ECOSTOCK 2006

The Tenth International Conference

on Thermal Energy Storage

Stockton College, NJ
May 31 – June 2, 2006

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ENERGY FROM THE SUN

A Technology Demonstration Project

Solar Seasonal Storage in a Residential District
Heating System.

Bill Wong P.Eng

Program Manager
Renewable Energy and Climate Change Program
SAIC Canada
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 Presentation Outline:

• Introduction / Project Overview

• Project construction update

• Some discussion on controls and

planned operation

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Drake Landing Solar Community

z First large-scale solar seasonal

storage community in Canada,
located in Okotoks, AB

z Designed with >90% solar

fraction

z Reduction of 5 tonnes GHG per

home per year

z Largest subdivision of R-2000

(energy efficient) single family
homes in Canada

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Drake Landing Solar BTES Simplified Schematic

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 April 2005

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The Energy Centre

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 June 2005
Lake Okotoks
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 August 2005

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Solar Thermal Collector Installation

October 2005

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8/30/2006 November 2005 13
Show Homes

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 November 2005

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 Drake Landing Solar Community
Okotoks, AB

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Drake Landing Project Team:

Natural Resources Canada

SAIC Canada
TOTAL TEAM EFFORT !
IF Technology International
Enermodal Engineering
National Solar Testing Facility
Thermal Energy Systems Specialist
Sunbow Consulting
Howell & Mayhew Engineering Technical Steering Committee:
FVB Energy
Hurst Construction Management Frank Cruickshanks, EC
EnerWorks Jan-Olaf Dalenback, Chalmers University
Nu-Air Manfred Reuss, ZAE Bayern
Town of Okotoks Tang Lee, University of Calgary
ATCO Gas Chris Snoek, NRCan
United Communities Steve Harrison, Queen’s University
Sterling Homes Wil Mayhew, NRCan

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 Technology Study & 2003
Conceptual Design

Detailed Design Mid 2004 – Early 2005

parametric studies;
controls and operation.

March 2005 – Present

Construction

District system Feb. 2006

commissioning
Homeowners
March 2006
started moving in

Full system
commissioning Fall 2006

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 System Parametric Studies
Number of boreholes
Borehole spacing
Number of collectors
Short term storage tank size
Collector slope …

System Model:
TRNSYS (Thermal Energy System Specialist,
Madison, WI)

Building Energy Model:

ESP-r (Natural Resources Canada, Buildings
Group, Ottawa, ON)

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TRNSYS Advantages

Modular structure makes for incredible flexibility.

Library of hundreds of component models in many fields:
HVAC, Solar, Thermal Storage, Hydronics, Geothermal,
Co-Generation, Green Buildings, Electrical Systems
Easy to add new component models
Emulates the operation of the real system
Dynamic interaction between all components
Varying levels of complexity for the same device (simple and
complex building models); easy to upgrade to more
complex model

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 52 Homes with 75 m³ short term storage

100%

90%
S o la r F r a c t io n

80%

70% 700 Collectors

800
900
60%
1000

50%
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Number of Bore Holes

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 Final System Configuration

144 Boreholes, 35 m deep

Single PEX U-tube
2.25 m borehole spacing
250 m3 STTS tank
800 Collectors
Collector slope 45 degrees
Collector flow: 1.2 L/min

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System Controls Approach

Three distinct modes of operation - storage mode (summer)

retrieval mode (winter)
both (shoulder season)

STTS Tanks as the “Grand Central Station”

- receive heat from collectors when available
- supply heat to district loop when required
- send heat to BTES when excess is present
- retrieve heat from BTES when deficient

1. STTS tank stratification

2. District loop temperature
3. BTES/STTS tank interaction

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 1. STTS Tank Stratification

Solar Fraction 10 Yr SF 1.0xTMY Load

0.950

0.02/240/144/2.25

0.900
0.02/210/144/2.25 Tank well stratified

0.02/210/125/2

0.03/210/125/2
0.015/210/125
0.02/175/125/

0.03/175/125/
0.02/140/125/2

0.850 0.02/210/100/2
0.02/175/100/

0.02/140/100/

0.800

Tank poorly stratified

0.750

0.700
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53

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Short Term Thermal Storage Tanks
Minimize flow rate

Draw coldest water

to collector HX

Inject heated water

into tank at the top or
mid-point

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 2. District Loop Distribution Temp.

