Harvesting Solar Energy from Asphalt Pavement

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript «Harvesting Solar Energy from Asphalt Pavement» submitted for consideration by Sustainability reports about developing a new technique to harvest solar energy from asphalt pavements. The manuscript reports interesting data, starting from investigation of properties of individual components to the development of a specific device. There are some clarification questions for the authors:

• In the section «3.2.1. Top Layer» authors describe different types of polycarbonate sheets with different optical and mechanical properties. The authors refer to these materials as «PC Sample I, PC Sample II and PC Sample III». It would be useful to add to the text of the manuscript a brief description of the origin of these materials (composition, production technology, manufacturer).
• The idea of using Pavement Solar Box to improve pedestrian safety is very interesting. It would be helpful to have approximate estimates of the operating time of these Boxes, how long may they need to be replaced?

In view of the above, I think the manuscript is very interesting.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Interesting paper about a new technique to harvest solar energy from asphalt pavements.

In general, the manuscript is very well presented but I advise the authors to verify/improve/correct the following:

1. Line 70: the “construction cost” was only “$1.21 per square meter”? In reference [16] I can't find this value;
2. Line 81: the “expense” was only “$2.16 per square meter”? In reference [16] I can't find this value either;
3. Line 86: can you include more details about the “transparent concrete with comparable structural properties of standard asphalt” (references [23,24])?
4. Line 92: “$481.86 per square meter”? So high?
5. Section “3.1.1. Top Layer”: one important attribute of surface layer is the quality of friction but you don't mention here this feature;
6. Table 1: you must also present the temperature in °C;
7. Section “3.2.3. Bottom Layer”: why did you choose the wood for this layer? Moisture will not be a problem for this material?
8. Line 227: please use the same units in the manuscript (convert "inches" to centimetre or meter);
9. Figure 2 (b) and others: I would remove the contour line from the graphics;
10. Table 2: the “Young’s Modulus (MPa)” for the “Asphalt Layer” must be indexed to a specific temperature;
11. Section “5.3. Observed Data from Finite Element Analysis”: in this analysis, is the temperature fixed? (which?) 
12. Figure 4 legend: I would write “Vertical stress (S) and deformation (U) for (a) Typical Asphalt Pavement; (b) Pavement Solar Box I”;
13. Figure 5 (b): is the Power unit "mW"?
14. Figures 7, 11, 14 and 16: please include the scale on the abscissa axis (Time);
15. Table 5: what is the unit of these prices? $/m² or per box? Please write the correct unit;
16. Section “9. Summary and Conclusion”: some conclusions can be better summarized. You can also use some bullets /letters;
17. Can you include information, for each solution (solar box), about the respective expected cost per year of life (including all costs and corresponding project horizons)?

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf