Research on Operation Optimization of Heating System Based on Electric Storage Coupled Solar Energy and Air Source Heat Pump

For heating systems based on electricity storage coupled with solar energy and an air source heat pump(ECSA),choosing the appropriate combination of heat sources according to local conditions is the key to improving economic efficiency.In this paper,four cities in three climatic regions in China were selected,namely Nanjing in the hot summer and cold winter region,Tianjin in the cold region,Shenyang and Harbin in the severe cold winter region.The levelized cost of heat(LCOH)was used as the economic evaluation index,and the energy consumption and emissions of different pollutants were analyzed.TRNSYS software was used to simulate and analyze the system performance.The Hooke-Jeeves optimization algorithm and GenOpt software were used to optimize the system parameters.The results showed that ECSA systemhad an excellent operation effect in cold region and hot summer and cold winter region.Compared with ECS system,the systemenergy consumption,and the emission of different pollutants of ECSA system can be reduced by a maximum of 1.37 times.In cold region,the initial investment in an air source heat pump is higher due to the lower ambient temperature,resulting in an increase in the LOCH value of ECSA system.After the LOCH value of ECSA system in each region was optimized,the heating cost of the system was reduced,but also resulted in an increase in energy consumption and the emission of different pollutant gases.

Numerical Study of Thermal Performance of Phase Change Material Energy Storage Floor in Solar Water Heating System

The conventional solar heating floor system contains a big water tank to store energy in the day time for heating at night,which takes much building space and is very heavy.In order to reduce the water tank volume even to cancel the tank,a novel structure of integrated water pipe floor heating system using shape-stabilized phase change materials(SSPCM)for thermal energy storage was developed.A numerical model was developed to analyze the performance of SSPCM floor heating system under the intermittent heating condition,which was verified by our experimental data.The thermal performance of the heating system and the effects of various factors on it were analyzed numerically.The factors including phase transition temperature,heat of fusion,thermal conductivity of SSPCM and thermal conductivity of the decoration material were analyzed.The results show that tm and kd are the most import influencing factors on the thermal performance of SSPCM floor heating system,since they determine the heat source temperature and thermal resistance between SSPCM plates and indoor air,respectively.Hm should be large to store enough thermal energy in the day time for nighttimes heating.The effects of kp can be ignored in this system.The SSPCM floor heating system has potential of making use of the daytime solar energy for heating at night efficiently in various climates when its structure is properly designed.

Performance of Thermal Energy Storage Unit Using Solid Ammoniated Salt (CaCl₂-NH₃System)

The exothermic chemical reaction of CaCl2 (calcium chloride) with NH3 (ammonia) can be utilized as an energy storage system. Since this reaction is a typical gas-solid reaction, the reaction rate is controlled by the heat transfer rate. In order to improve the low heat transfer rate of the ammoniation and the deammoniation of CaCl2, the influence of a heat transfer media (Ti: titanium) on the heat transfer rate of the solid ammoniated salt (CaCl2&#46mNH3) was studied and tested experimentally. The performance tests were carried out under the conditions of various weight ratios of Ti. No decrease of the activation of chemical reaction and no corrosion of experimental apparatus were observed on the repeated runs (≥30 times each). The heat transfer rate of ammoniated salt was greatly improved by adding Ti under the constant pressure (0.5 MPa). The reaction time required for the ammoniation of CaCl2 mixed with Ti was approximately 16% - 54% shorter than that of CaCl2 alone, and the reaction time required for the deammoniation was also approximately 19% - 59% shorter than that of CaCl2 alone.

Influence of the Fin Design on the Melting and Solidification Process of NANO3 in a Thermal Energy Storage System

The melting and solidification process of sodium nitrate, which is used as energy storage material, is studied in a vertical arranged energy storage device with two different bimetal finned tube designs （with and without additional lateral fins） for enhancing the heat transfer. The finned tube design consists of a plain steel tube while the material for the longitudinal （axial） fins is aluminum. The investigation analyses the influence of the lateral fins on the charging and discharging process. Three-dimensional transient numerical simulations are performed using the ANSYS Fluent 14.5 software. The results show that, every obstruction given by lateral fins reduces the melting and solidification velocity in direction to the outer shell.

