Product category:
Heating Systems, Controls and Management
News Release from: Invisible Heating Systems | Subject: Road Energy System
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 30 June 2006
Carpark turned into giant solar panel
Revolutionary Road Energy System capable of collecting energy directly from roads, airfields and parking lots to heat buildings and de-ice asphalt surfaces.
First ever installation in the UK of a revolutionary Road Energy System capable of collecting energy directly from roads, airfields and parking lots to heat buildings and de-ice asphalt surfaces Invisible Heating Systems, a company that specialises in the design and supply of a range of energy efficient heating and cooling systems, is the first company in the UK to install the system in their office carpark in Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 29 Jun 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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This method takes advantage of the excellent heat-absorption capacity of tarmac/asphalt to convert roads and driveways into giant solar panels created by energy stored in acquifers in the ground which can be tapped into when required.
Excess heat absorbed during the summer can be pumped into heating systems and roads during winter.
Conversely, stored cold water can be pumped into road and heating systems during summer to act as cooling.
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The combined use of this storage system with heat pumps and floor and wall heating achieves enhanced energy savings.
The carpark is an area of 400m sq and will provide more than enough heating for a 2 storey office and showroom facility of 1000m sq.
Benefits to roads and airport runways and benefits to the environment The lifespan of roads is prolonged about two-fold as they can be kept cool during the summer and frost-free during the winter fold thus reducing temperature-related fatigue and stress suffered by conventional pavements.
Resurfacing costs are typically halved as maintenanced is reduced accordingly.
Traffic jams are decreased as there's reduced road maintenance and bad weather doesn't impede drivers as badly.
Icy surfaces don't have to be sprayed with salt - an obvious cost saving for local authorities and an ideal solution for airports (it's not possible to spray airport runways with salt; road energy resolves the problem of ice on runways).
The road energy system has enormous environmental benefits; cutting CO2 emissions by 50%-90% compared to conventional heating systems.
Cost comparison with roof solar panels.
The road energy system can absorb and deliver 270kW of energy per square meter per annum.
A typical roof solar panel can absorb and deliver 540kW per annum.
The cost of solar panel is approximately £400 per m2 installed.
The cost of the road energy system is £30 per m2 installed.
What Road Energy Can Achieve Approximately 33m sq of tarmac is required to heat each 100m sq of a house.
Typically, an airport runway can heat 2500 homes.
It's been calculated in Holland that if the whole Dutch road system was converted to road energy, no further energy for house heating would be required.
A small area of tarmac (10 x 40m ) can generate 108mW of energy per annum.
Technical The heart of the system is a solar panel type network of pipes installed inside the binder course (base course) which is subsequently overlaid with a surface course (wearing course) of choice.
In summer, heat is absorbed by the black asphalt surface, transfered to water in the pipe network and pumped underground for storage until needed.The same process occurs in winter providing cold water for use in summer.
The installation consists of a number of components; A specially developed three-dimensional grid bonded to the road base using a hot sprayed polymer modified binder (bond coat) produced by Ooms International Holding.
The pipework which must be air impermeable and resistant to low asphalting temperatures, is clipped into the 3D grid forming a network which maximises the thermal collection properties of the system.
The RES binder (bond coat) provides adhesion firstly between the road base and the grid and then between the grid plus pipes and the binder course which enters the gird system and adheres to the bond-coated road base.
Much research was carried out to ensure that the binder course could be manufactured and installed with conventional equipment and that a long life could be ensured.
For this reason on heavily trafficked sites such as highways, a low temperature (maximum 130C) polymer modified binder (RES) is used in the binder course production.
Installation of the asphalt is slowed slightly by the need to ensure pipes and grid are not damaged during laying however both manual and machine installation is otherwise little affected.
The RES binder is an easily handled material even at the low temperatures required to avoid damage to the pipes and grid.
A particular bonus of the system is that during installation, the heat from the asphalt is instantly absorbed by the systems and stored for future use providing a truly environmental use of hot asphalt.
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