71–80 of 229 posts
I really want America to get on board with this. Getting people to not drive is a nearly impossible task given how slow cities move to change the codes, so if we have to have parking lots, put them to use.
It seems inefficient to put solar panels over parking areas as it requires significant amount of structure which costs a lot more than shade it creates is worth. Especially compared to how much less structure is needed on more remote solar farms. Maybe I'm just using American mindset where there is lots of open land that is good for solar generation? Perhaps not true in Korea?
it seems wildly efficient to use the massive amount of dead space we cede to cars. Without cars, parking lots are just massive heat sinks that trap and hold heat. Might as well do something with them to make it a little bit better. It also has the added benefit of creating shade for people in the summer and cover during rain.
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Have you ever seen an inversion? It’s crazy to imagine anyone who has, to end up thinking “maybe that shit-brown cloud stuck over the city is fine”.
Granted most of that is probably coal power plants and stuff but... All the more reason for more solar.
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it seems wildly efficient to use the massive amount of dead space we cede to cars. Without cars, parking lots are just massive heat sinks that trap and hold heat. Might as well do something with them to make it a little bit better. It also has the added benefit of creating shade for people in the summer and cover during rain.
So often though, they are obstructed by nearby buildings.
It seems inefficient to put solar panels over parking areas as it requires significant amount of structure which costs a lot more than shade it creates is worth. Especially compared to how much less structure is needed on more remote solar farms. Maybe I'm just using American mindset where there is lots of open land that is good for solar generation? Perhaps not true in Korea?
I'm an American, and it seems like a great use of land to me. This sort of a policy is particularly sensible in areas where it's hot, and there are extensive parking lots next to places that are mostly active during the day. Instead of just having a heat island, you generate power to run AC in the associated buildings, and you also get shade for the parked cars.
I really want America to get on board with this. Getting people to not drive is a nearly impossible task given how slow cities move to change the codes, so if we have to have parking lots, put them to use.
If you want America on board, get the people on board. Tell them why it's a good idea to stop driving their car. I'm not saying this to be snarky, but that's what it's going to take.
You'll have to convince me!
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I recently was at the Vegas airport, and what struck me was the parking lot. It was the same parking lot I saw many years ago. But this time, instead of feeling sorry for the owners of the cars that were obviously getting cooked up, that whole are was shaded in bajillion solar panels. It seemed like such an obvious win-win for everyone, I expect it to catch on fairly quickly.
But, isn't the albedo of a solar panel farm still way dark? It means the radiation is still being captured rather than reflected back up.
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I wonder if this will make it preferable to build parking structures rather than parking lots.
The lot is always cheaper, as long as the land is cheap. And in most of the US, even land that isn't all that cheap is often best left as a parking lot, economically: You can easily speculate with a parking lot with minimal investment, as the taxes for the empty lot are often low. See all the midwestern cities whose downtowns are 30-40% surface parking. There are all kinds of bad externalities caused by seas of aspha…