Roads that generate energy, inspired by sheep

Roads and driveways could be turned into huge solar panels to heat houses and offices using an invention inspired by sheep on the west coast of Scotland. An Ullapool company will install the first road energy system in the UK in its own car park in Birmingham. The system, developed by Invisible Heating Systems (IHS), is used in more than 200,000 sq m of motorway in the Netherlands to heat industrial units, while an airport runway heats 2,500 nearby homes.

The road system works by drilling two boreholes, creating two wells, one hot and one cold. Using the heat-absorption capacity of tarmac, the energy created is stored in aquifers - underground layers of rock - which can be tapped into when required. It generates energy to cool buildings and roads in summer and heat them in winter. The idea was conceived 15 years ago while Dutchman Henk Verweijmeren was travelling between Achiltibuie and Lochinver and noticed sheep sitting on the road, which had been warmed by the sun.

(2006-06-27 12:36:30 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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