Know anything about roads with heating elements in them?

Question

I think they have some in Japan. How are they heated? What is the construction and composition of the element? Volts and Watts used?
Anything you can tell me really.

Answer 1

Yes, it is done. It tends to be expensive to install and to operate so it only in places like:

Driving entrances (in snow country) to high-end hotels or ski areas. Toll plazas.

Drive-up/drop-off lanes and walkway access to hospitals and medical buildings - lots of old and frial people who could break a hip (and sue).

Household walkways and entrance steps - small areas.

And, in a McMansion, anything goes. Heat the whole dang driveway to impress the neighbors.

For 10 to 50 square feet, usually electric resistance heating wires would be placed in the concrete pour or within the thinset under tiles. After a snowfall, you turn on a timer for a few hours (ideally you brush the snow off first). The wires are spaced 3 to 6 inches apart and at a watt density of about 50 watts per square foot, 20-square foot step would take 1 kilowatt. About 8 amps of 120 volts or 4.5 amps of 208 volts. The cheapest installation I've done used the heating cables sold for combatting ice dams formation on roofs.

For driveways, etc, the area is so large you are almost always burning fuel and circulating a water/gycol mix. Then 1/2" or 3/4" PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) tubing is imbedded in the concrete pour on 6 to 12 inch centers (just like in my own slab-on-grade house). At 100-200 BTU/hour per square foot, a 100 foot driveway, 15 feet wide would take 150,000-300,000 BTU/hour. That's far bigger than your home hot water heater, so you're buying a whole separate (and large) water heater for this task. Operating it for a few hours after a snowfall would cost $10 or so.

Insulating below, dealing with meltwater run off, and controls are a few of the design issues. I installed my own because 1) it is really nice to have a completely ice-free walk, and 2) I could (many years of engineering and several as a plumber). But for most people, it isn't a DIY project. You'd at least want an experienced designer advising on the layout.

Note that any power plant has to dump heat. I have long thought that in snow country, they should imbed pipes in the local roads and then, in winter, no snow or ice would stick. But snow plows are pretty cheap compared to the capital cost. Still it would be slick.

Answer 2

I've lived here quite a while and have never heard of them.

Unlike in the U.S., your allowed to use chains on your tires here.

I wouldnt doubt there might be some heated parking lots or something similar in Hokkaido but the real problem would be the water run off problem

sorry, not much help to you.

Answer 3

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