Experimental and modelled performance of a building-scale solar thermal system with seasonal storage water tank

Meister, Curtis; Beausoleil-Morrison, Ian

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2021.05.025

Cited by 27 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…As a result of the high storage temperatures, the stored heat is commonly utilised through district heating schemes [57,64,94]. Storage efficiencies between approximately 45 -65% are common [93, 96,97,98], with instances of up to 90% achieved [64].…”

Section: Pit/tank Thermal Energy Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

A review of thermal energy storage technologies for seasonal loops

Mahon

O’Connor

Friedrich

et al. 2022

Energy

163

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Section: Pit/tank Thermal Energy Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

A review of thermal energy storage technologies for seasonal loops

Mahon

O’Connor

Friedrich

et al. 2022

Energy

163

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“…As a result of my work, I performed the first detailed, long-term experimental study on buried water tank seasonal storage for typical energy-efficient single detached homes. Preliminary results of these experiments were presented at international conferences Beausoleil-Morrison, 2017, 2018), and final results were published in Solar Energy (Meister and Beausoleil-Morrison, 2021). These results provide a useful reference case for continued research in both real and simulated seasonal storage systems.…”

Section: Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage in Buried Water Tanks for Single Detached Houses

Meister¹

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Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) could allow solar energy to offset the majority of building energy loads in cold climates. This thesis outlines one of the first long-term, full-scale experimental studies on seasonal storage at the single-detached home scale. A solar thermal system couples a large evacuated tube solar array to both short term thermal storage tanks and a 36 m 3 buried water tank used for seasonal storage. Solar heat stored in these water tanks provides space heating (SH) and domestic hot water (DHW) to an energy-efficient two-storey research house in Ottawa, Canada. Long term experiments are described, including a one-year cycle of the system and long term heat loss monitoring. Results show that the as-built system can meet the majority of the building's SH and DHW loads, achieving a solar fraction of 68%. However, experiments revealed several areas of underperformance. Most prominently, faulty solar collectors limited the system's potential. To assess the true potential of the system, detailed energy models were developed and validated against experimental data. Simulated free of faults and underperforming components, the system has a predicted solar fraction of over 90%. Building simulation is further used to explore improved control and sizing of STES systems for single-detached homes. Control methods and decisions such as variable speed pumping, radiant floor supply temperature modulation, and storage setpoints are explored, among others. In regard to sizing, for the house under study, it is shown that solar fractions over 90% require relatively large (and potentially costly) STES tanks (>30 m 3 ). However, a moderately lower solar fraction of 70-80% may be obtained even with significantly smaller tanks (<10 m 3 ), provided an "oversized" solar thermal array is utilized, which may come at a significantly lower investment cost.Back in a simpler time, I sent Ian (or then, Prof. Beausoleil-Morrison) an email about grad school. He mentioned a little project with a water tank -sounded simple enough! Little did I know the next several years would be one of the most difficult and rewarding periods of my life. Ian, thank you for providing me with this opportunity, and for your patience, guidance and wisdom over these years.I'm lucky to work alongside an incredible group of people within SBES and the BPRC. Thanks to my lab mates, colleagues and friends for the coffee breaks, karaoke nights and games of Catan.

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“…16 As this system can generate high temperature hot water out of rich solar resources in summer, it offers a good solution to the seasonal unevenness of solar resources and greatly enhances solar fraction for winter heating, promising high application potential in building heating. 17 Compared with water heat storage, solid heat storage materials like magnesium oxide, which usually have the advantages of higher heat storage temperature and a smaller sized heat storage device, with overall heat storage capacity per unit of mass more than 5 times that of water, are more suitable for heating large-scale buildings. 18 Solid heat storage can be directly coupled with electric energy, by means of solar power, wind power and nighttime grid valley electricity.…”

Section: Sensible Heat Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Heat Storage Technologies In Building Clean Heatingmentioning

confidence: 99%