Solar Heat from Asphalt Roadways

[chadking]

I ran across this article on using asphalt to obtain solar energy, to reheat the the roadways in the wintertime to keep them ice free, and also extend the life of the pavement.  Once the system was operational, they actually realized they were storing more energy than they actually needed, so they began to provide heat to local buildings as well.  

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/solar_roads;_ylt=AlJQkMHUfpTtyuotw3qN.BVhr7sF

Here are some quotes from the article:

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A latticework of flexible pipes, held in place by a grid, is covered over by asphalt, which magnifies the sun's thermal power. As water in the pipes is heated, it is pumped deep under the ground to natural aquifers where it maintains a fairly constant temperature of about 68 F. The heated water can be retrieved months later to keep the road surface ice-free in winter.

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Solar energy collected from a 200-yard stretch of road and a small parking lot helps heat a 70-unit four-story apartment building in the northern village of Avenhorn. An industrial park of some 160,000 square feet in the nearby city of Hoorn is kept warm in winter with the help of heat stored during the summer from 36,000 square feet of pavement. The runways of a Dutch air force base in the south supply heat for its hangar.

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Below is a brochure I found on the system:

http://www.roadenergysystems.nl/pdf/RES%20(E).pdf

It's a big project, and more complicated than it first seems.  But smaller scale applications might possible for driveways and sidewalks...just having a good place to store the water seems key.  Anybody have an indoor pool?  Haha...

[DamonHD]

Try burying a ex-milk-tanker or three?

http://www.earth.org.uk/milk-tanker-thermal-store.html

Rgds

Damon

[spinningmagnets]

The "Gooney bird" is a large type of Albatross, about the size of a goose. The tiny island of Midway in the Pacific is covered with them. It is a valuable port and airstrip, so during WWII the US Navy built several very long and substantial runways out of thick concrete. They were very light colored.

The military was suffering serious and expensive damage to planes as they took off and landed because of the thousands of large birds.They tried to wipe out all Gooney birds, but there seemed to be an endless supply coming from the sea.

The solution turned out to be re-paving the runways with black asphalt, and whenever possible, planes would only cycle during mid-day. The runways were so extremely hot during lunchtime, it was the only places that there were no birds. Dark surfaces really do collect much more heat.

http://www.neseabirds.com/Midway/laysan.htm

(note their size in relation to the fire hydrants)

[chadking]

That's one way to do it. I occasionaly see those tanks for sale on ebay, I'll keep my eye out for a deal.

[ConsiderThis]

That's an interesting thought, about the pool.

Long ago when I was a Realtor here in Santa Fe there was a discussion about what to do with pools, outdoor pools, because there were not a desirable feature.

I wonder if the pool were deep enough, if there would be some material to cover it with that would hold in the heat?

I must say, I love the many thoughts suggested by this thread.

.,

[Brian H]

 There's another tried and true storage option if you have some land. Generally referred to as a solar pond. It's basically just a pond with a heavy black liner, filled with salt water. The brine forms thermal gradients that don't transfer heat very well to the other layers. Acts sort of like a thermos. Do an internet search for "solar pond" and you'll find tons of info.

Cheers!

BrianH

[GeeMac]

Why not magnetic vehicle floors and coils in the asphalt?