[novia]

A lot of comments here seem to be missing the point. This isn't supposed to add electricity to the grid. It just makes a self sufficient weather station to measure snowfall. Which is cool.

A lot of times you'd want to measure such things away from the grid without having to worry about batteries.

Something I'm curious about is whether similar tech could be used to self sufficiently measure pollen.

[Nasrudith]

Yeah the electricity output isn't the point but the fact the power generated is the raw signal. I wonder mostly about the accuracy and precision of such a sensor. Even its "not snow" triggers could be scientifically useful. Imagine if say it was sensitive enough it could identify particulates and tell where heavy metal pollutants land on the tarp.

[RosanaAnaDana]

Well I know that lysimeter based snowfall measurement systems can be a real pain for remote stations in winter, so to me this is the exciting bit.

[m463]

I think the article does't clarify that point, because it says:

"The new device could be integrated into solar panels to provide a continuous power supply when it snows, he said."

[novia]

>“The device can work in remote areas because it provides its own power and does not need batteries,” said senior author Richard Kaner

Second paragraph.

The point is, when it snows, often the sun is blocked, or the solar panels might get covered. While it is snowing this device can continue to work without batteries.

[m463]

I think for clarity, the article should touch on the magnitude of the power output in human terms.

For example, some models of the Nissan Leaf electric car have a small solar panel on the roof.

Surprisingly, I think this is a selling point for the car or the option package that includes the panel because people think this car will give you many miles of free driving.

However, it's supposed to maintain the 12v battery, but its 5 watts of power might not be sufficient power for even that minor task.

[IshKebab]

Nobody is missing the point because solar panels are a thing. A solar powered calculator probably produces more power than this. Not how they didn't say how much power was produced, because it's probably picowatts.