Google turns car parks into power sources

[Jimmy 2004]

In a move that shows some care for the environment, Google and a few other companies are planning to turn their car parks and buildings in solar power sources. By putting solar panels on their Mountain View building in California, along with building mounted panels over some of the car parks, Google hopes to cut back on the power it draws from the national grid by providing almost a third of the power it will use. 9,000 solar panels will be used to provide 1.6 megawatts of power, and fitting them will prove quite a challenge on Google's angled roofs.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Taz100420]

and get a tax break too......when i finish my house, the whole roof is gonna be a solar panel

 

[DaMulta]

Neat, I have had this idea for a while kinda of/ I think it would be a cool idea to make every highway have solar panels above it. Just think how many miles of road there is and how much power that could make.

 

[Canuto]

Good to see someone's giving a damn about the environment

 

[overcast]

Neat, I have had this idea for a while kinda of/ I think it would be a cool idea to make every highway have solar panels above it. Just think how many miles of road there is and how much power that could make.

You can't possibly be referring to covering every highway. Do you have any comprehension of the costs of building the roofs and maintaining them - let alone the cost of the physical solar panels themselves. Who the hell would want to drive under something for hundreds of miles? The costs of tolls would be through the roof! No pun intended.

 

[Alec§taar]

Heh, you guys remember THIS post:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=13249&highlight="Power"+"Google"

QUOTE/EXCERPT: "But it is hard to keep a secret when it is a computing center as big as two football fields, with twin cooling plants protruding four stories into the sky."

Hiding in Plain Sight, Google Seeks More Power

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/t...6a72bbc5f90a47&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

?

* GOOGLE USES RIVERS FOR POWER and COOLING!

IMO, they are definitely going to get somekind of recognition &/or notoriety for being "GREEN AS POSSIBLE", because they are doing a GREAT job of it I feel!



(That url & photo from it... amazing & mind-boggling!)

APK

 

[Taz100420]

I want one, lol

 

[RickyG512]

would a solar panel roof be enought to run a computer at home, anyone know how many watts it would produce

 

[Taz100420]

is it possible to run a whole house on a solar panel roof?

 

[Jimmy 2004]

From my calculations, one of Google's solar panels could produce approx 180W, but that is likely to only be during the day. If you could fit 10 of these, you still wouldn't be able to run more than a hoover and a couple of gaming PCs without having to take from the national grid as well.

 

[Namslas90]

is it possible to run a whole house on a solar panel roof?

Yes, but the electric company won't let you. You can only produce enough power to reduce your bill 90%, with permision from the Utilities commision. In that way you are always indebted to to power company, and helping them make money by producing electricity as a substation provider. It is against the law to produce electricity for profit without a license, approved by the utilities commision. There are exceptions to these rules; for example, if you live in the frozen tundra of alaska etc.

 

[overcast]

You might be able to get away with running a "whole house", but it certainly won't be a "normal" house. Meaning, you're not running 4 computers, 4 tvs', game consoles, 1000's of watts of lighting, hair dryers, irons, electric ranges and the endless amounts of stuff we have going. My uncle has a solar house in the middle of New Mexico and he still relies a lot on power from the electric companies. You need a significant grid to power a modern house.

 

[Alec§taar]

Yes, but the electric company won't let you. You can only produce enough power to reduce your bill 90%, with permision from the Utilities commision. In that way you are always indebted to to power company, and helping them make money by producing electricity as a substation provider. It is against the law to produce electricity for profit without a license, approved by the utilities commision. There are exceptions to these rules; for example, if you live in the frozen tundra of alaska etc.

Same here too, under the "hegemony" of NATIONAL GRID (who doubled my powerbill, literally, when they bought out my former power provider)...

You can't even have a windmill...



* This is TOTAL b.s., & amazing it goes on as a rule in the USA... proving "He who has the money, MAKES THE RULES" ever moreso...

APK

 

[pt]

Neat, I have had this idea for a while kinda of/ I think it would be a cool idea to make every highway have solar panels above it. Just think how many miles of road there is and how much power that could make.

i had this idea aswell sometime ago

 

[Taz100420]

Yes, but the electric company won't let you. You can only produce enough power to reduce your bill 90%, with permision from the Utilities commision. In that way you are always indebted to to power company, and helping them make money by producing electricity as a substation provider. It is against the law to produce electricity for profit without a license, approved by the utilities commision. There are exceptions to these rules; for example, if you live in the frozen tundra of alaska etc.

damn rich ppl:shadedshu
and thats f**ked up imo
time to move to Alaska lol

 

[newtekie1]

Well I certainly am glad I live in an area that allows you to 100% disconnect yourself from the power grid if you want to.

In fact EVERYONE in america can do this regardless of what your local power company tells you(if they want to stop you just stop paying the bill, they will come out and disconnect you from the grid free of charge ).

In all seriousness though, my area(NW Indiana) allows you to not only generate 100% of your power if you want, but if you generate more than that they will "buy" it from you. It is pretty cool actually. They have special meters that register how much power you are pulling or providing to the power grid and bill you accordingly. My neighbor does it with his solar panels, half his back yard is panels along with his roof. In the summer months, when the days are longer, he actually makes money since he generates more power than he uses. However, in the Winter months he has to pay the power company because he uses more than he generates. At the end of the year he actually pays nothing for electricity. Though it is going to take many years for him to end up breaking even after paying some $15,000 for the panels and installation.

I really have to like google a little more for being so green, and they really do try to be as green as they can. They certainly try a lot harder than most other companies.

 

[pt]

In all seriousness though, my area(NW Indiana) allows you to not only generate 100% of your power if you want, but if you generate more than that they will "buy" it from you. It is pretty cool actually. They have special meters that register how much power you are pulling or providing to the power grid and bill you accordingly. My neighbor does it with his solar panels, half his back yard is panels along with his roof. In the summer months, when the days are longer, he actually makes money since he generates more power than he uses. However, in the Winter months he has to pay the power company because he uses more than he generates. At the end of the year he actually pays nothing for electricity. Though it is going to take many years for him to end up breaking even after paying some $15,000 for the panels and installation..

this happens in portugal too

 

[Jimmy 2004]

I thought the system in the UK was like that too.

 

[W2hCYK]

heck, if you want to be disconnected from the grid, dont pay your bill. lol.. when they ask why, tell them theyre being morons for making you buy what you dont need!