Can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving?
The majority of heat in the UK comes from the combustion of natural gas, and heat is responsible for 37% of the nation’s carbon emissions. Thus the decarbonisation of heat is a major challenge. Electrification is one possible approach to decarbonisation; however, huge increases in the electrical gri...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Energy Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484720302031 |
| _version_ | 1818148276653785088 |
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| author | Timothy D. Hutty Natasha Patel Siyuan Dong Solomon Brown |
| author_facet | Timothy D. Hutty Natasha Patel Siyuan Dong Solomon Brown |
| author_sort | Timothy D. Hutty |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The majority of heat in the UK comes from the combustion of natural gas, and heat is responsible for 37% of the nation’s carbon emissions. Thus the decarbonisation of heat is a major challenge. Electrification is one possible approach to decarbonisation; however, huge increases in the electrical grid’s generation and transmission capacity would be needed to meet the peaks in space heat demand during cold winter weather. Thermal energy storage (TES) may have a role to play in alleviating this problem, by shifting heat demand by hours or longer periods, enabling peaks to be shaved.This work considers the utility of two varieties of thermal energy storage for this application. Adsorption thermal storage (ATS) is a technology offering long term storage at a high energy density, but is a costly and relatively immature option. By contrast, storage of sensible heat in hot water tanks is already widespread, although it has relatively short storage duration and lower density.Here, we simulate the deployment of these technologies in a small residential neighbourhood, in tandem with demand-side management (DSM), to attempt the reduction of peaks in demand. With no storage or DSM, electrification causes peaks to increase by a factor of 2.36. Results so far suggest that both TES technologies have potential to reduce peaks, with a 14% decrease achievable by either 5 m3 of hot water storage, or 0.25 m3 of ATS, in each dwelling. However, it is thought unlikely that adsorption storage is attractive for a purely peak shaving application, given its cost and complexity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:48:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1250300e98b24d199e0531a8f9d84680 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-4847 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:48:34Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energy Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-1250300e98b24d199e0531a8f9d846802022-12-22T01:06:44ZengElsevierEnergy Reports2352-48472020-05-016124131Can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving?Timothy D. Hutty0Natasha Patel1Siyuan Dong2Solomon Brown3CDT in Energy Storage and its Applications, University of Sheffield, UK; Corresponding author.Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, UKCDT in Energy Storage and its Applications, University of Sheffield, UKDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, UKThe majority of heat in the UK comes from the combustion of natural gas, and heat is responsible for 37% of the nation’s carbon emissions. Thus the decarbonisation of heat is a major challenge. Electrification is one possible approach to decarbonisation; however, huge increases in the electrical grid’s generation and transmission capacity would be needed to meet the peaks in space heat demand during cold winter weather. Thermal energy storage (TES) may have a role to play in alleviating this problem, by shifting heat demand by hours or longer periods, enabling peaks to be shaved.This work considers the utility of two varieties of thermal energy storage for this application. Adsorption thermal storage (ATS) is a technology offering long term storage at a high energy density, but is a costly and relatively immature option. By contrast, storage of sensible heat in hot water tanks is already widespread, although it has relatively short storage duration and lower density.Here, we simulate the deployment of these technologies in a small residential neighbourhood, in tandem with demand-side management (DSM), to attempt the reduction of peaks in demand. With no storage or DSM, electrification causes peaks to increase by a factor of 2.36. Results so far suggest that both TES technologies have potential to reduce peaks, with a 14% decrease achievable by either 5 m3 of hot water storage, or 0.25 m3 of ATS, in each dwelling. However, it is thought unlikely that adsorption storage is attractive for a purely peak shaving application, given its cost and complexity.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484720302031Thermal storageAdsorption storageSensible heat storageDSMHeat pumpsPeak shaving |
| spellingShingle | Timothy D. Hutty Natasha Patel Siyuan Dong Solomon Brown Can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving? Energy Reports Thermal storage Adsorption storage Sensible heat storage DSM Heat pumps Peak shaving |
| title | Can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving? |
| title_full | Can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving? |
| title_fullStr | Can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving? |
| title_short | Can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving? |
| title_sort | can thermal storage assist with the electrification of heat through peak shaving |
| topic | Thermal storage Adsorption storage Sensible heat storage DSM Heat pumps Peak shaving |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484720302031 |
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