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Solar is a highly efficient way to heat water. Combine it with underground storage, and a year-round system can be created where the system can cover heating requirements in the winter and cooling in the summer. The Dutch company Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV has taken this concept and moved it a step forward with the Road Energy System® (RES).
Rather than putting tubes on a rooftop, RES lays the collection system within concrete -- think the black asphalt of a road or runway. The piping connects to undeground storage areas. Remember the last time you walked on black asphalt on a sunny August day and you understand the heat being transferred into the water in the pipes. This water is then transferred into the storage area. On demand, in cold weather, the hot water is used to heat buildings and to keep the road above freezing. After cooling, the water is moved into cold storage to provide air conditioning for summer months. A year round solar/geothermal heating/cooling system for both the road and buildings. The renewable combo greatly reduces electricity requirements (and thus pollution) and the cooling/heating of the road reduces maintenance requirements (and lowers/eliminates deicing and plowing requirements in winter).
And it is deployed. "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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written by Herno, March 08, 2008
ok good idea, but repairing that road is going to be a bitch!
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written by Cranford Joseph Coulter, March 08, 2008
Since you are melting the snow as it falls, less wear and tear from snowplows. Freezing and thawing and extreme temperatures are the main causes for roads to pothole, crack, buckle and disintegrate. This system tempers both hot and cold, so the road should last much longer. The reinforced grid system it is laid on should also help.
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written by scott weitzman, March 08, 2008
wish the US would start this kind of stuff...
Check out my Alt energy investment social network - a bunch of good resources and people on there
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-scott
Check out my Alt energy investment social network - a bunch of good resources and people on there
growthportfolio.ning.com
-scott
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written by Patrick, March 08, 2008
Just another example of how the US doesn't strive for innovation or solutions anymore. The world continues to pass us by as we bitch about all the "what if" scenarios behind a good idea. Glad to see there are pioneers elsewhere.
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written by Eric, March 08, 2008
I suspect the cost of this system could have heated the building for a hundred years. I would like to see the actual numbers involved, included projected road maintenance savings.
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written by Eric, March 08, 2008
The danes live in Denmark.
The dutch live in the Netherlands.
The dutch live in the Netherlands.
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written by empraptor, March 08, 2008
If MI had something like this people would spend less time on sore bums waiting for their cars to get repaired.
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written by Seb, March 09, 2008
Its always been a known fact that this type of heating is quite efficient, even for domestic housing. Just have some piping running around under your garden has the same trick. Dont understand why we dont make more of type of energy.
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written by JimmyL, March 09, 2008
Literally. Looks like the Dutch are good for something...
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If you're a drudge fan: drudgetracker.com
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written by crs, March 09, 2008
how is the surplus heat energy from summer stored until winter. vice versa the cold until summer.
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written by Chicago Tenant Law, March 09, 2008
In Chicago this has to be applied AFTER they fix all the potholes, right?
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written by mike sartor, March 09, 2008
Not economically or politically expedient.. We already get half paved lanes, just to save on asphalt, and bridges are in horrible repair, nationwide.
Just not gonna happen...
Cyborg
Just not gonna happen...
Cyborg
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written by marsbeyond, March 10, 2008
Patrick,
I bet you can apply this technology to your life if you try.
Gandhi said: "Be the change you want to see in the world."
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written by Rob, March 10, 2008
What an excellent idea, I hope this idea heads over to the UK. Anything that reduces carbon emissions has got to be a good thing.
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written by Amar Chugg, March 11, 2008
thats really great. good idea, should really work,, hopefully ;)
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written by Bruce Carey, March 11, 2008
The old solar research center in Golden, Colorado tried that too, and it worked in 1981. Research got cut and so did this project. Admin of Pres Reagan cut the research funds. Not so in Europe.
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written by Cheryl Janis, March 15, 2008
Thanks for reporting this! I am an eco-blogger at: http://www.planetpinkngreen.com and am passionate about people and places that are working to heal the planet. I'm blogging about this for sure! My readers will LOVE it. Keep up the great work! Cheryl Janis from Planetpinkngreen.com
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written by john, August 13, 2008
anyone check out this site? its my favorite - and ecogeek even cited it last week in the solar ipone article!!
http://www.solarfeeds.com
http://www.solarfeeds.com
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written by Paul, August 18, 2008
Maybe the article is correct and the Dutch hired the Danes to do work? A stretch, at best.
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written by Monty, August 25, 2008
MarsBeyond ,
To address your US sucks remark(i believe there was a lack of inovation crack also!)
Why not really make a difference?
Isn't Asphalt 93% silica and 7% petroleum?
So why not loose the Petroleum refine the silica in mass, then teach the world a new way of laying asphalt.
Seems to me that you have then created a collector and generator of solar power that lands right in the lap of a presently functioning industry, already in place, over budgeted in over 60% of the world and that holds to a common and focussed purpose
of witch is the install ,upkeep, maintenance and eventually the replacement of this very interesting creature that we refer to as the Highway. That being said , a couple of high voltage strip inverters down the shoulders and center divide along with a beacon light at point of grid tie that could span every major overpass on ramp,off ramp.
