An experimental and numerical analysis of an improved thermal storage tank with encapsulated PCM for use in retrofitted buildings for heating

Koželj, Rok (author), Mlakar, Urška (author), Zavrl, Eva (author), Stritih, Uroš (author), Stropnik, Rok (author)

In the building sector, 40% of final energy is used for heating and cooling. Up to 75% of this is used in residential buildings. It is necessary to take a step forward and reduce this share of energy consumption, inparticular through the use of efficient technologies and their integration into the system of renovation ofresidential buildings, which is a major challenge for future research in this field. An important technologyfor achieving this goal is heat storage, where the use of phase change materials as heat storage materialallows for a higher energy density. The main advantage of using heat storage technologies is the solutionof the problem of the temporal divergence of energy demand and the possibility to use a higher share ofenergy from renewable sources, e.g. such as solar energy. Solar energy as a resource can be used duringthe day, when production is higher than demand, which allows storing energy for a later period ofdemand. This also improves the efficiency of the heat generators in the system in which the thermal storage is integrated. The focus of the present study is on the investigation of phase change materials (PCM) as thermal storage in the conventional water tank storage. A comparison was made between a conventional sensible thermal energy storage tank and a hybrid latent heat storage tank, where the PCM wasencapsulated in cylindrical nodules and integrated into the water tank to improve the energy densityof the conventional water heat storage tank. The results of the experiment showed that 15% of the PCM inside the water storage tank increases heat storage for 70% over conventional heat storage tankwith water only inside. The measured experimental data were compared with the simulation results from TRNSYS model to enable further analysis and improvement of the heat storage tank with PCM integration.

• Language: English
• Keywords: PCM in water tank, PCM in water systems, active PCM storage, encapsulated PCMs, latent heat storage, enhanced heat storage, improved water tank
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 13 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 248, art. 111196
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-128175
• UDC: 536.2:621.642:697
• ISSN on article: 0378-7788
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.111196
• COBISS.SI-ID: 69257475
• Publication date in RUL: 05.07.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Energy and buildings
• Shortened title: Energy build.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0378-7788
• COBISS.SI-ID: 25395200

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.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: FSS v vodnih hranilnikih, FSS v vodnih sistemih, aktivni FSS hranilniki, enkapsulirane FSS, latentni hranilniki toplote, izboljšani hranilniki toplote, izboljšani vodni hranilniki

Projects

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

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P2-0223
• Name: Prenos toplote in snovi