Sheffield to get under road heating?

[algy 11]

The section of Bents Road where it meets Ringinglow Road was fitted with heating cables in the 60's when electricity was relatively cheap compared with today, but it was abandoned not many years after. With the cost of power at present levels, it sounds as if Uncle Clive is away with the fairies:loopy:

[six45ive 10]

Hmmm.....I see we're all doing the usual Sheffield thing of making reactionary comments before looking at the details of what exactly it would entail.

This link http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/25/solarpower.energy might give some people who are prepared to read it a better understanding of what might be proposed.

[mahonia 10]

So what do people think about today's headline in the Telegraph suggested by Clive Betts?

http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/Heated-roads-to-beat-the.5982215.jp

Personally I think it's a fabulous idea and something that's very much needed if it can be connected to the city's incinerator.

I'd like to see somebody come up with an accurate figure for the running costs and the lifespan on such a scheme to see if it's worth installing or not.

 

Yawn , is Betts at it again , god man give it a rest no-one cares what you say you moron

Edited January 15, 2010 by mahonia

[Mick Sage 10]

Hmmm.....I see we're all doing the usual Sheffield thing of making reactionary comments before looking at the details of what exactly it would entail.

This link http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/25/solarpower.energy might give some people who are prepared to read it a better understanding of what might be proposed.

 

Ok read it and taking things into account like how much it costs to dig up and relay the road, buy the plastic pipes, presumabley store the energy gained in summers in some sort of expensive battery for eight or ten years as other energy demands in summer are low,repair the pipes when telephone, water , electric companies etc dig em up accidently mmmmmmmmmmm Naw it@s still a folly .

[six45ive 10]

Ok read it and taking things into account like how much it costs to dig up and relay the road, buy the plastic pipes, presumabley store the energy gained in summers in some sort of expensive battery for eight or ten years as other energy demands in summer are low,repair the pipes when telephone, water , electric companies etc dig em up accidently mmmmmmmmmmm Naw it@s still a folly .

 

Oh dear......ignorance really is bliss isn't it? You obviously didn't read the Guardian link properly or just didn't understand it.

The main reason that this scheme is being proposed at this time is that the city is spending £2 billion in resurfacing every road in the city anyway which immediately substantially reduces the cost of putting in the system which would only be on main roads anyway.

As for telephone, water, gas etc digging up the roads.....well obviously these services would be diverted away from these roads as they were when the Supertram was built or maybe you didn't know that fact or have you just conveniently forgotten?

[Bruce_Shark 10]

...if it can be connected to the city's incinerator...

 

Oh dear......ignorance really is bliss isn't it? ...You obviously didn't read the Guardian link properly or just didn't understand it...

 

You obviously didn't read the (Guardian) article properly either!

 

No mention in the article of linking to anything, that would waste energy that could be better used elsewhere...

 

...it's about storing solar energy for use on small "at risk" stretches of cold susceptible road, and not about replacing precautionary salting, the clue is in this sentence:

 

...Because of the significant investment needed, only cold spots could be realistically considered at this stage, she said. "Salting of the road will not be replaced"...

[yorkieblade 10]

Well they better act quick with a decision!!!, the Highways PFI bidders will be currently doing alot of rubbing out of their original Winter Maintenance calculations !! after the last 6 weeks !!!

 

Add this little chestnut on top and they will probably all pull out of the bidding!!!

 

:-)

[six45ive 10]

You obviously didn't read the (Guardian) article properly either!

 

No mention in the article of linking to anything, that would waste energy that could be better used elsewhere...

 

...it's about storing solar energy for use on small "at risk" stretches of cold susceptible road, and not about replacing precautionary salting, the clue is in this sentence:

 

...Because of the significant investment needed, only cold spots could be realistically considered at this stage, she said. "Salting of the road will not be replaced"...

 

Yes.....and the important bit of that sentence is the bit that I've highlighted and as I said previously a major part of the cost would be in taking up the road in the first place and laying a new one after it's been fitted. Both of these things are going to happen anyway which means that the actual cost for Sheffield should be about a third of the cost they're talking about in the Guardian article obviously making it more viable.

As for my comment in the OP that you highlighted about it connecting to Sheffield Heat and Power, this was just one of the options that I decided to highlight in response to Clive Betts' comments in the telegraph as a possible advantage for Sheffield to have the system as it will already have a number of pipes close to or actually under some roads.

The piece in the Guardian is another option that Clive also talked about with the possibility of seeing if both systems could work together in some way that would be even more beneficial to the city?

[Draggletail 60]

What a waste of time, Global warming is on its way we will be having a barby for christmas dinner, and i expect they will have to go out whith water tankers to spray the roads to stop the tarmac melting and there will be another problem then, no water,

ah well life goes on and on school closed roads are too hot.

Not if the northern ice cap continues to melt and the gulf stream gets cold.

It's the only thing that keeps us and Europe from being as cold as northern Canada.

[Vague_Boy 10]

in use in various other coutnries

 

More efficient countries.

 

Too much corruption, cronyism, backhanders and bungling inefficiency in the UK.

 

As for this £2 billion worth of improvements being a PFI project, oh dear. that's got corruption baked in the cake.

 

One of the ways in which the government can avoid the freedom of information laws, is to classify public business as private business. Under the act, information can be withheld from the public if its disclosure would “prejudice the commercial interests of any person”.(1) Wherever the government has entered into partnership with a private company, it can argue that it would damage the company’s interests if it told us what it was doing. So unless there is a public inquiry, we might never discover why a bridge that should have cost no more than £25m to build has now cost £93m.

 

Link

 

Given that this idea has been mooted by Clive Betts, whom I'm sure you all remember was suspended from the House of Commons for 7 days for irregularities involving the employment and visa of Jose Gasparo, a student and former male escort, the corruption theory seems even more tenable.

[Bruce_Shark 10]

...blah?

 

Since the main thrust of Mr Betts idea seemed to be directed at the city centre, where will all the required pipework go?

 

Under the numerous buildings, or in the roads that are already congested with statutory undertakers equipment?

 

Unfeasible soundbite springs to mind!

[joat36 10]

Hi Ruby,

Post #23

I think you will find (if you look) that the land on which the NCPM was built always belonged to Sheffield Hallam University, who having never being paid the rents due foreclosed and got the nice new buildings for nowt!

Can anybody correct me if I am wrong?