Monday 23rd May 2005

M1 gets underfloor heaters

Trial could mean less grit and salt on motorways

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Keeping the black stuff warm

Underfloor heating is coming to the M1 which could mean that gritters become redundant.

It is still early days but an experiment on Britain's oldest motorway has the aim of keeping the road surface cool in summer, which will increase its lifespan, while keeping it warm enough to defrost the surface in winter.

Not only could it lead to fewer accidents, less gravel on the road should mean fewer stone chips on that vulnerable nose of the car. And with no need for salt, body rot should be cut too.

The invention is to be tested on a service road, and is basically an altered version of the under-soil heating system that keeps football pitches frost-free.

Summer sun warms the tarmac, transferring heat into a layer of under-surface collector pipes filled with water. Pumps then circulate the warmed water to heat the surrounding ground. That energy is stored there, and during winter is released to warm the road and prevent snow and ice forming. In summer, the pipes help cool the tarmac to reduce expansion, making the surface last longer, while an added bonus is that buildings near the road can also be heated by the system.

The Highways Agency will pilot the scheme for two years under a 60-metre section of service road in Bedfordshire, near the Toddington rest area. The section is currently being resurfaced and is due to re-open with the system in place next month.

Ultimately, the system is designed to be fitted under the main carriageway, as in our diagram. It's the brainchild of London-based sustainable energy firm Icax Ltd. Director Mark Hewitt said: "The system is an environmentally friendly British invention that will transform the way roads are used. There will be no need for gritting in winter, roads will be cool in the summer and require less maintenance as surfaces last longer."

• www.icax.co.uk

[wedgie]

The powers-that-be tried under-road heating on a steepish stretch of the A690 at Houghton-le-Spring years ago.

When the big freeze arrived, they turned it on... it worked fine, all the ice melted... and ran down onto the unheated section, forming a lethal ice rink.

There was absolute hell on, as a result of which the system was never used again.

I hope they've thought of this, and I also wonder how much this little lot will cost... maybe 2 Jags is going to divert all the heat from our bath water??

>> Edited by wedgie on Monday 23 May 12:15

[Marki]

wedgie said:

maybe 2 Jags is going to divert all the heat from our bath water??

[mechsympathy]

The article said:

Summer sun warms the tarmac, transferring heat into a layer of under-surface collector pipes filled with water. Pumps then circulate the warmed water to heat the surrounding ground. That energy is stored there, and during winter is released to warm the road and prevent snow and ice forming. In summer, the pipes help cool the tarmac to reduce expansion, making the surface last longer, while an added bonus is that buildings near the road can also be heated by the system.

Sounds like bollox to me. How is the heat going to be stored for a few months?? And why would the nearby buildings want heating in the summer??

[spaximus]

instead of pissing around like this just mend the roads we have!

[2 Smokin Barrels]

1) I thought part of the M6 was the oldest motorway
2) There's always cars parked on that stretch of the M1, so it never gets chance to freeze anyway!

[stackmonkey]

yep, Preston by-pass was the first section of motorway; maybe the M1 was the first to be completed.

Doesn't the M62 have under heating of some sort on the section with the 'little house on the prairie'?

[Yugguy]

True, but southerners like to conveniently forget that fact.

[targarama]

I think they do some kind of road heating in Scandinavia and if it cuts accidents then it is a good thing.