Conductive Concrete???

John Ruhnke

Did anybody read that article?

That could kill the snow melt business as we know it. I don't think it will make it into the home. It sounds dangerous. At least not for a while.

JR

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DanHolohan

What John's talking about

is the the HeatingHelpBlog.

Unknown

and where is that?

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DanHolohan

Look up at the top of the Wall

See that big box that reads, HeatingHelpBlog? Click it.

It pays to wander off the Wall.

Unknown

DOH!!!!!

bonehead move of the day goes to ME, I'm the winner

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Unknown

interesting, but my first impression is skepticism that it's a good idea to turn a slab into a big conductor and then hook up electricity to it, exposed to the elements. I will have to read more about how they build the de icing stuff to see if that skepticism is warranted, though.

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DanHolohan

Perfectly okay!

I was thinking about getting a bigger banner anyway. ;-)

Unknown

well I think the problem is after ten years of heavy internet usage, I don't even see anything that looks like a banner anymore!

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Mark Eatherton1

I'd be interested...

in what the structural steel looks like after a few years of operating in a wet,saline, electically charged environment. I know all the older concrete/steel bridges around here are falling apart WITHOUT the aid of electrolysis...

Time will tell...

ME

Gordy

Conductive Concrete

Being in the bridge construction industry for 21 years,I can say this is a high tech. Cost prohibitive system that is just being studied. Implementing it on a large scale will be tough. A 150' bridge is not squat at 3000 kwh per hour,power consumption. Salt,fuel and manpower is way cheaper over a time period they have to do the road anyway. Also to just do the bridge under the pretense we are preventing corrosion from salts is a myth,the salt will be carried from the roadway onto the bridge.

This is not to say that the technology will not have some potential on a smaller scale in other areas, and applications.
JMHO Gordy

DanHolohan

I'm thinking about it

more for radiant slabs in homes.

jerry scharf_2

Con Ed would love you

John,

Let's not overreact. There have been electric resistance heating for gypcrete for years, and I don't see it wiping out the current hydronic radiant heating business. It's certainly cheaper to install, but people know the longer term operating costs would kill them.

The economics might be different for snowmelt, where the ratio of install cost to operating cost is higher, but it's often done as part of a larger hydronic system which again changes the economics. Why don't people use the existing electric resistance cables in snowmelt?

I would actually love to see this. If you could say "have you considerened snow melt. It's just like that bridge on ..." With a rising tide, all boats rise.

As Gordy said, the economics won't be there for a long time for public roads.

The most fascinating use to me was as an anode. Use this as a concrete cap over buried metal pipes and you could trade the cost against pipe protection...

jerry

Kal Row

not worried about it...

at the end of the day - ceiling mounted radiant heating and cooling – is still the best – and will need hydronics – and made most efficient with geothermal heat pumps – with heating/cooling boosting from solar and pool

hydronics rocks!!! – maybe that’s why the creator covered four fifths of the earth with water

Robert O'Connor_7

Sounds like the future to me.

Great Idea! This technology will only get safer,cheaper,and more energy efficient in the future. It certainly won't be these things in my lifetime but my children will benefit tremendously and that makes me smile..Robert O'Connor

Gordy

Other Areas

> more for radiant slabs in homes.

Gordy

Other Areas

Thats what I mean buy other areas Dan.But in my eyes a swavy consumer would not limit the ability to heat the dwelling to the emitters being lashed to electricity as a sole means to power them. At least with hydronics you can choose your heat plant to use the cheapest form of fuel and if that changes in the future you can roll with the change as long as it is cost effective.

Until electricity can be produced at a cheaper rate maybe never, maybe through the CO-Generation avenue with the use of the stirling engine it could be. I think electric resistance heat of any kind on a residential scale in a dwelling is not going to be cheap until then. We already have it but cost to operate is why its not as popular.
Gordy

Gordy

correction

That was 3000 Kwh for the 3 day period. At my residential rate of .08 that pans out to 243.00 for the 3 day period. My house used 1733 Kwh in 30 days. A bad winter could get pricey compared to the old salt trick. lets just say that the county would have a hefty electric bill if "ALL" bridges were done this way let alone roadways. Buy stock in the power companies.
Gordy

Gordy

correction