured to provide traction, but is translucent enough to let sunlight in. The surface layer also includes embedded light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to provide lane markers and custom alerts for drivers, as well as heating elements to melt ice and snow as it hits the surface.
- Electronics Layer – The middle layer of the Solar Road Panel contains the “smarts” of the system. This includes embedded electronics to control lighting and heating elements and control systems that are linked to adjacent Solar Road Panels to create a smart network.
- Base Layer – The base layer of the Solar Road Panel includes conduits for communication and electric distribution cables, as well as providing protection between the panel itself and the ground beneath it.
Brusaw was awarded a development contract by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2009 to create a prototype Solar Road Panel. Since then he has received numerous awards and recognition for both his technological developments and his commitment to conservation and renewable energy.
Creating a Smart Roadway
The concept of a Solar Roadway based on the building blocks of the individual Solar Road Panels could provide a variety of benefits to drivers and municipalities. The electricity generation of the solar panels could provide power to roadside devices such as lighting and signage.
Excess power can be funneled into the electrical grid. Temperature sensors can determine whether the heating elements need to be turned on, helping to prevent accidents caused by ice buildup and snowfall. Plows and sanding trucks would not be required.
Although the Solar Roadway is still a concept, it has the potential to revolutionize our approach to highway construction and management, as well as maintaining roadway safety in the winter season.
Susan Kristoff - Susan Kristoff is mechanical engineer by trade, but has a diverse set of professional and personal interests. The glue that binds all of ...
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