Thermal Storage solutions
How Thermal Storage Solutions Improve HP Efficiency
If you have a refrigeration facility in your business, you will know too well how costly they can be to run. At SmartConsult we have designed a solution to improve the energy efficiency of heap pumps with a thermal storage solution. Thermal storage is a useful way of storing excess hot or chilled water for later use to improve the efficiency of heat pumps and swimming pool heating systems. The storage in effect is a thermal battery.
SmartConsult’s design and control system can be used in both a domestic environment to store and time-shift hot water heating for swimming pools, and or in a commercial setting to increase or decrease the inlet temperatures for water to water heat pumps. So, what are the principals behind the design and how they integrate with a heat pump system in both commercial and domestic settings?
Thermal Storage Commercial Solutions
For a commercial solution, most non packaged water to water heat pumps use cooling towers and heat absorbers to control the inlet temperatures of the heat pumps which determines the COP and relative efficiency of the heat pumps. The SmartConsult design also incorporates solar panels to power the heat pumps. The assumption is that most four pipe systems have either an excess of hot or cold capacity depending on the time of year whose excess energy can be stored as hot or cold water.
We found that by using hot and cold-water storage we can improve the efficiency of the heat pumps by between 10-15%. This also allows for the installation of fewer heat absorbers and possibly a smaller cooling tower.
Each site is different, and our engineers will assess and design a suitable system for each location. At SmartConsult we have designed a SCADA controller specifically for this application which can be integrated with most commercial BMS systems.
Thermal storage can result in the reduction of operating costs by producing and storing the energy during periods of low energy supply cost (off-peak/night time/solar) and utilising the stored energy during periods of high energy supply cost (peak/day time). The heat stored is defined as Sensible Heat Storage.
Sensible Heat Storage
Sensible heat storage refers to the heat storage within a medium that does not result in a change of state (e.g. liquid remains liquid or solid remains solid). The main sources of sensible heat storage applicable to commercial buildings are:
Water Storage – Due to the high heat capacity of water, tanks are commonly used as the thermal storage medium within chilled water and hot water systems.
There are many examples of this type of system being used overseas for the following application.
The two common thermal storage strategies employed are:
- Load Levelling Strategy
- Load Shifting Strategy
To request a full copy of our Thermal Storage Solutions Report please click here to contact us today or call 1300 344 388.
Customised solutions for your facility
We are currently offering local businesses who have refrigeration facilities an on-site assessment. We take a close look at your existing systems and recommend ways to improve overall energy efficiency.
To be a part of this case study research and to find out more about how a thermal storage solution can improve the energy efficiency of heat pumps click here to contact us today or call 1300 344 388.
