thermal storage

Computer classrooms present challenges for cooling because internal heat gains higher than typical classrooms. Focused on thermal comfort, this paper presents the results of a field and computational study of a computer seminar room in west England. A mechanical ventilation system with phase change materials thermal storage has been installed in the room to provide thermal comfort and indoor air quality. Monitored data of internal air temperature, CO2 and humidity were analysed and compared with current requirements for indoor air quality and comfort.

One-year monitoring results of environmental conditions in a UK seminar room where the Cool-phase® ventilation and PCM battery system has been installed indicate thermal comfort and good indoor air quality throughout the year. CFD analysis indicates that air temperature and air distribution is uniform at occupants’ level.

A “heat recovery hybrid ventilation system” is the combination of passive stack ventilation and mechanical push-pull ventilation. Two heat storage boxes are connected to the natural EA stack and the underfloor natural OA duct. The alternation is done periodically in a way of that the outdoor air is drawn through one of 2 boxes contains earth tiles and the indoor air is exhausted through the other box.

The principle of the thermal storage in building mass (TSBM) is storing thermal energy in building thermal mass, such as concrete slab, at night and discharging thermal energy naturally in daytime. It is expected that the thermal storage will be effective for reducing the heating load at the beginning of the operation in a cold region. Adding to that, the indoor thermal environment will improve because it heats up the cold floor slab directly. The simulation model was constituted to recreate features of TSBM, which were observed in a field survey in an office building.

In this paper, we present a heating system with thermal storage using a heat pump which supplies heat to the thermal storage equipment installed in the crawl space of residential house insulated at the foundation walls. This system can charge heat by using cheap nighttime electricity and discharge the stored heat at daytime.

In Mediterranean regions, characterized by a hot and humid climate during summer, the exposure of facades and the position of opening windows are important parameters to enhance passive cooling in the building using buoyancy-driven airflow. An example is the double skin façade which is directly exposed to solar radiation.

Chinese kang, an ancient home heating system, is an integrated system for cooking, sleeping,domestic heating and ventilation. It is estimated that in 2004 there were all together 66.85 millionChinese kangs used by 43.64 million rural families and 174 million people. Chinese kang is potentiallyan energy-saving heating system, which uses high thermal mass to store surplus heat from stoveduring cooking and releases it during the rest time for home and bed heating. Such a widely used ruraldomestic heating system is rarely mentioned in the open research literature.

This paper provides experimental results derived through field testing of a partial load solar energized cooling system in Madrid during the summer period of 2003. Solar hot water was delivered by means of a 50 m2 array of flat-plate collectors to drive a single-effect (LiBr/H2O) absorption chiller of 35 kW nominal cooling capacity. Thermal energy was stored in a 2 m3 stratified hot water storage tank during hours of bright sunshine.

The paper compares the design and measured performance of the relatively conventional Autonomous House and the earth-sheltered Hockerton Housing Project, both in Nottinghamshire, England. These are both attempts by the authors at making houses for the United Kingdom climate that need no non-renewable energy inputs, but are comparable in cost with conventional houses. The conclusion is that high thermal mass combined with superinsulation is effective in giving "zero heating" performance, but it makes sense only if the house is designed for an extremely long life.