EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Geothermal & Heat Pumps
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-24-20, 01:00 PM   #1
Aztec Cannon
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default Passive Snowmelt

Needing input on a driveway snowmelt idea. I once knew an eccentric proprietor of solar/hydronic/heat pump equipment who I would have asked this question before he passed. He once said to me that people complained about snowmelt systems not working after a snowfall. The problem was that they turned on their systems after a storm dumped two feet of snow on their driveway. The system would melt the snow touching the driveway and leave a cavity that made melting the rest of the snow problematic as it would cost a ton to melt the rest of it.
My question is simply, if one sets up a system where the goal is to maintain a constant concrete surface temp of 40º or so by running the system pump all the time with no additional heat input other than what you get from the loops under the driveway; would that be enough to keep it clear as you would be melting the snow as it fell? Something to keep in mind, I live in SLC where the average high in January is 36º.
My apologies if this question is ridiculous. If it is, I hope you get a good laugh out of it. Otherwise, I'd really like to know if this is feasible.
Thanks,
DC

Aztec Cannon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-25-20, 09:15 PM   #2
MN Renovator
Less usage=Cheaper bills
 
MN Renovator's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 939
Thanks: 41
Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts
Default

With absolute perfect efficiency and the heat only being in contact with the snow to melt it, it takes 288,000BTU of heat to melt a ton of frozen water(snow in this case). If you've ever shoveled a heavy snowfall, you know how heavy it is and how much work it is to dig out a driveway. Now add the inefficiencies like a very large uninsulated surface that is in direct contact to the air, wind, and ground below it and you might slowly realize that using a heated driveway is one very expensive and incredibly huge waste of resources to clear snow. IMO, doing this with solar in the winter isn't likely to do much unless you've got an impractically huge storage tank that stored the heat before the snow clouds come in. I'm not talking about 80 gallon solar storage tanks, that won't do anything.

Seriously, try to take a weed burner torch and try to melt some ice, or pour a 5 gallon bucket of hot water on some snow and see how little it does, then consider how much more it takes to clear an entire driveway of snow. It's significantly cheaper to buy a snowblower, both for the equipment and it's usage.

If you want to be lazy, pay a snow removal company to clear the snow for you. If you want to do it with the least environmental impact, an electric snowblower would be better. ..but even a ****ty 2-stroke gas snowblower will still be better for the environment than using natural gas, propane, or electricity to heat a driveway to clear it of snow.

Hope this information is useful, I'm from Minnesnowta.
MN Renovator is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to MN Renovator For This Useful Post:
jeff5may (07-30-20)
Old 07-30-20, 01:42 PM   #3
jeff5may
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA
Posts: 2,428
Thanks: 431
Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts
Send a message via Yahoo to jeff5may
Default

It's a balance point relationship. How much heating budget do you want to shell out for the level of melting capacity? Just like design temperature of home insulation and balance point of air source heat pumps.
jeff5may is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:14 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design