IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v387y2025ics030626192500306x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigation of ventilation-coupled high energy density sensible thermal energy storage

Author

Listed:
  • James, Nelson
  • Huang, Ransisi
  • Woods, Jason
  • Kozubal, Eric

Abstract

Low-cost energy storage will play an important role in supporting the decarbonization of the energy sector. A novel approach to thermal energy storage for buildings is proposed, in which a tank of antifreeze liquid can be used to heat outdoor air in mechanical ventilation systems. If heated to a high enough temperature, the fluid can potentially undergo temperature swings of nearly 100 °C during discharge in cold climates. Because the energy density of sensible storage systems scales proportionally to the system temperature change, this concept has the potential to offer higher energy densities than other liquid-based sensible storage devices used in building applications. A one-dimensional numerical model of the storage system was developed and experimentally validated using 30 wt% (wt%) potassium acetate as an aqueous antifreeze solution. Using a commercial hot water tank, energy densities of 47.0 kW-hour per cubic meter (kWh/m3) were demonstrated in a laboratory setting. Material energy densities of approximately 74.7 (kWh/m3) were measured. Design improvements may boost this energy storage density even further. Because of the system's relative simplicity, ventilation-coupled sensible storage has the potential to be an easily deployable, low-cost energy storage solution for building systems.