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Approximate Air Delivery Temperature from
Various Systems

Traditional Gas Furnace 55C (131 F)

Risk for
Mid-Efficiency Furnace 42C (106 F) “cold heat”
Heat Pump 35C (95 F) discomfort
Drake Landing ?

(R-2000 continuous circulation 21C (70 F))

Some Options:
Constant Distribution T eg. 35C or 55C
Variable Distribution T profile according
to outdoor temperature
(lower outdoor T, higher
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distribution T) 29
 Distribution T vs Outdoor T

70
60 Distr
Distribution T 50 Outdoor Loop
40
V1 -45 58
30
20 -40 58
10
-5 35
0
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
20 35
Outdoor T

Distribution T vs Outdoor T
Distr
Outdoor Loop
60

50 -45 55
Distribution T

40 -40 55
30 V2
-15 50
20
10 45
10
15 35
0
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 20 35
Outdoor T

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 Solar Fraction for Various Distribution Temp

1.2

1
Solar Fraction

0.8 35 C
V1
0.6
V2
0.4 55 C

0.2

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Years

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 Collector Efficiency for Various Distribution temp

0.35

0.3
Collector Efficiency

0.25
35 C
0.2 V1
0.15 V2
55 C
0.1

0.05

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Years

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For Low Distribution Temperature to Work:
Air Handling System Innovation (to avoid “cold heat”)

•New fan coil design

•Larger heat transfer surface area
•Programmable DC Motor
•Integrated HRV and Air Handler
•New water flow control
•New duct work design
•Low velocity air flow

Home heating system suitable for

low grade heat source.

Successful factory and field testing.

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 3. STTS Tank / BTES Operation

Challenge of balancing several competing interests:

1. The largest volume of the coldest possible water was

available when solar energy is available;
2. Sufficient hot water at the temperature required was
available to send to the houses for heating;
3. A minimum of heat was sent to BTES for long term
storage; and
4. The STTS tanks were maintained at as cool a
temperature as possible to minimize loss from the
tanks.

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 STTS Tank Operation:

Potential Solution
1. Determine the house load for next several hours, based
on outdoor conditions and time of day and date;
2. Determine STTS charge available based on temperature
profile in the tank;
3. Compare expected house load against STTS charge
available;
4. Projecting potential for solar gain based on time of day
and date; and
5. Based on load/charge comparison and the solar
potential, decide on shedding excess heat to BTES or
supplement forecast deficiency in STTS from BTES.

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 Solar Seasonal Storage – Positive Impact

1.0 1000
0.9 900

Annual energy supplied by

0.8 800
Fraction of total heat
supplied by solar

0.7 700

boiler (GJ)
0.6 600
0.5 500
0.4 400
0.3 300
0.2 200
0.1 100
0.0 0
1 2 3 4 5
Year of Operation

Annual solar fraction Annual boiler output (GJ)

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 CONCLUSIONS

Solar seasonal energy storage has a very good future in

Canada.

Controls and system operation are key factors for desired

high solar fraction.

Need to continue our learning from the international TES

community and from this first demonstration project.

Contribute to Canada’s effort on GHG emissions

reduction.

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Drake Landing Project Funding Partners:

Natural Resources Canada

Green Municipal Fund (Federation of Canadian
Municipalities)
Province of Alberta
Sustainable Development Technology Canada
ATCO Gas
United Communities
Sterling Homes

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Solar Seasonal Storage Project

Question or Comments?

Bill Wong P.Eng

Program Manager
Renewable Energy and Climate Change Program
SAIC Canada

bill.wong@saiccanada.com
(613) 991-1840

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