Why It's (Almost) Impossible To Cool The London Underground

The London Underground is a marvel of British engineering, but right now it’s also really hot. Here is why the tube is experiencing a heatwave, and some ways in which we’re trying to cool it down.

Engineering Europe, Episode Seven | Into the Inferno

#EngineeringEurope #London #UnitedKingdom

--

Translations
CZECH: Ondřej Špika & Martin Hofman
GERMAN: Aaron Kerker
INDONESIAN: Anugrah No'inötö Göri

--
and follow me on Twitter @atomicfrontiers

[theorange]

It’s literally so hot they’re thinking of using it as a fucking geothermal energy source.

[Jonathan_Doe_]

I didn’t know about the clay gradually holding more and more heat thing, that explains why the heat seems weirdly radiant in the tube!

[lukeothedukeo]

I'm so used to the litany of smaller vents/grates all over NYC that I never considered how important they are to temperature regulation. This was great!

[HalfAsleepChris]

Hey! Really great video, well made and interesting, excellent work.

[justin_time]

For having a seemingly low budget, the content in this video is amazing! Descriptive, yet quick, detailed, yet not boring, and all very clear, yet still concise. Even the graphics were great too! I can't wait to see the content that you will produce as this channel keeps growing!

[TitanInvictusTube]

I thank Tom Scott for getting me here. You make some amazing content that is very interesting. :D

[misstakenot]

The Bunhill Energy Centre shown in the video isn't near a tube line, and isn't the one using heat in the manner described. What you're referring to is Bunhill 2, which is a red building on City Road.

[jasperherridge]

Wow, I didn't expect the simple image of someone sitting on a tube without a mask to look so weird

[thetrainshop]

The trains *do* use regenerative braking. They put current back into the 4th rail for use for trains.

[funtimefxlet]

I think you should so an episode on rollercoasters, mabye how they are operated or how much power they use or something

[ElementofKindness]

I was legit surprised that Britain's subway cars use friction breaking. Never would I have guessed that an all electric train WOULDN'T use regenerative braking, which automatically removes a massive amount of maintenance cost, but also heat and brake dust that's going to build up. Seems like a no-brainer, but alas, humans be humans.

[Cyberguy]

Using the waste heat to warm homes makes sense. I'm curious how much electricity can be generated by the facility, though, given that the efficiency of generating electricity from heat differentials depends on the magnitude of the differential

[massimookissed]

I was expecting all those passengers to contribute more of the heat, I was surprised.

[protodosto]

Incredible video. This was so well produced and executed. Kudos

[CoolAsFreya]

Melbourne's city loop tunnels don't have this issue, despite having compressor air conditioned trains with disc and pad brakes, as the tunnels are short enough that the piston effect keeps outside air coming in, along with a couple strategically placed ventilation shafts. However our new train tunnel currently being built is substantially longer, time will tell if overheating will become an issue, but you'd hope they took some experience from tunnels elsewhere including the London tube and designed accordingly!

[maanceto]

As a newcomer to London, I already find the Tube in winter horribly hot, and I can only imagine how horrible it must be on summer!

[donaldasayers]

"Brakes on a Train" The Hollywood sequel we've all been waiting for.

[Batmans_Pet_Goldfish]

That reservoir idea is freaking genius! I love it.

[lilacdoe]

Thank you algorithm 👍🏼
Glad it recommended your video, it was well explained and moderately entertaining.

[haroldasraz]

That is pretty amazing that 80 % of all heat ever produced in London's underground is still there. Is that really true? I mean you would think the heat would leave via warm air. Then there is conduction and so on.
Well if that is the case, then that's pretty amazing.