Well doesn't this pretty much give you a road map depicting all micro grids that the utilities seem to have concerns over?
While if I am not mistaken, would land you enough available surface area (or collection space ) to address the worlds power needs to date in one fell swoop!
Can't begin to think of the ramifications that would be dropped in the Electric Vehicle Industries lap. (charging stations? Who needs them?)Why not teach the world a new way to build a charge controller?
Couldn't all vehicles be charged while driving during the day time at no cost to the vehicle owner other than the already exurbanite highway tax that he presently pays.
So Marsbeyond,
There is your good old fasion USA( or am i from Mars?) inovation at its best.
You now hold this inovation in your shakey little hands(or is that sucky?) What will you do with it?
Will you become the greatest American hero and fufill your destiny or will you conform to the picture you paint for the rest of the USA and just sit there and suck?
Whatever.....
To address your US sucks remark(i believe there was a lack of inovation crack also!)
Why not really make a difference?
Isn't Asphalt 93% silica and 7% petroleum?
So why not loose the Petroleum refine the silica in mass, then teach the world a new way of laying asphalt.
Seems to me that you have then created a collector and generator of solar power that lands right in the lap of a presently functioning industry, already in place, over budgeted in over 60% of the world and that holds to a common and focussed purpose
of witch is the install ,upkeep, maintenance and eventually the replacement of this very interesting creature that we refer to as the Highway. That being said , a couple of high voltage strip inverters down the shoulders and center divide along with a beacon light at point of grid tie that could span every major overpass on ramp,off ramp.
Well doesn't this pretty much give you a road map depicting all micro grids that the utilities seem to have concerns over?
While if I am not mistaken, would land you enough available surface area (or collection space ) to address the worlds power needs to date in one fell swoop!
Can't begin to think of the ramifications that would be dropped in the Electric Vehicle Industries lap. (charging stations? Who needs them?)Why not teach the world a new way to build a charge controller?
Couldn't all vehicles be charged while driving during the day time at no cost to the vehicle owner other than the already exurbanite highway tax that he presently pays.
So Marsbeyond,
There is your good old fasion USA( or am i from Mars?) inovation at its best.
You now hold this inovation in your shakey little hands(or is that sucky?) What will you do with it?
Will you become the greatest American hero and fufill your destiny or will you conform to the picture you paint for the rest of the USA and just sit there and suck?
Whatever.....
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written by Uncle B, November 10, 2009
This is a good indicator of what happens as the cheap oil era ends, oil prices escalate, and many small means of adaptation are brought into play. All the while and the American Dream lifestyle loses credibility and gives way to a more sustainable style of living! Europeans often look at Americans in great wonderment, but scarcity of oil will level the field. Canadians heat with the sun at -40 degrees C. using straw bale insulation techniques! - No Oil! While Yankee Doodle spews pollution galore much further south just because, for the moment, he can! This is about to abruptly come to a violent stop! His dollar no longer has the value to command 80% of the world's resources to sustain his ways and he is forced to change!
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written by Red Balls, December 22, 2009
Its all back to common sense! Free energy = lower operating cost = early capital payback = lower carbon emission = ecofriendly system. There's a lot of alternative system that can be utilized that will be beneficial to humans and mother nature.
From further study(this may sound techy
) that i have done (presentation for greener building) I've come across with some interesting case studies that will let you think twice of not having that kind of renewable energy. Almost 50% of energy can come from the sun. Like this one, groundsource energy is a very reliable source for heating and cooling. Its a fact that just 7 meters below ground, a constant mean(average) temperature is available all year round. If collected (thru water medium) it can provide free heating and cooling. Meaning that if a country like UK has a temperature of -5degC during winter and a 28degC during summer, underground between 10-12degC can be harvest from the ground. This can be directly supplied to units for free cooling and at heating lessen the Gas consumption up to 50%. Now that's free energy thru innovative design. Well the only thing you would mind is the cost of application for these kind of systems, which I think is not cheap. But then again in the long run it will be beneficial both to human and mother nature.
From further study(this may sound techy
) that i have done (presentation for greener building) I've come across with some interesting case studies that will let you think twice of not having that kind of renewable energy. Almost 50% of energy can come from the sun. Like this one, groundsource energy is a very reliable source for heating and cooling. Its a fact that just 7 meters below ground, a constant mean(average) temperature is available all year round. If collected (thru water medium) it can provide free heating and cooling. Meaning that if a country like UK has a temperature of -5degC during winter and a 28degC during summer, underground between 10-12degC can be harvest from the ground. This can be directly supplied to units for free cooling and at heating lessen the Gas consumption up to 50%. Now that's free energy thru innovative design. Well the only thing you would mind is the cost of application for these kind of systems, which I think is not cheap. But then again in the long run it will be beneficial both to human and mother nature.
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But there's one mistake, Denmark and The Netherlands (the dutch) are not the same country. The concept is being developed in the Netherlands, not Denmark.