Saturday, March 22, 2008

Solar-collecting roads heat buildings

... RES [Road Energy System] 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.
Doesn't this mean an awful lot of water? How do you keep the water hot for months?

No comments: