
The different kinds of thermal energy storage can be divided into three separate categories: sensible heat, latent heat, and thermo-chemical heat storage. Each of these has different advantages and disadvantages that determine their applications. Sensible heat storage (SHS) is the most straightforward method. It simply means the temperature of some medium is either increased or decreased. This type of storage is the most commerciall. Other sources of thermal energy for storage include heat or cold produced with heat pumps from off-peak, lower cost electric power, a practice called peak shaving; heat from combined heat and power (CHP) power plants; heat produced by renewable electrical energy that exceeds grid demand and waste heat from industrial processes. [pdf]
Heat storage, both seasonal and short term, is considered an important means for cheaply balancing high shares of variable renewable electricity production and integration of electricity and heating sectors in energy systems almost or completely fed by renewable energy.
Thermal energy can generally be stored in two ways: sensible heat storage and latent heat storage. It is also possible to store thermal energy in a combination of sensible and latent, which is called hybrid thermal energy storage. Figure 2.8 shows the branch of thermal energy storage methods.
As thermal energy storage is performed based on the heat changes in an energy storage medium, first, we need to define the branch of heat. There are two types of heat change in a material: sensible and latent heat. When energy is released from a material, the temperature of that material decreases.
It is possible to store any type of energy in heat storage systems. For instance, solar energy can be stored in the form of sensible heat in solar domestic hot water systems or solar ponds. In the cold thermal energy storage systems, electricity load can be stored. Also, heat storage can be used in the organic Rankine cycle to store electricity.
Chemical heat storage systems use reversible reactions which involve absorption and release of heat for the purpose of thermal energy storage. They have a middle range operating temperature between 200 °C and 400 °C. Below equation represents a generic chemical equation for TES function .
There are several applications for heat storage systems in residential and industrial settings. It is possible to store any type of energy in heat storage systems. For instance, solar energy can be stored in the form of sensible heat in solar domestic hot water systems or solar ponds.
We are deeply committed to excellence in all our endeavors.
Since we maintain control over our products, our customers can be assured of nothing but the best quality at all times.