On the highway of the sun

A team of U.S. scientists studying the potential for recovery of heat from solar radiation in the asphalt on our roads and our car parks. Promising work that should help in the near future to use our road network as a source of hot water and electricity.

Edited by Rajib Mallick, professor of civil and environmental engineering, scientists Worcester Polytechnic Institute conducting a series of experiments aimed at integrating heat exchangers in asphalt for use as a solar collector.

Through a system of water circulation in their coating, our roads and parking lots would thus become sources of renewable energy, thanks to sunlight to produce electricity and hot water after processing in a thermoelectric generator.

The asphalt will store heat from solar radiation and gradually restore even in the absence of sunlight, thus continuing to produce energy at night, unlike traditional solar installations. According Malllick Rajib, the heat extraction could also help reduce heat in urban areas at high risk. He also points out that the road surfaces are usually redone every 10 to 12 years, this cycle would allow the gradual installation of networks.

Given the considerable surface that represent the roads and carparks, one can easily imagine the whole point of this research. Recovery of solar energy and would not require any additional use of land resources. Nestled under a few inches of asphalt, the technical equipment would become invisible. This solution would then allow the mass production of energy for a reduced environmental impact, far from the giant solar farms and their solar panels out of sight.

Source: Science Daily