The heat generated by urban areas and their buildings, factories, sewers, and transportation systems could be used to power those cities, according to a new study by German and Swiss researchers. Thermal energy produced by the so-called “urban heat island effect” warms shallow aquifers lying below cities, and geothermal and groundwater heat pumps could tap into those warm reservoirs to heat and cool buildings, the scientists say. In the southwest German city of Karlsruhe, the researchers found that the city of 300,000 generated 1 petajoule of heat per year — enough to heat 18,000 households. Karlsruhe’s underground heat production increased by about 10 percent over the past three decades, the team reported in Environmental Science and Technology. The biggest contributors to the city’s underground heat flux were its densely populated residential areas and surface temperature increases associated with paving. Sewage pipes, underground district heating networks, and thermal waste water discharges also contribute to warming shallow aquifers, the study found.
Underground Heat From Cities Could Help Power Them, Study Says
More From E360
-
Energy
Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds
-
Food & Agriculture
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World
-
Climate
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North?
-
RIVERS
A Win for Farmers and Tribes Brings New Hope to the Klamath
-
Solutions
Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood
-
NATURAL DEFENSES
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion
-
Solutions
Birds vs. Wind Turbines: New Research Aims to Prevent Deaths
-
FORESTS
Cambodian Forest Defenders at Risk for Exposing Illegal Logging
-
OPINION
The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions
-
CONSERVATION
Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Science
-
Energy
China’s Mega Dam Project Poses Big Risks for Asia’s Grand Canyon
-
Solutions
How Natural Solutions Can Help Islands Survive Sea Level Rise