Heat transfer and parametric studies of an encapsulated phase change material based cool thermal energy storage system

This work investigates the transient behaviour of a phase change material based cool thermal energy storage (CTES) system comprised of a cylindrical storage tank filled with encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) in spherical container integrated with an ethylene glycol chiller plant. A simulation program was developed to evaluate the temperature histories of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and the phase change material at any axial location during the charging period. The results of the model were validated by comparison with experimental results of temperature profiles of HTF and PCM. The model was also used to investigate the effect of porosity, Stanton number, Stefan number and Peclet number on CTES system performance. The results showed that increase in porosity contributes to a higher rate of energy storage. However, for a given geometry and heat transfer coefficient, the mass of PCM charged in the unit decreases as the increase in porosity. The St number as well as the Ste number is also influential in the performance of the unit. The model is a convenient and more suitable method to determine the heat transfer characteristics of CTES system. The results reported are much useful for designing CTES system.

Seasonal Behavior of Pavement in Geothermal Snow-Melting System with Solar Energy Storage

A two-dimensional unsteady heat transfer model of pavement of geothermal road snow-melting system (GRSS) with solar energy storage is established and numerical simulation is carried out based on annual hourly meteorological data and boundary conditions. Simulated results show that ground surface temperature and heating flux decrease with the increase of buried depth, but increase with the increase of fluid temperature in winter. Heat-extracted amount and efficiency drop with the increase of fluid temperature in summer.Compared with ambient temperature, solar radiation has more direct influence on the heat-extracted flux of pipe walls of GRSS in summer. The relationships among maximum and idling snow-melting load, the rate of snowfall, ambient temperature and wind speed are made clear, which provides necessary references for the design and optimization of a practical road snow-melting system.

Measurement of Thermophysical Property of Energy Storage System (CaCl₂&#46NH₃System)

In order to measure the thermophysical properties of ammoniated salt (CaCl2.mNH3: m = 4, 8) as an energy storage system utilizing natural resources, the measurement unit was developed, and the thermophysical properties (effective thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity) of CaCl2.mNH3 and CaCl2.mNH3 with heat transfer media (Ti: titanium) were measured by the any heating method. The effective thermal conductivities of CaCl2.4NH3 + Ti and CaCl2.8NH3 + Ti were 0.14 - 0.17 and 0.18 - 0.20 W/(m.K) in the measuring temperature range of 290 - 350 K, respectively, and these values were approximately 1.5 - 2.2 times larger than those of CaCl2.4NH3 and CaCl2.8NH3. The effective thermal diffusivities were 0.22 - 0.24 × 10-6 and 0.18 - 0.19 × 10-6 m2/sin the measuring temperature range of 290 - 350 K, respectively, and these values were approximately 1.3 - 1.5 times larger than those of CaCl2.4NH3 and CaCl2.8NH3. The obtained results show that the thermophysical properties have a dependence on the bulk densities and specific heats of CaCl2.mNH3 and CaCl2.mNH3 + Ti. It reveals that the thermophysical properties in this measurement would be the valuable design factors to develop energy and H2 storage systems utilizing natural resources such as solar energy.

Research on Operation of Electrothermal Integrated Energy System Including Heat Pump and Thermal Storage Units Based on Capacity Planning

In view of the Three North areas existing wind power absorption and environment pollution problems,the previous scholars have improved the wind abandon problem by adding electrothermal coupling equipment or optimizing power grid operation.In this paper,an electrothermal integrated energy system including heat pump and thermal storage units was proposed.The scheduling model was based on the load data and the output characteristics of power units,each power unit capacity was programmed without constraints,and the proposed scheduling model was compared with the traditional combined heat and power scheduling model.Results showed that the investment and pollutant discharge of the system was reduced respectively.Wind power was fully absorbed.Compared with the traditional thermal power unit,the proportion of the output was significantly decreased by the proposed model.The proposed system could provide a new prospect for wind power absorption and environment protection.

Electricity Storage With High Roundtrip Efficiency in a Reversible Solid Oxide Cell Stack

We theoretically investigate the electricity storage/generation in a reversible solid oxide cell stack. The system heat is for the first time tentatively stored in a phase-change metal when the stack is operated to generate electricity in a fuel cell mode and then reused to store electricity in an electrolysis mode. The state of charge （H2 frication in cathode） effectively enhances the open circuit voltages （OCVs） while the system gas pressure in electrodes also increases the OCVs. On the other hand, a higher system pressure facilitates the species diffusion in electrodes that therefore accordingly improve electrode polarizations. With the aid of recycled system heat, the roundtrip efficiency reaches as high as 92% for the repeated electricity storage and generation.

