Engineers at Dartmouth College have come up with a way for power lines to de-ice themselves.
"Neither the U.S. nor Canada have a single current working powerline de-icing technology," says inventor and Professor of Engineering, Dr. Victor Petrenko.
The power lines are given an extra boost of heat to avoid ice buildup only when it's needed, like before a major ice storm.
"We can just activate that heating when its needed during an ice storm. During the summer it doesn't get overheated and it doesn't waste any power when its not needed," said co-inventor and Associate Professor of Engineering, Dr. Charlie Sullivan.
The creators say it's cost efficient and after years of testing, they finally think they've got it right.
"It's failproof. If something breaks in the system [for a boost of heat], it will revert back to normal operation," said Sullivan.
The technology hasn't been accepted yet in the U.S., but it's already widely used in Russia. They say it could save the country billions of dollars in clean up costs after major ice storms.
