Feel the Heath Beneath Your Feet
The intention of our research was to simulate melting ice on sidewalks using the currently available radiant heating system (hot water pipes) and to compare the amount of energy required with an alternate radiant heating system (a heating grid connected to a 12 volt battery) to see if the two amounts were equal. Two wooden boxes were built and then four inches of cement were laid in each box with the systems buried inside the cement. The boxes were placed inside a freezer and cooled to -1.1°C and then were reheated by their respective systems to 1.6°C (30°F to 35°F). The time required for each temperature change to occur was recorded and then each data set was put in like terms by dividing the recorded time by the energy used by the specific system. Our results have shown that the system using hot water pipes used more energy than the system that used the heating grid.
Research Done By:
Matt Cason
Fitzgerald High School
Chris Cinpinski
Romeo High School
Warren Consolidated Schools