Issue |
Renew. Energy Environ. Sustain.
Volume 9, 2024
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 6 | |
Number of page(s) | 9 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/rees/2024005 | |
Published online | 21 March 2024 |
Research Article
Smoothing cooling demand of buildings with PCM thermal batteries
1
Isothermix, 9–11 Playford Crescent, Salisbury North, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
2
University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Blvd, Mawson Lakes, South Australia, Australia
* e-mail: JLee@isothermix.com
Received:
6
March
2023
Revised:
19
February
2024
Accepted:
22
February
2024
Escalating energy tariffs and peak cooling demands due to climate change along with expanding use of variable renewable energy supply are presenting new challenges and opportunities for air conditioning system operation and control. This research presents the outcome of an investigation into the use of a thermal battery using salt-hydrate phase change material (PCM) in commercial buildings. A 1.2 m3 modular thermal battery using 15 °C melting temperature salt-hydrate PCM has been designed and fabricated. Its cooling performance and feasibility of integration into a chilled water-cooling system of commercial buildings has been comprehensively investigated. This storage unit can accommodate approximately 52 kWh of energy, featuring a rapid heat discharge rate of 32.58 kW during the initial 30 min to effectively address sudden cooling demands. The overall heat discharge rate closely aligns with simulation results, reaching approximately 96% accuracy. This has been achieved through optimisation of the heat exchanger design through mathematical simulation, detailed testing to match various operational scenarios and evaluation of economic and peak load shifting benefits. The results demonstrate the environmental and economic effectiveness of the PCM thermal battery as an independent component in building cooling systems. It provides a timely response to peak cooling demand and improves thermal comfort of the buildings.
Key words: Phase change material / thermal battery / peak demand shifting / thermal comfort / commercial building
© S.H. Lee et al., Published by EDP Sciences, 2024
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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