[blackwasp]

Eurovia, a construction company based in France, has been testing a road section that can heat and cool itself. Called as the 'Power Road', there is a network of tubes under the road surface.

A 394-foot Power Road has been installed in Egletons, about 482 km from Paris. The tubes in this road are connected to the city’s biomass powered heating network, which helps maintain the road surface temperature at a toasty 60 degree Celsius in winters.

The tubes absorb heat in the summer and release heat in the winter. One of the advantages of such types of roads is the elimination of Snowplows. In summers, the roads can generate heat which can be used to heat nearby buildings or pools.

While using salt and Snowplows is a cheap alternative, the corrosive nature of the salt can cost owners much more in repair bills. Snowplows also cause potholes when their blades scrap off the road surface along with the snow.





Source : Jalopnik

Link to the Team-BHP News

[sandeepmohan]

I like the idea but maan is it going to be expensive to install and maintain. Imagine ripping up all the roads just to install these pipes. There will also be a time when they will have to re-seal the road which means ripping out the top tar. Will have to be done carefully so as to not put a hole in these pipes. I assume they've done their research on longevity and cost.

[norhog]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Eurovia, a construction company based in France, has been testing a road section that can heat and cool itself. Called as the 'Power Road', there is a network of tubes under the road surface.

How cold is this part of the world where you need to heat buildings in summer also?

[RedTerrano]

I have no opinion about this, simply because I have never even snow in real life, forget about driving on snowed roads.

My only hope is the Indian authorities are not "inspired" enough to try this seemingly costly tech , to cool down Indian roads in summer.
The disastrous results of blindly aping the west (read Pune BRT system) are out there for everyone to see.

[landcruiser123]

Maybe a good idea in small downtowns of cities. But honestly, no government is going to make this a reality in suburbs & highways.

I don't think a huge investment (R&D + construction) is really going to save people any money for repairs due to corrosion.

Originally Posted by norhog

How cold is this part of the world where you need to heat buildings in summer also?

Well, buildings in the US have hot+cold water in almost all taps. The water could probably be heated with this system rather than having an additional heater powered by electricity/gas.