[DrCaleb]

peck420 peck420:

Personally, I would hope they would use the glass.

Manzanares used glass and polymer, and found the polymer to be wanting in several regards:
1)Glass area was more efficient, it can handle superior reflective coatings, is extremely weather resistant (assuming proper sizing for conditions), and has a much longer life span.
2)Polymer, on the other hand, was more cost effective...

As for hail, properly sized glass (thickness) will have no issues with hail. But, I would design around a smaller individual panel size for 2 specific reasons:
1) Thicker glass will be less efficient as the thicker the glass the higher the absorption, and the smaller the panel, the thinner the glass for a given point load (like hail).
2) Smaller panels reduce life time costs in the event of breakage. Thinner glass is not only more energy efficient, it is also substantially cheaper. It is also easier to handle (less weight), which would drastically reduce repair labour costs.

One of the properties of glass that isn't beneficial would be that it blocks UVB, but not UVA. If they wanted to keep the area under the canopy as habitable as possible, that's not a good choice.

Looking at a shot from under the Manzanares tower through the, it doesn't look to 'friendly' from under the poly tarps.



I wonder if something like polycarbonate would do it all?

[peck420]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

[
One of the properties of glass that isn't beneficial would be that it blocks UVB, but not UVA. If they wanted to keep the area under the canopy as habitable as possible, that's not a good choice.

Very true. See my idea below for a work around.

$1:

I wonder if something like polycarbonate would do it all?

In the short term, probably. But, polycarbonate tends to pick up a lot of inclusions as it ages, and that would drop efficiency quickly.

As for my idea?

We have wonderful heat generators already in use...we call them cities.

I wonder if it would be possible to install 'air' channels between the top layer and the utilities layer. Run it all to a couple centralized locations with stacks for power generation.

No land that isn't already used is consumed.

Heat pollution we are already pumping into the atmosphere can then be used to reduce the amount of CO2 generated by conventional power plants.

The big, big downside would be cost. It would be a financial nightmare.

[DrCaleb]

peck420 peck420:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

[
One of the properties of glass that isn't beneficial would be that it blocks UVB, but not UVA. If they wanted to keep the area under the canopy as habitable as possible, that's not a good choice.

Very true. See my idea below for a work around.

$1:

I wonder if something like polycarbonate would do it all?

In the short term, probably. But, polycarbonate tends to pick up a lot of inclusions as it ages, and that would drop efficiency quickly.

As for my idea?

We have wonderful heat generators already in use...we call them cities.

I wonder if it would be possible to install 'air' channels between the top layer and the utilities layer. Run it all to a couple centralized locations with stacks for power generation.

No land that isn't already used is consumed.

Heat pollution we are already pumping into the atmosphere can then be used to reduce the amount of CO2 generated by conventional power plants.

The big, big downside would be cost. It would be a financial nightmare.

Hmmmmm! The mythical domed city!

Might be doable, but on smaller scales? I'm thinking 4 square block areas. Somewhere that is mostly parking lots anyhow; extra heat updraft, no one minds not getting wet while parking the car at Wallyworld. I don't know, but it's an interesting idea!