A Parametric Study of a Solar-Assisted House Heating System with a Seasonal Underground Thermal Energy Storage Tank

Le Minh Nhut,Youn Cheol Park,Waseem Raza

doi:10.3390/su12208686

Abstract

The requirement for energy is increasing worldwide as populations and economies develop. Reasons for this increase include global warming, climate change, an increase in electricity demand, and paucity of fossil fuels. Therefore, research in renewable energy technology has become a central topic in recent studies. In this study, a solar-assisted house heating system with a seasonal underground thermal energy storage tank is proposed based on the reference system to calculate the insulation thickness effect, the collector area, and an underground storage tank volume on the system performance according to real weather conditions at Jeju Island, South Korea. For this purpose, a mathematical model was established to calculate its operating performance. This mathematical model used the thermal response factor method to calculate the heat load and heat loss of the seasonal underground thermal energy storage tank. The results revealed that on days with different weather conditions, namely, clear weather, intermittent clouds sky, and overcast sky, the obtained solar fraction was 45.8%, 17.26%, and 0%, respectively. Using this method, we can save energy, space, and cost. This can then be applied to the solar-assisted house heating system in South Korea using the seasonal underground thermal energy storage tank.

Highlights

Domestic hot water and space heating production in residential buildings provides roughly 60% of the total energy requirement in cold climate nation-states and about 43% in modest and warm weather countries in 2010 [1]
This study aims to evaluate the insulation thickness effect, the collector area, and, the volume of seasonal underground thermal energy storage tank (SUTEST) through system performance
This work proposes a solar-assisted heating system for a residential house with SUTEST, in which the heat load of the house and heat loss of the SUTEST were evaluated by the thermal response factor method

Summary

Introduction

Domestic hot water and space heating production in residential buildings provides roughly 60% of the total energy requirement in cold climate nation-states and about 43% in modest and warm weather countries in 2010 [1]. The fast and intensive use of hydrocarbons causes substantial damage, threatens the energy supply chain, and raises energy prices and environmental pollutions Such economic and environmental issues drive the quest for alternative ways of providing energy sources, which requires conversion to clean and sustainable renewable energy assets that will never be exhausted. The energy needs for space heating of buildings can be supplied by solar radiation, employing various arrangements from the seasonal underground thermal energy storage tank (SUTEST) [4]. It is used to store heat on an hourly, daily, weekly, and seasonal basis and is contributes towards a worldwide energy conversion [5] It has already been described as one of the safest, most efficient, and most cost-effective space heating and cooling systems [6]. There has been a trend to utilize the underground storage in a house as a SUTEST for solar-assisted heating systems to raise the consumption of solar thermal energy using seasonal solar thermal energy storage

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Conclusion