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Researchers in Massachusetts are working on a technique to turn heat gathered by asphalt into useable energy via water pipes. Their paper, released this week at the International Symposium on Asphalt Pavements and Environment in Zurich, posits that asphalt roads could be better than solar panels in gathering energy.
They say that all the parking lots and roads that sit there baking in the sun all day are basically already solar energy collectors, and that the sheer amount of useable asphalt offsets the lower efficiency factor. We just need a way to transfer that heat into energy on a large scale. The researchers point out how asphalt stays hot even after the sun goes down, which anyone in the Southwest can attest to, and so could continue to generate energy when solar panels can’t. A system of heat exchangers could become part of road construction projects and improvements, and the system could help out the issue of heat islands.
While my mind instantly goes to a slew of issues that could exist for places with cold winters, the Netherlands, an unarguably arguably cold place in winter, has already done something like this on a very small scale and it has been a success. The idea sounds viable, but I have a hard time thinking that it would surpass solar panels as energy collectors; however, I’d love to see it tried out in a place like Phoenix, where the heat gathered could be used to run homes’ AC units. How’s that for a loop?
Via cnet; photo credit Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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written by Izzy, August 22, 2008
This story sounds familliar...
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2014/83/
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2014/83/
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written by Brent, August 22, 2008
nice post. Roads are good but how about subway/train tracks that use the weight of the trains to compress air? The train gets a cushion of air to ride on. All the gates, lights and other machinery around the tracks get their power from releasing the stored compressed air?? Someone must have already done some computer simulations somwhere?
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written by Mynameisme, August 23, 2008
it seems like they could easily hook up a sterling engine to it. The sterling engine doesn't even need it to be really hot, it gets energy out having 2 areas of air on each side of different temperatures, thus making it viable in the winter.
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written by Matt Simmons, August 23, 2008
I've always wondered whether an array of thermocouples integrated into a road or parking lot would be effective in producing enough current to do anything useful. You could bury the cool end a foot or so into the soil, which would be enough to guarantee inductance, I imagine
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written by Adam Mac, August 23, 2008
There was an idea to use this as part of a seasonal heat storage scheme.
In the summer you pump the heat from the hot asphalt into an insulated underground containment area.
In the winter you pump up all that lovely heat to warm the houses.
An even smarter idea is to build houses with an "insulated cap" around the perimeter. By cleverly calculating the rate of heat flow through the ground. You can pump the heat to a specific point below the house. Voila! 6 months later the summer heat is warming your home in the depths of winter. They insulate the area around the house with old carpets or something. The floor of the house must conduct heat.
I guess you can pump the winter cold underground for summer cooling too
In the summer you pump the heat from the hot asphalt into an insulated underground containment area.
In the winter you pump up all that lovely heat to warm the houses.
An even smarter idea is to build houses with an "insulated cap" around the perimeter. By cleverly calculating the rate of heat flow through the ground. You can pump the heat to a specific point below the house. Voila! 6 months later the summer heat is warming your home in the depths of winter. They insulate the area around the house with old carpets or something. The floor of the house must conduct heat.
I guess you can pump the winter cold underground for summer cooling too
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written by Arwin, August 23, 2008
I've heard about a group of homes using that type of technology. I can't remember where it was though.
I remember it being unefficient for a single home, but for a number of homes it seemed to be working well enough.
I remember it being unefficient for a single home, but for a number of homes it seemed to be working well enough.
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written by Jim Biden, August 23, 2008
And that makes sense, There is no shortage of hot asphalt that's for sure!
RD
www.anotools.cq.bz
RD
www.anotools.cq.bz
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written by McArthur, August 23, 2008
I think this is a great idea and with all the roads we have it should be able to produce lots of thermal energy that could be stored or turned into electricity but I dont think that it will continue after the sun has gone down if you are sucking the energy out with some machine this will cool the asphalt quickly after sundown. Acting like an asphalt AC
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written by ag, August 23, 2008
what about construction such as digging up roadways for water, gas, power, communications installation/repair?
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written by joe dupont, August 23, 2008
Centralville, pa has had undground fires
keeping the ground very hot for 50 years and not
one btu has been saved. no green houses.. nothing.
we need smaller houses or at least houses designed with a center core to retreat to in the winter. we should not be heating up our entire house during the winter. Also everytime we
come home with a car we could extract enough heat
from the engine to take a show or do laundry.
keeping the ground very hot for 50 years and not
one btu has been saved. no green houses.. nothing.
we need smaller houses or at least houses designed with a center core to retreat to in the winter. we should not be heating up our entire house during the winter. Also everytime we
come home with a car we could extract enough heat
from the engine to take a show or do laundry.
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written by 800HighTech, August 23, 2008
Another viable option, sounds like it needs a little fine tunning though
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written by zeeol, August 23, 2008
Yes, finally! If they can make this work, it will be an excellent resources!
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written by Geoffrey Swenson, August 23, 2008
While this would produce a lot of heat energy it isn't particularly useful for anything other than heating or cooling purposes, since the temperature of the heat is so low. Some office buildings in Arizona could use this energy to run air conditioning systems, for example.
