Phase-Change Materials in Hydronic Heating and Cooling Systems: A Literature Review

Koželj, Rok; Osterman, Eneja; Leonforte, Fabrizio; Del Pero, Claudio; Miglioli, Alessandro; Zavrl, Eva; Stropnik, Rok; Aste, Niccolò; Stritih, Uroš

doi:10.3390/ma13132971

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Phase-Change Materials in Hydronic Heating and Cooling Systems: A Literature Review

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Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via Edoardo Bonardi, 9, 20133 Milano, Italy

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Materials 2020, 13(13), 2971; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13132971

Received: 15 May 2020 / Revised: 29 June 2020 / Accepted: 30 June 2020 / Published: 3 July 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage)

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Abstract

When considering the deployment of renewable energy sources in systems, the challenge of their utilization comes from their time instability when a mismatch between production and demand occurs. With the integration of thermal storages into systems that utilize renewable energy sources, such mismatch can be evened out. The use of phase-change materials (PCMs) as thermal storage has a theoretical advantage over the sensible one because of their high latent heat that is released or accumulated during the phase-change process. Therefore, the present paper is a review of latent thermal storages in hydronic systems for heating, cooling and domestic hot water in buildings. The work aims to offer an overview on applications of latent thermal storages coupled with heat pumps and solar collectors. The review shows that phase-change materials improve the release of heat from thermal storage and can supply heat or cold at a desired temperature level for longer time periods. The PCM review ends with the results from one of the Horizon2020 research projects, where indirect electrical storage in the form of thermal storage is considered. The review is a technological outline of the current state-of-the-art technology that could serve as a knowledge base for the practical implementation of latent thermal storages. The paper ends with an overview of energy storage maturity and the objectives from different roadmaps of European bodies. View Full-Text

Keywords: PCM thermal storage; latent thermal storage; latent heat storage; PCMs in hydronic systems; PCMs for heating; PCMs for cooling; PCM heat storage; PCM cold storage; PCM maturity; TRL of PCM

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MDPI and ACS Style

Koželj, R.; Osterman, E.; Leonforte, F.; Del Pero, C.; Miglioli, A.; Zavrl, E.; Stropnik, R.; Aste, N.; Stritih, U. Phase-Change Materials in Hydronic Heating and Cooling Systems: A Literature Review. Materials 2020, 13, 2971. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13132971

AMA Style

Koželj R, Osterman E, Leonforte F, Del Pero C, Miglioli A, Zavrl E, Stropnik R, Aste N, Stritih U. Phase-Change Materials in Hydronic Heating and Cooling Systems: A Literature Review. Materials. 2020; 13(13):2971. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13132971

Chicago/Turabian Style

Koželj, Rok, Eneja Osterman, Fabrizio Leonforte, Claudio Del Pero, Alessandro Miglioli, Eva Zavrl, Rok Stropnik, Niccolò Aste, and Uroš Stritih. 2020. "Phase-Change Materials in Hydronic Heating and Cooling Systems: A Literature Review" Materials 13, no. 13: 2971. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13132971

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