China putting solar panels in park benches, and you sit on the panel.

[Helio_Centra]

https://fb.watch/mwF8147_fh/

One commenter says that the Qi wireless charger stops working if you sit on the bench.

[Bud]

Someone is going to end up with a piece of broken glass sticking in their backside.

[coppice]

Cleaning solar panels is not something most people would consider a great job, so why not get some dumbass to do it?

[floobydust]

Could be a problem with the bubble butt. I wonder if they are Kardashian-rated?
CRUNCH

[Stray Electron]

  I don't think that China produces the same size complete asses as the Kardashian family.

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

Perhaps the panels have some methane recycling ability??

[Kim Christensen]

To be fair, the bench probably has it's own battery. I guess the effectiveness depends on how often people sit there and whether the solar panel still outputs something when partially "shaded"...

[SiliconWizard]

Obviously the answer to these problems is to put solar panels on people themselves. Normally, nobody's going to sit on someone else, at least in outside situations and without the other person's consent.

[RJSV]

   I'm so hungry, I could eat a baby's butt through a park bench.
Errr, make that 'could eat a solar panel, through a park bench'.   ? Not as funny

[seedkey]

Don't do that. Baby won't like it

[AlbertL]

A basic flaw in this concept - a flaw it shares with solar roadways/railroads/whatever - is that the two uses are in conflict.  A bench is meant for sitting, but sitting on the bench - like driving on a solar roadway - interferes with the solar power generation.  It would make more sense to put a solar panel above the bench, where it would be unobstucted and also serve the complementary purpose of providing shade, like with these tables: https://gosunbolt.com/.     

[Kleinstein]

A misconception is that one would need a lot of area for PV. It only takes a relatively small percentage of the land area to provide all the power needed, at leat in many regions, especially those with a lot of sun.  There is no need to choose ill suited areas for this, like drive ways, road, rail tracks, cars, ... . Some countries may just have to look for alternatives to PV or save on the power consuption, by no longer having energy intensive industries if there are no good conditions for cheap energy.

[Ben321]

https://fb.watch/mwF8147_fh/

One commenter says that the Qi wireless charger stops working if you sit on the bench.

Maybe the panel charges a battery, in the bench so when nobody is sitting on it, it charges up. Then the charged internal battery can be used to charge your smartphone.

[miegapele]

This is isn't so bad as on a road, weight load is smaller, and nobody likes to sit on the bench in direct sunlight anyway. But still could be better used to provide shade itself somewhere.

[bitwelder]

Besides, I guess during summer time (or perhaps even just after being under full sun for several hours) those benches will be too hot to sit on.

[5U4GB]

Maybe it's meant for politicians who think the sun shines out of their *ss?

[xrunner]

Put the panels above the bench.

Then, you will have some shade and some shelter from rain, and people sitting on it will not block the photons. Also the solar panels will get very warm from charging when nobody has been sitting on them, hence it will be uncomfortable to put your ass on them.

Do I have to think of everything? 

[Stray Electron]

Do I have to think of everything? 

   I guess that you do.  In our own defense though I'll just say that most of us probably haven't ridden a bus since we were big enough to ride a bicycle.

   But let's think this through. How big is a bench seat?  And how big is a over over a bus stop?  Roughly 5' by 18" or about 7 1/2 Ft2 and 6' x10' or 60 Ft2.  Does anyone think that either of those is actually going to be economically effective? Especially when you include the costs the infrastructure required (wiring, batteries, chargers, etc) and the costs of the solar cells.

[coppice]

Do I have to think of everything? 

   I guess that you do.  In our own defense though I'll just say that most of us probably haven't ridden a bus since we were big enough to ride a bicycle.

   But let's think this through. How big is a bench seat?  And how big is a over over a bus stop?  Roughly 5' by 18" or about 7 1/2 Ft2 and 6' x10' or 60 Ft2.  Does anyone think that either of those is actually going to be economically effective? Especially when you include the costs the infrastructure required (wiring, batteries, chargers, etc) and the costs of the solar cells.

Comparing this with a bus stop is odd. Most bus stops with a shelter now have a grid connection to power an information display. So, slapping solar panels on the shelter's roof, and plugging their inverter into the existing grid connection, is all you need. A bus stop's cost issues will be more about the high costs of distributed maintenance than the initial investment.

[5U4GB]

Comparing this with a bus stop is odd. Most bus stops with a shelter now have a grid connection to power an information display. So, slapping solar panels on the shelter's roof, and plugging their inverter into the existing grid connection, is all you need. A bus stop's cost issues will be more about the high costs of distributed maintenance than the initial investment.

Just to emphasise this point, this isn't just idle speculation, this is exactly it.  The incremental cost of adding panels to a new bus stop when built is tiny (it's not $1.7 million dollars per build but still substantial), and all the infrastructure is already present.  I would imagine the main reason why it's not done more is maintenance, easier to maintain a single solar farm somewhere than panels on several thousand bus stops across a city.

[RJSV]

   Actually, (and sorry if stirrs up trouble) I just realized no one has discussed having some 'PROTECTIVE factors, such as with existing city ordinances, where the 'Sunlight' or 'Sky Access' rights go with the land property.
   Not an attorney, but I understand that many land and building legal privaleges can include rights to 'sun' access, relating to neighboring private lands.   Those adjacent owners might end up with 'regulations' regarding....;   Tree branches and such, and the blocking of sunlight.
Just saying.

[SiliconWizard]

Let's destroy all trees on Earth to install more solar panels.

[CaptDon]

Perhaps through thermal imaging those panels are also tracking your butt. The Goon Squad can see which comrads spend the most time sitting on their ass and not working!!