To make solar power viable, we need a solution for overnight energy storage.
Batteries are complicated.
Do you know what isn’t? Water go up. 
To make solar power viable, we need a solution for overnight energy storage.
Batteries are complicated.
Do you know what isn’t? Water go up.
I’ve also seen a version of this that uses an electric locomotive that moves a big weight up and down a slope.
Personally I think we should put big weights on pulleys in every high rise, like a grandfather clock.
That’s a good idea. They already have shafts that have the capacity for big weights as well
You had me at “locomotive”. Name it Sisyphus.
How big? Seems like you would need quite a bit of weight to store any useful amount. Using this calculator: https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/physics/gravitational-potential.php and assuming my values are right, if you had something the size of a bus (16,000 kg) pulled up through something as tall as the Empire State Building (380 m roof height), you’d get about 16.56 kWh, which isn’t all that much. I think a typical EV battery size is about 40 kWh in comparison. With hydro storage on the other hand, you can store a shit ton of water in a reservoir without any major constraints besides the overall size, which is massive.
Plus side if youre in a rainy region you get extra energy
Could the weight be integrated with a tuned mass damper?
How To Make Buildings Into Batteries
https://piped.video/watch?v=oCv3ygvEjFo
That link isn’t working for me:
Edit: is it this one? https://youtu.be/oCv3ygvEjFo
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Water is overwhelmingly easier to move up and down, and you need a lot of mass to make it viable.