THE TUBE WILL HEAT HUNDRED OF HOUSES
12.2.2018
Anyone who’s travelled by London underground will know that it’s often very hot: last July temperatures rose up to 35°C!
Around 89% of the heat is produced by the train system (38% braking losses, 22% mechanical, 16% drivetrain, 13% train auxiliaries, 4% tunnel support systems) and only 7% is produced by passengers. It has been calculated that from all the heat produced, 79% is absorbed by the tunnel walls, 10% is removed by ventilation and the other 11% remains in the tunnels.
But now engineers have found an ingenious use for the excess heat generated: it can be captured and used to warm-up over 500 homes in the Islington area in London, cutting heating bills by around 10% and becoming part of the Mayor of London's plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2025.
The project is that the waste heat will be piped from the Northern Line and added into the pipes of “Bunhill Heat network”, which already supplies more than 700 homes in Islington.
The system will not only save waste heat and create an alternative source of energy, it will also reduce the underground cost of ventilation and the use of air conditioning to fight the high temperatures.
