Using solar power to heat water is not a new idea – and it actually does the job rather well. Now, a Dutch company has invented a new year-round system which covers winter heating requirements and summer cooling.

Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV have taken the solar heating and storage concept and applied it to roads. Asphalt gets incredibly hot during the summer months therefore is a logical choice for placing heating pipes. These pipes then connect the heated water into underground storage areas. During the winter months, the heated water is used to heat buildings and keep the road from freezing. When the water has cooled, it is moved into a cool storage area which then provides cool water for air conditioning systems.

This system is attracting a lot of positive attention because it is renewable, reduces electricity requirements and therefore pollution, and also helps reduce the maintenance requirements on the road - The freezing and thawing of roads is a factor in general wear and tear and can help to cause cracks, potholes and buckling on the surface of the road. With the pipes keeping the road at a smaller range of temperatures, the wear and tear on the roads should be decreased.

The idea isn’t just a theory either – a 200 yard stretch of road and a small parking lot in Avenhorn have already had the system installed with The water helping to heat a 70-unit four storey apartment building nearby; The runways of one of the Dutch airbases have also had the technology installed to help provide warmth to one of their hangars; And a 160,000 square foot industrial park near Hoorn is now partially heated by 36,000 square feet of pavement which has had the pipes installed.

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