Suggested Citation

  • James, Nelson & Huang, Ransisi & Woods, Jason & Kozubal, Eric, 2025. "Investigation of ventilation-coupled high energy density sensible thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 387(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:387:y:2025:i:c:s030626192500306x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125576
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626192500306X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125576?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nora Cadau & Andrea De Lorenzi & Agostino Gambarotta & Mirko Morini & Michele Rossi, 2019. "Development and Analysis of a Multi-Node Dynamic Model for the Simulation of Stratified Thermal Energy Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    2. De la Cruz-Loredo, Iván & Zinsmeister, Daniel & Licklederer, Thomas & Ugalde-Loo, Carlos E. & Morales, Daniel A. & Bastida, Héctor & Perić, Vedran S. & Saleem, Arslan, 2023. "Experimental validation of a hybrid 1-D multi-node model of a hot water thermal energy storage tank," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    3. Baeten, Brecht & Confrey, Thomas & Pecceu, Sébastien & Rogiers, Frederik & Helsen, Lieve, 2016. "A validated model for mixing and buoyancy in stratified hot water storage tanks for use in building energy simulations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 217-229.
    4. Rafique, M. Mujahid & Gandhidasan, P. & Bahaidarah, Haitham M.S., 2016. "Liquid desiccant materials and dehumidifiers – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 179-195.
    5. Lago, Jesus & De Ridder, Fjo & Mazairac, Wiet & De Schutter, Bart, 2019. "A 1-dimensional continuous and smooth model for thermally stratified storage tanks including mixing and buoyancy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 640-655.
    6. O’Connor, Dominic & Calautit, John Kaiser S. & Hughes, Ben Richard, 2016. "A review of heat recovery technology for passive ventilation applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1481-1493.
    7. Jason Woods & Allison Mahvi & Anurag Goyal & Eric Kozubal & Adewale Odukomaiya & Roderick Jackson, 2021. "Rate capability and Ragone plots for phase change thermal energy storage," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(3), pages 295-302, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Untrau, Alix & Sochard, Sabine & Marias, Frédéric & Reneaume, Jean-Michel & Le Roux, Galo A.C. & Serra, Sylvain, 2023. "A fast and accurate 1-dimensional model for dynamic simulation and optimization of a stratified thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    2. De la Cruz-Loredo, Iván & Zinsmeister, Daniel & Licklederer, Thomas & Ugalde-Loo, Carlos E. & Morales, Daniel A. & Bastida, Héctor & Perić, Vedran S. & Saleem, Arslan, 2023. "Experimental validation of a hybrid 1-D multi-node model of a hot water thermal energy storage tank," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    3. Rendall, Joseph & Abu-Heiba, Ahmad & Gluesenkamp, Kyle & Nawaz, Kashif & Worek, William & Elatar, Ahmed, 2021. "Nondimensional convection numbers modeling thermally stratified storage tanks: Richardson's number and hot-water tanks," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    4. Gao, D.C. & Sun, Y.J. & Ma, Z. & Ren, H., 2021. "A review on integration and design of desiccant air-conditioning systems for overall performance improvements," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Huang, Ransisi & Mahvi, Allison & James, Nelson & Kozubal, Eric & Woods, Jason, 2024. "Evaluation of phase change thermal storage in a cascade heat pump," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 359(C).
    6. Suranjan Salins, Sampath & Kumar, Shiva & Shetty, Sawan & Raghavendra, R., 2024. "Theoretical and experimental study of the effect of biomass based organic packing wettability on the LDDS and its life cycle analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    7. Tang, Yong & Wang, Zhichao & Zhou, Jinzhi & Zeng, Chao & Lyu, Weihua & Lu, Lin & Yuan, Yanping, 2024. "Experimental study on the performance of packed-bed latent thermal energy storage system employing spherical capsules with hollow channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    8. Kashish Kumar & Alok Singh, 2022. "Economic and Experimental Assessment of KCOOH Hybrid Liquid Desiccant-Vapor Compression System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-25, November.
    9. Fekadu, Geleta & Subudhi, Sudhakar, 2018. "Renewable energy for liquid desiccants air conditioning system: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 364-379.
    10. Zhuang, Chaoqun & Wang, Shengwei & Shan, Kui, 2019. "Adaptive full-range decoupled ventilation strategy and air-conditioning systems for cleanrooms and buildings requiring strict humidity control and their performance evaluation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 883-896.
    11. De Lorenzi, Andrea & Gambarotta, Agostino & Morini, Mirko & Rossi, Michele & Saletti, Costanza, 2020. "Setup and testing of smart controllers for small-scale district heating networks: An integrated framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    12. Florian Schlosser & Ron-Hendrik Peesel & Henning Meschede & Matthias Philipp & Timothy G. Walmsley & Michael R. W. Walmsley & Martin J. Atkins, 2019. "Design of Robust Total Site Heat Recovery Loops via Monte Carlo Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, March.
    13. Liu, Hongdou & Yang, Hongquan & Qi, Ronghui, 2020. "A review of electrically driven dehumidification technology for air-conditioning systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    14. Zhang, Xingxing & Lovati, Marco & Vigna, Ilaria & Widén, Joakim & Han, Mengjie & Gal, Csilla & Feng, Tao, 2018. "A review of urban energy systems at building cluster level incorporating renewable-energy-source (RES) envelope solutions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 1034-1056.
    15. Bui, Duc Thuan & Kum Ja, M. & Gordon, Jeffrey M. & Ng, Kim Choon & Chua, Kian Jon, 2017. "A thermodynamic perspective to study energy performance of vacuum-based membrane dehumidification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 106-115.
    16. He, Junjie & Chu, Wenxiao & Wang, Qiuwang, 2025. "Applications of low melting point alloy for electronic thermal management: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    17. Xinchen Zhou & Xiang Xu & Jiping Huang, 2023. "Adaptive multi-temperature control for transport and storage containers enabled by phase-change materials," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Gurubalan, A. & Maiya, M.P. & Geoghegan, Patrick J., 2019. "A comprehensive review of liquid desiccant air conditioning system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    19. Cai, Jinliang & Zheng, Xu & Pan, Quanwen & Li, Dan & Wang, Weining, 2025. "Advances in hygroscopic metal-organic frameworks for air, water & energy applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
    20. de Ridder, Fjo & van Roy, Jeroen & de Schutter, Bert & Mazairac, Wiet, 2021. "An exploration of shared heat storage systems in the greenhouse horticulture industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:387:y:2025:i:c:s030626192500306x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.