Solar Paving System

The Solar Paving System is an innovative photovoltaic paving system made from renewable materials that can power lighting and other electrical installations. Urban and suburban locations around the world have at least one thing in common; they are covered with literally millions of square miles of cement-based pavements and roofs, often in direct sunlight. Furthermore, the cement-based paving slabs laid on the ground or on roofing material, though financially cheap, are destructive to the environment. We propose to turn flat roofs and ground into locations for creating energy by combining solar panels and renewable materials.

The solar paving system comprises of:

• Paving slabs constructed out of a variety of renewable materials with a photovoltaic panels being embedded within the slab.
• a cabling system for linking the solar paving together in series and in parallel;
• an energy management system in electrical communication with each slab for transforming and controlling the collected energy;
• an energy storage system for driving public devices (e.g., lighting) and/or transferring energy to the ‘grid’.

The slabs are flat, non-slip and resilient with each solar slab made from renewable materials, including recycled plastics, recycled glass, recycled PVC, Eco-resin, and other locally sourced waste materials.

The system is being piloted on Old Street in London through the Beacon using a 96-slab pavement system made from waste glass collected from restaurants and bars in the surrounding area.