Operating performance of novel reverse-cycle defrosting method based on thermal energy storage for air source heat pump

To solve the fundamental problem of insufficient heat available during defrosting while ensuring the efficient and safe system operation for air-source heat pumps (ASHPs). A novel reverse-cycle defrosting (NRCD) method based on thermal energy storage to eliminate frost off the outdoor coil surface was developed. Comparative experiments using both the stand reverse cycle defrosting (SRCD) method and the NRCD method were carried out on an experimental ASHP unit with a nominal 2.5 kW heating capacity. The results indicate that during defrosting operation, using the NRCD method improves discharge and suction pressures by 0.24 MPa and 0.19 MPa, respectively, shortens defrosting duration by 60%, and reduces the defrosting energy consumption by 48.1% in the experimental environment, compared with those by the use of SRCD method. Therefore, using the NRCD method can shorten the defrosting duration, improve the indoor thermal comfort, and reduce the defrosting energy consumption in defrosting.

Performance of underground heat storage system in a double-film-covered greenhouse

An underground heat storage system in a double-film-covered greenhouse and an adjacent greenhouse without the heat storage system were designed on the basis of plant physiology to reduce the energy consumption in greenhouses. The results indicated that the floor temperature was respectively 5.2℃, 4.6℃ and 2.0 ℃ higher than that of the soil in the adjacent reference greenhouse after heat storage in a clear, cloudy and overcast sky in winter. Results showed that the temperature and humidity were feasible for plant growth in the heat saving greenhouse.

Numerical Analysis of Doublet Wells for Cold Energy Storage on Heat Damage Treatment in Deep Mines

Deep mining is an inevitable tendency in the development of coal industry. There are many heat damage problems with the increase of mining depth. The technology of using doublet wells, together with Heat Exchange Machine Systems （HEMSs）, to store cold energy is a key to solve the heat damage problems in deep mines. Based on the geological conditions, thermodynamic and hydraulic parameters of Jiahe Mine, the isotherms in the period of cold energy storage and refrigeration and the volumes of cold water within different temperature ranges of the cold energy storage well were numerically analyzed. The results show that 1） with the same pumped and injected water volumes, the lower the temperature of injected water is, the larger the volume.of cold water in the cold energy storage well is. With the larger volume, the effect of cold energy storage is better. 2） the larger the volumes of pumped and reinjected water frigeration is better. And 3） without disturbance, the volume and temperature of cold water in the cold energy storage well can keep unchanged or have only a little change for a long time. Therefore the technology of doublet wells for cold energy storage is feasible and the cold energy storage aquifers can meet the requirement of the technology.

Simulation and experiment of a photovoltaic—air source heat pump system with thermal energy storage for heating and domestic hot water supply

For China,the development of low-energy buildings is one of the necessary routes for achieving carbon neutrality.Combining photovoltaic(PV)with air source heat pump(ASHP)yields a great potential in providing heating and domestic hot water(DHW)supply in non-central heating areas.However,the diurnal and seasonal inconsistencies between solar availability and building heat load can severely affect the efficacy of solar energy systems.This study creates and numerically simulates a PV-ASHP system with thermal energy storage(TES)in transient system simulation software,TRNSYS.Experimental studies are conducted to validate the simulation model.The system’s yearly operational characteristics are simulated to reveal the energy conversion relationship between the system’s thermoelectric storage and heating and DHW demand.The results show that the synergy between heating and DHW simultaneously improves the direct utilization of solar energy compared to single heating.The yearly self-consumption and self-satisfaction rates of PV and the COP of the ASHP increase by 131.25%,10.53%and 9.56%,respectively.Solar energy contributes 55.54%to the system,with a PV capacity of 82 W per square meter of building area.This study provides fresh approaches to developing flexible building-integrated PV-ASHP technologies and balance of the energy exchange among the PV,building load and TES.

