Modelling and Simulation of Seasonal, Solar Driven Sorption Thermal Energy Storage in Cold Climate Residential Application

Abstract

In this study, a sorption thermal energy storage system was modelled in TRNSYS and integrated with existing building performance models of a single-detached residential dwelling equipped with an array of evacuated-tube solar thermal collectors in Ottawa, Ontario. The proposed sorption system consists of a closed, modular reactor layout and uses a lithium chloride composite-salt-in-porous-matrix/water working pair and an idealized evaporative heat source. Results of a parametric study found that an overall solar fraction of 90% could be achieved for an energy efficient house with 2000 kg of sorbent material and a total system volume of 9.3 m 3 , and a 95.4% overall solar fraction could be achieved with 3000 kg of sorbent and a total system volume of 25.3 m 3 . The sorption system was able to meet an equivalent fraction of the building's energy demands as a 42.1 m 3 sensible STES while taking up only 60% as much volume.iii AcknowledgementsMany thanks to my supervisor Dr. Ian Beausoleil-Morrison for guiding my research, answering countless questions, and making the graduate studies process as painless as possible. I am grateful to all of the Sustainable Buildings and Energy Systems Group members, both past and present, whose research laid the groundwork for this study,