While a Stirling engine can run on low grade heat sources, it has to be really large (and thus too expensive) to generate much power.
Solar panels produce electricity directly which is far more useful than low-grade heat sources like this.
While a Stirling engine can run on low grade heat sources, it has to be really large (and thus too expensive) to generate much power.
Solar panels produce electricity directly which is far more useful than low-grade heat sources like this.
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written by Uncle B, August 23, 2008
Can both, hot asphalt in day and cold desert nights be combines to drive a system for making energy. Cold desert night air can make a viable condenser and multiply the energy made?
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written by Alfonso, August 23, 2008
How exactly are people making this? I live in a place in Mexico where it reaches 48 49 Celsius I guess we can get a lot of energy from that ..it's like 119 Fahrenheit imagine how hot the asphalt can it become it could be a great place for research
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written by oddity, August 23, 2008
Could something like this be used to prevent ice build-up on roads in the winter?
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written by dexter, August 23, 2008
I'm hopeful that something like this can someday be used in conjunction with (deep breath) thermal acoustic piezoelectric generators. These devices are a type of sterling engine that converts heat to sound waves, which are amplified within a resonance chamber then used to mechanically compress a piezoelectic circuit component to generate electricity. The TAEPEC project has been working on small-scale applications since 2005, but I believe that the circular design is scalable.
Then again, I recall reading that the TAPEC style devices require a 90 degree F temperature differential to operate, I'm not sure that it makes it a good fit for the asphalt project. Perhaps a more traditional sterling engine design would be better suited. I'm sure all options are being looked at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoacoustics
http://www.physorg.com/news100141616.html
Then again, I recall reading that the TAPEC style devices require a 90 degree F temperature differential to operate, I'm not sure that it makes it a good fit for the asphalt project. Perhaps a more traditional sterling engine design would be better suited. I'm sure all options are being looked at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoacoustics
http://www.physorg.com/news100141616.html
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written by Free Xbox 360 Elite, August 24, 2008
That would be great. This technology could be used tremendously in the US, as long as there's proper way to harness and transport the energy gathered by the roads.
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written by Josh, August 24, 2008
While it might be a nice idea to tap into our existing concrete jungle, this idea strays very far from ecologically sound! Asphalt stores heat and this is the MAIN reason why inner-city temperatures are higher than outlying areas. That heat is better to be not absorbed to help keep our planet cooler. Your heart is in the right place, but bring your head along for the ride!
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written by Michael, August 25, 2008
This is not really a new concept, people have been using there drive ways(or asphalt shingles) to make hot water for quite some time. People run tubing through there drive way, or lattery across there roof, and run your water though it perpetually, and bam, free hot water as long as the suns is/was out for a while that day. Obviouly not perfect, cold/rain days put a jam in it, and it would require alot of maintenece in anywhere with a sub 0 winter because of expansion and contraction of the asphalt, but it is a cheap and easy way to save some electricity. All their talking about is really is attaching a steam generator to your hot water tank basically(lil more complicated Ill be it).
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written by randall, August 27, 2008
I'd rather see solar panels strung along the median strips of the I highways
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written by Josh from Aus, September 01, 2008
When i think about the hundreds of thousands of km's that run across Australia soaking up the suns energy every day im glad we have Researchers in Massachusetts USA who are looking for solutions in our every day surroundings. I think the golden key for this one is the means in which the energy can be extracted. I hope the focus would be on an applicable solution to exising Asphalt infrastructure. Awesome, wish I had Bill Gates' bank account to support this project. Just imagine.
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written by Steve Sedio, September 02, 2008
How much does asphalt add to global warming?
Global warming is a two part problem, the heat retention for green house gasses, and the conversion of sunlight to heat.
Asphalt is great at converting sunlight to heat - thus this article.
What percentage of the earth is covered in asphalt?
Assume asphalt has an albedo of 95%, vice 64% for average earth, and that some significant portion of that 64% is doing work in plants creating all the food and oxygen we use, so assume even 50% of light is converted to heat. Asphalt almost doubles that (roads, building roofs, etc....).
Global warming is a two part problem, the heat retention for green house gasses, and the conversion of sunlight to heat.
Asphalt is great at converting sunlight to heat - thus this article.
What percentage of the earth is covered in asphalt?
Assume asphalt has an albedo of 95%, vice 64% for average earth, and that some significant portion of that 64% is doing work in plants creating all the food and oxygen we use, so assume even 50% of light is converted to heat. Asphalt almost doubles that (roads, building roofs, etc....).
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written by steve odonley, September 30, 2008
i like it, but i think itmight be more useful in the the new solar tower generators (spain, australia
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written by Ray The Money Man, October 20, 2008
Heat in asphalt! Can you imagine what we could do here in Arizona with our parking lots?
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written by Mae, November 10, 2008
You should remember though that asphalt collectors are meant to generate warmth, which can be used to heat houses. It is not meant to generate electricty. Generating electricity can be done with peltier elements. Tests on these elements have been done in the past in the Netherlands and Japan. It is technically possible, but financially a disaster and not viable.
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