Technology Idea of the Week

Any Londoner will recognise that huge feeling of relief when you step into an underground station, escaping the winter weather the wind and rain of winter. That warm rush of air and being huddled down in seat without worrying about the outside world. This poster from 1927 captures this emotion beautifully, artist Fredrick Charles Herrick (1927).

Courtesy of Tony's Toy Shop
Artist: Fredrick Charles Herrick, 1927

The underground generates all of its own heat simply by the equipment, volume of people and being insulated at depth. A fact that is appreciated in winter as the temperature is kept around 20 degrees Celsius but is not so popular in summer where temperatures can reach over 30 degrees (WIRED, 2013). 

Popularity of the underground in the UK and many other countries raised the question of whether we can use the excess heat generated and put it to better use. Over the last few decades many groups and organisations have been established to investigate this potential. Here is a quick overview of how these plans are actually getting of the ground (or under it rather) in Islington. 

The Council of the London Borough of Islington have teamed up with the Mayor of London, Power Networks and TFL to invest £2.7 million in a heat capture system. This heat will be used to supply 700 homes with the potential to increase this to 1200 in another two years (Islington Council). It is estimated there will be a payback time of 10-15 years (Business Green). This is a little vague, largely because this is one of the first projects of its kind so research is limited. 

This is a cheaper and greener source of energy although it isn't technically classed as renewable. It is part of a government initiative to use 'secondary heat sources' and is really important in reducing fuel poverty (Buro Happold 2012 Report).

The use of secondary heat sources is being investigated by many other cities such as Cologne and Rotterdam (NewScientist 2013). It is pioneered by Celsius City is an EU collaboration who state that there is "enough heat produced in the EU to supply the EUs entire building stock, there just isn't the heating network to distribute it". If these plans are successful and continue to be implemented we could see a huge reduction in heating bills and energy consumption: a huge challenge facing mega cities today.