@Hoxtonator

They don't do it now because hitting asphalt or concrete with a hammer isn't very exciting.

"Using small panels instead of large asphalt layers (even without solar panels or heating!) would remove the problem of potholes as well - potholes occur when water gets in a crack or pore in a material and then freezes, forcing it wider. The panels are modular, meaning any ice buildup would be in between them, not in…

Step one: solve all the technical hurdles in producing and installing the panels
Step two: solve all the financial hurdles in producing and installing the panels

Because solar power is magic!

"it's not a large amount, it's just enough to keep snow from sticking and ice from forming on the surface."

I'm curious how much power they consume to melt the snow? And whether they're kept above freezing all winter, or only when it's snowing? What do they do if it snows at night?

The economic and technological hurdles probably are insurmountable. But even if they weren't; even if God himself leaned down and handed us the panels and did the installation for free, it would STILL be a bad idea to put them IN THE ROADS.

I also don't support research into unicorn powered teleportation.

If they cost $5k per panel, had a five year lifespan, and it took a whole driveway's worth to run a light bulb, and they only produce electricity for about five hours a day, on sunny days?

The problem is, these issues aren't fixable.

That's cute. How many people drive over your cell phone every day?

The company I work for makes and sells solar material, and has tried to develop just such a product (a "plug-and-play" photovoltaic roofing material) It's almost impossible to sufficiently weatherize, they fail the testing for the "roofing materials" certification. If you use glass they're too fragile, if you use…

I'm all for trying new ideas, and I'm not afraid of experimentation, but I'd prefer to focus on ideas that aren't obviously laughable.

Adding some LEDs and heaters and computer control and networking to them isn't going to make the core idea any more practical (and it'll make the panels one helluva lot more expensive).

What we're saying is, it would be just about impossible from an economic and/or materials science perspective to make "solar panels embedded in a road surface" work on any sort of large scale. And even if you could, WHY WOULD YOU? There are a nearly unlimited number of better places to put them, that don't have such…

And racing bicycle tires to around 90 psi. Hmmm.

I'm all for pave a mile somewhere and test it.

@nvrlft: I think we'd do better to fund things that aren't 100% unsound.

We just wish people would seek more practical solutions.