Thermal energy storage inside the chamber with a brick wall using the phase change process of paraffinic materials:A numerical simulation

Phase change materials are one of the potential resources to replace fossil fuels in regards of supplying the energy of buildings.Basically,these materials absorb or release heat energy with the help of their latent heat.Phase change materials have low thermal conductivity and this makes it possible to use the physical properties of these materials in the tropical regions where the solar radiation is more direct and concentrated over a smaller area.In this theoretical work,an attempt has been made to study the melting process of these materials by applying constant heat flux and temperature.It was found that by increasing the thickness of phase change materials’layers,due to the melting,more thermal energy is stored.Simultaneously it reduces the penetration of excessive heat into the chamber,so that by increasing the thickness of paraffin materials up to 20 mm,the rate of temperature reduction reaches more than 18%.It was also recognized that increasing the values of constant input heat flux increases buoyancy effects.Increasing the Stefan number from 0.1 to 0.3,increases the temperature by 6%.

Analysis and Economic Evaluation of Hourly Operation Strategy Based on MSW Classification and LNG Multi-Generation System

In this study,a model of combined cooling,heating and power system with municipal solid waste(MSW)and liquefied natural gas(LNG)as energy sources was proposed and developed based on the energy demand of a large community,andMSW was classified and utilized.The systemoperated by determining power by heating load,and measures were taken to reduce operating costs by purchasing and selling LNG,natural gas(NG),cooling,heating,and power.Based on this system model,three operation strategies were proposed based on whether MSW was classified and the length of kitchen waste fermentation time,and each strategy was simulated hourly throughout the year.The results showed that the strategy of MSW classified and centralized fermentation of kitchen waste in summer(i.e.,strategy 3)required the least total amount of LNG for the whole year,which was 47701.77 t.In terms of total annual cost expenditure,strategy 3 had the best overall economy,with the lowest total annual expenditure of 2.7730×108 RMB at LNG and NG unit prices of 4 and 4.2 RMB/kg,respectively.The lower heating value of biogas produced by fermentation of kitchen waste from MSW being classified was higher than that of MSW before being classified,so the average annual thermal economy of the operating strategy of MSW being classified was better than that of MSW not being classified.Among the strategies in which MSW was classified and utilized,strategy 3 could better meet the load demand of users in the corresponding season,and thus this strategy had better thermal economy than the strategy of year-round fermentation of kitchen waste(i.e.,strategy 2).The hourly analysis data showed that the net electrical efficiency of the system varies in the same trend as the cooling,heating and power loads in all seasons,while the relationship between the energy utilization efficiency and load varied from season to season.This study can provide guidance for the practical application of MSW being classified in the system.

Numerical Assessment on Fin Design Parameters Employed for Augmentation of Natural Convection and Fluid Flow in a Horizontal Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage Unit

The present work focus on the thermal performance of a horizontal concentric heat exchanger, which is numerically investigated to evaluate the heat transfer enhancement process by adding fins with different configurations. As a part of this investigation, the melting process is simulated from the onset of phase change to the offset involving physics of natural convection in PCM fluid pool. The investigation is carried out by ANSYS Fluent code, which is an efficient numerical analysis tool for investigating fluid flow and convective heat transfer phenomena during PCM melting process. The attention is mainly focused on the extension of contact area between the PCM body and cylindrical capsule to enhance heat transfer rates to PCM bodies during the melting process by employing longitudinal fins in the enclosed capsule. Two commercial PCMs: RT50 and C58, are introduced in a 2D cylindrical pipe with their thermo-physical properties as input for modelling. The selected modelling approach is validated against experimental result with respect to the total enthalpy changes that qualify our model to run in the proceeding calculation. It is ensured that an isothermal boundary condition (373 K) is applied to the inner pipe throughout the series of simulation cases and the corresponding Rayleigh number (Ra) ranges from 104 - 105 and Prandtl number (Pr) 0.05 - 0.07. Finally, parametric study is carried out to evaluate the effect of length, thickness and number of longitudinal fins on the thermal performance of PCM-LHTES (Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage) system associated with the physics of natural convection process during PCM melting.

