The use of thermal storage to improve commercial boiler plant operations

Abstract

This paper describes operating experiences with a thermal storage heating system installed to heat an office complex. An existing single pipe radiator system was modified to include heat storage equipment, and the plant has been monitored since February 1983. It has been found that this unsophisticated installation gave a 10-25 per cent improvement in efficiency over the original boiler system and possibly 10-13 per cent improvement over a compensated system. These gains could be further increased by obvious modifications. The system offers further advantages in rapid heat-up times and the possibility of reducing peaks in the national gas supply pattern. A disadvantage was the capital cost of the thermal store, which was 30 per cent greater than the cost of the displaced boiler, but it was found that special store designs were not necessary to make the system work.