Phase-change materials in hydronic heating and cooling systems : a literature review

Koželj, Rok (author), Osterman, Eneja (author), Leonforte, Fabrizio (author), Del Pero, Claudio (author), Miglioli, Alessandro (author), Zavrl, Eva (author), Stropnik, Rok (author), Aste, Niccolò (author), Stritih, Uroš (author)

When considering the deployment of renewable energy sources in systems, the challenge of their utilization comes from their time instability when a mismatch between production and demand occurs. With the integration of thermal storages into systems that utilize renewable energy sources, such mismatch can be evened out. The use of phase-change materials (PCMs) as thermal storage has a theoretical advantage over the sensible one because of their high latent heat that is released or accumulated during the phase-change process. Therefore, the present paper is a review of latent thermal storages in hydronic systems for heating, cooling and domestic hot water in buildings. The work aims to offer an overview on applications of latent thermal storages coupled with heat pumps and solar collectors. The review shows that phase-change materials improve the release of heat from thermal storage and can supply heat or cold at a desired temperature level for longer time periods. The PCM review ends with the results from one of the Horizon2020 research projects, where indirect electrical storage in the form of thermal storage is considered. The review is a technological outline of the current state-of-the-art technology that could serve as a knowledge base for the practical implementation of latent thermal storages. The paper ends with an overview of energy storage maturity and the objectives from different roadmaps of European bodies.

• Language: English
• Keywords: PCM thermal storage, latent thermal storage, latent heat storage, PCMs in hydronic systems, PCMs for heating, PCMs for cooling, PCM heat storage, PCM cold storage, PCM maturity, TRL of PCM
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: 22 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 13, art. 2971
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-117389
• UDC: 697(045)
• ISSN on article: 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma13132971
• COBISS.SI-ID: 22067971
• Publication date in RUL: 09.07.2020

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Materials
• Shortened title: Materials
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1996-1944
• COBISS.SI-ID: 33588485

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 03.07.2020

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: FSS zalogovnik toplote, latentni zalogovnik toplote, FSS v vodnih sistemih, ogrevanje s FSS, hlajenje s FSS, zalogovnik toplote s FSS, zalogovnik hladu s FSS, zrelost FSS, TRL raven FSS

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: H2020
• Project number: 768921
• Name: Holistic Energy and Architectural Retrofit Toolkit
• Acronym: HEART