How heat storage technologies could keep Canada’s roads and bridges ice-free all winter long
Storing the sun’s energy underground could help keep Canada’s roads ice-free in the winter months as a safer and cheaper alternative to plows and salt.
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Imagine driving along a Canadian road soon after a snowfall — but there's no snow or ice on the pavement. The salt trucks and plows have not passed. Yet the roads are already clear. The technology exists to make this possible, with a system hidden beneath the pavement.
"[The] system captures solar heat during the summer months and stores it underground. Then, when winter arrives, the stored heat is transferred through pipes beneath the road surface, warming the pavement and preventing ice formation — in essence, a solar powered underfloor heating system," engineering researchers explain.
Today in The Conversation Canada, Mohammadamin Ahmadfard and Seth Dworkin from Toronto Metropolitan University discuss how this technology, known as Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES), could be a solution to Canada’s winter woes.
"Canada has the potential to lead the way by adopting BTES systems on its most treacherous roads, steep inclines and vulnerable bridges," they write.
Another added benefit is that it would also make roads lasts longer if water doesn't have a chance to infiltrate and expand into ice within the asphalt/concrete.
Yeah, it should level out the temperature too, so the minimums are higher and maximums are lower regardless of freeze/thaw.
Kinda seems like a similar idea to the solar heating that Drake Landing in Okotoks Alberta has. Had a heat xfer prof in uni who was really passionate about that project in particular, and this was back in 2007, really don't know why solar district heating like this doesn't really seem to have caught on, afaik it works well.
Edit. I'm ootl, apparently that got decommissioned recently which sucks, was a really interesting idea, guess I have my answer as to why they didn't catch on! It lasted far beyond the 4 year test period and supplied a large amount of the community's heating needs, it's cold in the winter in Okotoks so that's even more impressive to me.
This could save many lives if it works out!
Would much rather have this money invested in light rail for cities because that decreases road accidents year round.
Putting driving lessons into schools would save more lives. This will save insurance companies. Not to mention this will be exponentially more expensive to retrofit roads for this. All new roads should have this installed
It'll also save our lakes and rivers from becoming salt water instead of fresh. There's a lot of benefits to this.
Oh yeah, the cost will be the biggest factor. Id love to see it%
