Energy From Parking Lots
There may be a new use for asphalt pavement, and its not what you may be thinking. A team of researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute are in the process of developing a collection device to harness the heat found in blacktop. In turn, this heat can be used to warm water and or create electricity.
I find this information particularly interesting because of a few reasons. During my summer months away from school, I used to do asphalt paving as a job to pay the bills. More importantly I like this idea because it is thinking outside the box so to speak. This idea is so different then any of the current major renewable energy sources which include: wind, solar, and biofuels.
Having had experience in the paving industry, a few concerns come to mind. The biggest issue would have to be location, more specifically climate of that location. Roads in the northern United States take a lot of damage during the winter months, in large part to the freezing and thawing cycles. Once potholes begins to develop, road surfaces tend to quickly deteriorate. This could potentially lead to damage to the heat collection devices, which would be placed close underneath the surface of the pavement.
There is also the concern of access in the event something did happen to the heat collection device. The asphalt pavement is essentially acting as a tomb for the equipment, so it would have to be dug up to replace or fix the collecting equipment underneath. I’m sure engineers have already considered these scenarios, so there shouldn’t be need to panic.
I’m very interested in seeing how this alternative energy source develops. For the full news story please visit WPI.
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Informative and Such an interesting article about asphalt pavement,Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has found a way to use that heat-soaking property for an alternative energy source.
It is a great Idea to find out the different alternating sources energy.. But how can we implement this Idea in our Industries..