Sensitivity analysis of borehole thermal energy storage: examining key factors for system optimization

Borehole thermal energy storage(BTES)systems have garnered significant attention owing to their efficacy in storing thermal energy for heating and cooling applications.Accurate modeling is paramount for ensuring the precise design and operation of BTES systems.This study conducts a sensitivity analysis of BTES modeling by employing a comparative investigation of five distinct parameters on a wedge-shaped model,with implications extendable to a cylindrical configuration.The parameters examined included two design factors(well spacing and grout thermal conductivity),two operational variables(charging and discharging rates),and one geological attribute(soil thermal conductivity).Finite element simulations were carried out for the sensitivity analysis to evaluate the round-trip efficiency,both on a per-cycle basis and cumulatively over three years of operation,serving as performance metrics.The results showed varying degrees of sensitivity across different models to changes in these parameters.In particular,the round-trip efficiency exhibited a greater sensitivity to changes in spacing and volumetric flow rate.Furthermore,this study underscores the importance of considering the impact of the soil and grout-material thermal conductivities on the BTES-system performance over time.An optimized scenario is modelled and compared with the base case,over a comparative assessment based on a 10-year simulation.The analysis revealed that,at the end of the 10-year period,the optimized BTES model achieved a cycle efficiency of 83.4%.This sensitivity analysis provides valuable insights into the merits and constraints of diverse BTES modeling methodologies,aiding in the selection of appropriate modeling tools for BTES system design and operation.

Fast Calculation Method of Energy Flow for Combined Electro-Thermal System and Its Application

In recent years, Combined electro-thermal system has developed rapidly. In order to provide the initial data for the analysis of the combined electro-thermal system, a practical energy flow calculation method for the combined electro-thermal system is proposed in this paper. Based on the detailed analysis of the topology structure of the heating network and its hydraulic and thermodynamic model, the forward-backward sweep method for the heat flow of the heating network is established, which is more suitable for the actual radial heating network. The electric and thermal coupling model for heating source, such as thermoelectric unit and electric boiler is established, and the heat flow of heating network and the power flow of power grid are calculated orderly, thus a fast calculation method for the combined electro-thermal system is formed. What’s more, a combined electro-thermal system with two-stage peak-shaving electric boiler is used as the example system. This paper validates the effectiveness and rapidity of this method through the example system, and analyzes the influence for the energy flow of combined electro-thermal system caused by the operating parameters such as the installation location of electric boiler, the outlet water temperature of heat source and the outlet flow rate, etc.

Economic Model Predictive Control for Hot Water Based Heating Systems in Smart Buildings

This paper presents a study to optimize the heating energy costs in a residential building with varying electricity price signals based on an Economic Model Predictive Controller (EMPC). The investigated heating system consists of an air source heat pump (ASHP) incorporated with a hot water tank as active Thermal Energy Storage (TES), where two optimization problems are integrated together to optimize both the ASHP electricity consumption and the building heating consumption utilizing a heat dynamic model of the building. The results show that the proposed EMPC can save the energy cost by load shifting compared with some reference cases.

Thermal Distribution Performance of NPCM: NaCl, NaNO₃and KNO₃in the Thermal Storage System

The experiment is studied on thermal distribution in the thermal energy storage system with non-phase change materials (NPCM): NaNO3, KNO3 and NaCl in the range of 25°C - 250°C. The cylindrical storage system was made of stainless steel with 25.6 cm-diameter and 26.8 cm-height that was contained of these NPCM. There was one pipe for heat transfer fluid (HTF) with 1.27 cm-diameter that manipulates in the storage tank and submerges to NPCM. The inner pipe was connected to the 2.27 cm-diameter outer HTF tube. The tube was further connected to the thermal pump, heater and load. The pump circulates the synthetic oil (Thermia oil) within the pipe for heat transferring purposes (charging and discharging). An electric heater is used as the heat source. The limitation of the charging oil temperature is maintained at 250°C with the flow rates in the range of 0.58 to 1.45 kg/s whereas the inlet temperature of the discharge oil is maintained at 25°C. Thermal performances of TES (thermal energy storage) such as charging and discharging times, radial thermal distribution, energy storage capacity and energy efficiency have been evaluated. The experimental results show that the radial thermal distribution of NaCl for TR inside, TR middle and TR outside was optimum of temperature down to NaNO3 and KNO3 respectively. Comparison of NPCMs with oil, flow rates for NaCl were charging and discharging heat transfer than KNO3 and NaNO3. The thermal stored NaCl ranged from 5712 - 5912 J;KNO3 ranged from 7350 - 7939 J and NaNO3 ranged from 6623 - 6930 J respectively. The thermal energy stored for experimental results got with along the KNO3, NaNO3 and NaCl respectively. The thermal energy efficiency of NaCl, KNO3 and NaNO3 was in the range 66% - 70%.