Latent Thermal Energy Storage Application in a Residential Building at a Mediterranean Climate

Luis Coelho, Maria K. Koukou, George Dogkas, John Konstantaras, Michail Gr. Vrachopoulos, Amandio Rebola, Anastasia Benou, John Choropanitis, Constantine Karytsas, Constantinos Sourkounis and Zenon Chrysanthou
Additional contact information
Luis Coelho: ESTSetúbal, CINEA, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (IPS), 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal
Maria K. Koukou: Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, General (Core) Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Psachna Campus, 34400 Evia, Greece
George Dogkas: Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, General (Core) Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Psachna Campus, 34400 Evia, Greece
John Konstantaras: Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, General (Core) Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Psachna Campus, 34400 Evia, Greece
Michail Gr. Vrachopoulos: Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, General (Core) Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Psachna Campus, 34400 Evia, Greece
Amandio Rebola: ESTSetúbal, CINEA, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (IPS), 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal
Anastasia Benou: Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES), Marathonos 19th Km, 19009 Pikermi, Greece
John Choropanitis: Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES), Marathonos 19th Km, 19009 Pikermi, Greece
Constantine Karytsas: Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES), Marathonos 19th Km, 19009 Pikermi, Greece
Constantinos Sourkounis: Institute for Power Systems Technology and Power Mechatronics, Ruhr-University, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Zenon Chrysanthou: Z&X Mechanical Installations Limited 12 Agapinoros Str, Paphos 8049, Cyprus

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: An innovative thermal energy storage system (TESSe2b) was retrofitted in a residential building in Cyprus with a typical Mediterranean climate. The system comprises flat-plate solar collectors, thermal energy storage tanks filled with organic phase change material, a geothermal installation consisting of borehole heat exchangers with and without phase change material and a ground source heat pump, an advanced self-learning control system, backup devices and several other auxiliary components. The thermal energy storage tanks cover the building’s needs at certain temperature ranges (10–17 °C for cooling, 38–45 °C for heating and 50–60 °C for domestic hot water). A performance evaluation was conducted by comparing the TESSe2b system with the existing conventional heating and cooling system. The systems were simulated using commercial software, and the performance of the systems and the building’s energy needs were calculated. Based on the energy quantities, an economic analysis followed. The equivalent annual primary energy consumption with the conventional system resulted in being 43335 kWh, while for the storage system, it was only 8398 kWh. The payback period for the storage system was calculated to be equal to 9.76 years. The operation of the installed storage system provided data for calculations of the seasonal performance factor and storage performance. The seasonal performance factor values were very high during June, July and August, since the TESSe2b system works very efficiently in cooling mode due to the very high temperatures that dominate in Cyprus. The measured stored thermal energy for cooling, heating and domestic hot water resulted in being 14.5, 21.9 and 6.2 kWh, respectively. Moreover, the total volume of the phase change material thermal energy storage tanks for heating and domestic hot water was calculated to be roughly several times smaller than the volume of a tank with water as a storage medium.

Keywords: latent heat storage; solar; geothermal; paraffin; Mediterranean climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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