by Ann Withanee — October 27, 2010—The parking lot adjacent to a building may soon be good for more than just parking cars, says Novotech Inc. If Novotech is successful in the development of its new technology, the heat energy in the pavement could soon be used to heat hot water or be used in absorption chillers to provide cooling.
The company is currently testing technology that incorporates plastic PEX tubing that is located about an inch below the pavement. The tubing, arranged in a serpentine pattern, carries the water that Snelling says can easily be heated to as high as 150 degrees, more than hot enough for domestic hot water need.
For Novotech, a global supplier of infrared optical and semiconductor materials and services, pavement presents a huge opportunity to not only heat water but also reduce the urban heat island effect common where there is a lot of paved ground.
The tubing, through a heat transfer process, helps take the heat out of the pavement, can provide power after nightfall, and would not be visible, said a company official. The primary market would be organizations that use substantial amounts of hot water.
Novotech teamed up with Rajib Mallick, an associate professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Sankha Bhowmick, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, to develop the technology.
For more information, visit the Novotech Web site.
PEX tubing below the surface carries water that could be heated using technology being developed at Novotech.
