{"id":1276,"date":"2023-10-16T07:24:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T07:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apers.ro\/?p=1276"},"modified":"2023-10-16T07:56:19","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T07:56:19","slug":"exploring-thermal-energy-storage-solutions-for-energy-efficient-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apers.ro\/en\/2023\/10\/16\/exploring-thermal-energy-storage-solutions-for-energy-efficient-buildings\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Thermal Energy Storage Solutions For Energy-Efficient Buildings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Picture yourself 200 years ago, only able to cool a space or chill perishable food because ice blocks were cut from frozen lakes and transported cross-country by insulated rail cars to your home. Once in your home, the ice melted \u2014 by absorbing heat to change the phase from solid to liquid \u2014 keeping your home or food cool. Water, when frozen, stores this ability to cool because of the large amount of energy absorbed (when melting) or to heat by releasing energy (when freezing).<\/p>\n

Technologies to heat and cool buildings have dramatically improved, so why are scientists revisiting these phase-change processes tracing back to the 1800s? Some say it could be the golden ticket to a clean energy future.<\/p>\n

Established in November 2022, Stor4Build is a multilaboratory consortium working to accelerate developing, optimizing, and equitably deploying cost-effective thermal energy storage (TES) technologies to enable buildings to run on renewable energy sources efficiently.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[vc_single_image image=”1278″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” parallax_scroll=”no” woodmart_inline=”no”]\t\t

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\u201cThe science behind TES can be as simple as what people did 200 years ago,\u201d said Tim LaClair, a senior researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). \u201cHowever, today, we are exploring various materials, controls, standards, building integration, and much more to make the systems affordable and ensure occupant comfort. This research is a vital pathway to the electrification and decarbonization of our buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buildings are a significant obstacle to achieving equitable decarbonization goals nationwide \u2014 as much as 50% of electricity consumption in U.S. buildings goes toward meeting heating and cooling demands. Aligning this electricity consumption with renewable energy generation is a primary focus for Stor4Build.<\/p>\n

The consortium is investigating novel TES materials and systems which can adjust when heating or cooling is created, stored, and delivered. Leveraging collaborative TES research will help level out peak energy demand, reduce potential grid outages, and enable more cost-effective electrification of buildings. TES shows promise in making the process of heating and cooling buildings more manageable, less expensive, more efficient, and better prepared to flexibly manage power from renewable energy sources to deliver when energy is needed the most.<\/p>\n

What Is Thermal Energy Storage?<\/h2>\n

TES systems can be installed in buildings in a way that allows the building to act as a thermal battery. Energy, potentially from renewable sources such as solar or wind, is stored in tanks or other vessels filled with materials \u2014 such as ice, wax, salt, or sand \u2014 for use at different time.<\/p>\n

Som Shrestha, a senior R&D scientist within the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), said TES can significantly reduce buildings’ peak heating, ventilating, and air conditioning energy demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time of available useful thermal energy and when the building needs it typically do not coincide. Therefore, TES systems are needed to store useful thermal energy when available and use it to offset heating and cooling demand when needed,\u201d Shrestha said.<\/p>\n

Shrestha also explained how ORNL developed a \u201cthermally anisotropic building envelope,\u201d which can harvest thermal energy from the exterior envelope and store it in TES for later use.<\/p>\n

Research Is Heating Up<\/h2>\n

\u201cEven though the idea of TES has been around for a long time, this is all new research,\u201d LaClair said. \u201cStor4Build is a concerted effort to ramp up efforts across national labs and partners across industry, academia, communities, and more. We need to develop the integrated technology system and enable market adoption, not just the material itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[vc_single_image image=”1280″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” parallax_scroll=”no” woodmart_inline=”no”]\t\t

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LaClair said a large component of TES advancement depends on identifying and developing needed phase-change materials with a melting and freezing point close to room temperature. This means the material will freeze when the home is slightly cooler than the material\u2019s melting point, releasing energy and heating the home, and will melt when the home is slightly warmer, absorbing energy and cooling the home. This provides more comfortable indoor spaces that use less electricity for heating and cooling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a family wants to heat their home to 70\u02daF, for example, the TES system requires a material that melts and freezes within that temperature range,\u201d LaClair added. \u201cVarious waxes naturally have that melting point but are more expensive. The goal is to develop and optimize low-cost storage materials, such as salt hydrates or thermochemical materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

New research out of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) includes a project to develop thermochemical material-based TES. These materials can theoretically store more thermal energy than phase-change materials by charging with solar energy or excess grid electricity and then discharging to supply thermal space and water heating in buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew advanced thermal energy storage systems, which are based on abundant and cost-effective raw materials, can meet the demand for thermal loads across time lengths similar to electrochemical storage devices,\u201d said Sumanjeet Kaur, Berkeley Lab\u2019s Thermal Energy Group lead. \u201cThis will not only relax some of the demand for electrochemical storage and free up batteries but also increase versatility and efficiency of energy storage systems in buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaClair added that one aspect of the consortium\u2019s work will continue the development of new materials to integrate into the project or create the infrastructure to use current materials for the demonstration.<\/p>\n

Researchers at NREL and ORNL are exploring hybrid designs, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to develop a framework to study the bigger picture. Simulation models and tools can assess the energy cost savings, peak load reduction, and needed life cycle updates and then advise how to drive down TES costs in real time. These advancements can aid in enhancing the effectiveness and affordability of TES and conversion systems and overcoming the obstacles preventing their mainstream adoption.<\/p>\n

More About Stor4Build<\/h2>\n

Stor4Build includes active participants from industry, utilities, nonprofit organizations, communities, building owners, academia, government, and other research institutions.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[vc_single_image image=”1283″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” parallax_scroll=”no” woodmart_inline=”no”]\t\t

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\u201cThermal energy research is necessary for the large-scale deployment of renewable energy, electrification, and building decarbonization,\u201d said Judith Vidal, NREL Building Thermal Energy Science group manager and Stor4Build co-director. \u201cWe need to combine forces and expertise to advance TES solutions from lab to market to all communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Work across the consortium is categorized into four research areas: materials optimization and manufacturing; modeling and analysis; system optimization and integration; and market, policy, and equity. Two steering councils (research and development and market adoption) support equity-centric scaled adoption of building energy storage technologies and market transformation to increase market viability.<\/p>\n

As part of its five-year plan, Stor4Build aims to develop, evaluate, and launch a community-scale demonstration of aggregated peak load shifting of 50\u2013100 kW while reducing the power consumption for thermal loads of individual homes by at least 50% for 4\u20136 hours.<\/p>\n

Funded by the Department of Energy Building Technologies Office, Stor4Build is co-led by NREL, Berkeley Lab, and ORNL.<\/p>\n

Contact Stor4Build@ee.doe.gov; for more information on ways to collaborate or to receive the latest consortium updates.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_zigzag]\t\t

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Source<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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