Daily KOS
Summary
Using air and a little electricity, heat pumps are based on the same clever technology found in your fridge freezer. One installation in London exploits both cooling and heating effects. The London Underground deep level tube lines have been warming for a century. The surrounding ground provides excellent insulation and all those years of train motors conveying many millions of 100 watt heaters AKA the passengers means the tunnels are hot, even in the depths of winter. So then you are likely to see passengers peeling off layers of clothing and gulping on water bottles. The solution is to air condition the trains (a map is available of the lines using such stock). The problem is that those old lines built from the late 19th century are too small to have similar air conditioning on top of the trains and it was not considered a priority when they were designed. The “New Tube For London” will have such provision.
So in effect the installation is providing district heating and cooling air for the Underground using less electricity than it generates. It’s using waste heat energy and concentrates that energy to heat water and generate electricity. The cooling air for the Underground is in effect a waste product however the residual and continued heat from its operation mean that the energy will be available for many decades. With the heat from the air conditioning in the future trains, there will be an increased need for tunnel cooling.
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#CHP#DistrictHeating#DistrictCooling