Bedfordshire to trial heated car parks over the winter months
Bedfordshire are heating up their car parks this winter in a bid to help save the planet
As temperatures begin to drop and the winter maintenance season approaches, Central Bedfordshire Council is well prepared with a new geothermal energy system that they say will help keep vehicles on the road.
It's part of the £22.9m ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs programme funded by the Department for Transport. Five geothermic probes have been placed 150 metres underground. When it’s warm, the car parks surface will heat up. Tubes just below the surface filled with a special liquid capture this warmth as heat energy. This energy is then transferred to the geothermal probes where it can be stored in an on-site storage unit to keep its heat for several months.
The geothermic probes combined with a heat pump respond when the temperature drops to freezing. Similar to underfloor heating, the car park is heated from underneath the surface to prevent ice forming or snow settling. This means there is no need to grit the car park, and vehicles can continue to operate, saving both time and money.
Councillor Steven Dixon, Central Bedfordshire Executive Member for Sustainability and Transformation, said: “I am thrilled we're part of this exciting and innovative trial."