Thermal energy storage uses a thermal reservoir to store energy for later use. Water’s ability to store large amounts of heat or cold is used, with air conditioning systems being a common application. Ocean thermal energy conversion also utilizes natural thermal energy storage in the ocean.
Thermal energy storage is a means of storing energy for later use, by means of a thermal reservoir. There are several types of thermal tanks, some kept at a higher temperature than their surroundings, others at a lower temperature. Using stored ice or cold water to cool buildings or other environments during the day is an application of thermal energy storage. Another application is the accumulation of heat from systems that capture solar thermal energy, for example in an insulated storage tank for the subsequent heating of buildings and other environments, or the production of hot water for commercial or residential use.
The technology behind thermal energy storage is usually based on the ability of water to store large amounts of heat or cold. This property of water is called the heat of fusion. This is a measure of how much heat energy a substance must absorb to change from a solid to a liquid state, or vice versa. A relatively small volume of water can store a large amount of energy. A typical measure of the heat of fusion might be the amount of energy that can be stored by, say, a cubic meter of water, which is 93 kilowatts.
One of the most common industrial applications of thermal energy storage is that of air conditioning systems for large buildings. In commercial buildings, air conditioning systems are often the biggest contributors to daytime electricity consumption, especially in the summer. Thus, using thermal energy storage in the form of ice can allow air conditioning units to operate more economically by running cooling equipment during the night, when electricity may be cheaper, and storing energy in the form of ice for use in the cooling air during the day.
Ocean thermal energy conversion is a technology that takes advantage of the natural thermal energy storage that exists in the ocean. Using this technology, electricity can be generated by a heat engine driven by the temperature difference between shallow and deeper waters. Generally, deep ocean water is colder than water at shallower depths. This use of thermal energy storage works on similar principles to those used in turbines, by transferring thermal energy into work energy and then into electrical energy.
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