Use of Asphalt Paved Surfaces For Solar Heat

vg30e writes "It seems that a company in the Netherlands has found a way to use asphalt paved surfaces as solar heat collectors. Flexible tubes under the surface of the road collect heat from asphalt pavement using water as the working liquid. The heated water is stored underground for later use in defrosting the road, or heating buildings. With all the miles of highway in the continental US, this might be a viable way of collecting massive amounts of thermal energy."

Comments

Re:Old idea from Universty of Chicago

[madsenj37]

The idea is one thing, the implementation another. He may have been a visionary, but the buck stops there.

This is called a heat pump

[Colin Smith]

And they've been around for decades. You can buy a system today, in all civilised countries. They work in exactly the same way as your refrigerator.

Re:May as well bring back steam trains

[FroBugg]

Except that your analogy is ridiculous. The proposed heat pump is a closed system. Stick the water in once and you're done. Using a pump to circulate it requires very little power compared to what can be saved in heating by using the heated water.

Yes, the construction costs will be high, but that's what a lifecycle cost analysis is for.