Experimental validation of a numerical model for a sand-based seasonal thermal energy storage

Abstract

A research facility with solar thermal collector system and a water-saturated, sand-based seasonal thermal energy storage (SSTES) is used to provide space heating and domestic hot water heating to homes in cold climates. A 3D finite difference model of the heat transfer in and around the SSTES is presented and validated with measured data. The SSTES has lost moisture over time, making its thermal properties difficult to estimate. Additionally, the experimental data shows the SSTES losing heat at twice the expected rate, potentially due to incorrect thermal parameters from the manufacturer and the SSTES insulation being damaged or degraded. The final numerical model was validated over a 163-day period where energy was being injected into and extracted from the SSTES. It was found that the seasonal performance of the SSTES could be predicted by a conduction-only heat transfer model, and this model is suitable to be included in BPS tools.

Keywords:

• Seasonal thermal energy storage
• residential energy storage
• finite difference model
• transient heat transfer model
• sand heat transfer
• experimental validation

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Research Fund, and Urbandale Construction for their significant contributions towards the realization of the Urbandale Centre for Home Energy Research. Graduate student support was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council through Ian Beausoleil-Morrison’s Discovery Grant and through the Smart Net-Zero Energy Buildings Strategic Research Network. Additional thanks to Prof. Sheryl Boyle and Diana Velasquez for permission to use the graphic in Figure 2.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the Harvard Dataverse at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/5KR8IL.

Notes

1 https://github.com/rpinto73/SSTES_FDM.

2 This data is openly available in the Harvard Dataverse at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/5KR8IL.

Additional information

Funding

The authors wish to acknowledge the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Research Fund, and Urbandale Construction for their significant contributions towards the realization of the Urbandale Centre for Home Energy Research. Graduate student support was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council through Ian Beausoleil-Morrison's Discovery Grant and through the Smart Net-Zero Energy Buildings Strategic Research Network.