HIGH SOLAR FRACTION HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS D6-Final - PDF

Contract No: TREN/07/FP6EN/S07.
68923/038659 HIGH-COMBI
HIGH-COMBI
HIGH SOLAR FRACTION HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS
WITH COMBINATION OF INNOVATIVE COMPONENTS AND
METHODS
www.highcombi.eu
Instrument: STREP
Thematic Priority: Sustainable Energy Systems
Workpackage WP 2, Deliverable D6
“State of the Art of Similar Applications”

Due Date: December 2007 (Month 6)
Submission Date: July 2008 (Month 13)
Start date of project: June 1st, 2007 Duration: 48 months
Lead contractor for this deliverable:

AEE Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC)
Revision: Final
Project co-funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme
(2002-2006)
Dissemination Level
PU Public X
PP Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission Services)
RE Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services)
CO Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services)
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION 5
2. SEASONAL THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE (STES) 6
2.1 GENERAL ASPECTS 6

2.2 DEFINITIONS 8
2.3 TYPES OF SEASONAL THERMAL ENERGY STORAGES 9
2.3.1 CONSTRUCTION 9
2.3.2 STORAGE MEDIUM 11
2.4 EXPERIENCES WITH RESEARCH AND PILOT PROJECTS 14
2.4.1 CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES OF PILOT AND RESEARCH STORAGES 24
2.4.2 EXPERIENCES WITH OPERATION OF PILOT AND RESEARCH STORAGES 34
2.5 CONSTRUCTION OF BURIED TANK AND PIT THERMAL ENERGY STORAGES 40
2.5.1 GEOMETRY OF BURIED THERMAL ENERGY STORAGES 40
2.5.2 ENVELOPE OF THE STORAGE 43
2.5.3 COVERING HOT WATER THERMAL ENERGY STORAGES 46
2.6 CONSTRUCTION OF UNDERGROUND THERMAL ENERGY STORAGES (UTES) 48
2.6.1 CONSTRUCTION OF BOREHOLE THERMAL ENERGY STORAGES (BTES) 50
2.6.2 CONSTRUCTION OF AQUIFER THERMAL ENERGY STORAGES (ATES) 52
2.7 DESIGN GUIDELINES 57
2.8 COST OF STES 60
2.9 PROJECT EXAMPLES 62
2.9.1 LARGE SCALE PROJECTS - CENTRAL SOLAR HEATING PLANTS WITH SEASONAL
STORAGE (CSHPSS), GERMANY 62
2.9.2 MEDIUM SCALE PROJECT – SEASONAL STORAGE IN ATTICA, GREECE 69
2.9.3 EXPERIENCES FROM A SOLAR PLANT WITH LONG-TERM STORAGE IN A SMALL SCALE
PROJECT 71
2.9.4 SMALL SCALE SEASONAL STORAGE EXAMPLES 80
2.10 REFERENCES 80
3. SOLAR SPACE HEATING AND COOLING APPLICATIONS 97
3.1 THERMALLY DRIVEN COOLING TECHNOLOGIES 97

3.1.1 INTRODUCTION 97
3.1.2 CLOSED CYCLE COOLING PROCESSES 98
3.1.3 OPEN CYCLE COOLING PROCESSES 100
3.1.4 SURVEY OF AVAILABLE PRODUCTS < 100KW 102
3.1.5 REFERENCES 102
3.2 EXAMPLES OF REALISED SOLAR HEATING AND COOLING (SHC) SYSTEMS 103
3.2.1 OTT & SPIESS LANGENAU 103
3.2.2 UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL FREIBURG 104
3.2.3 “RETHIMNO VILLAGE” HOTEL, CRETE 105
3.2.4 RESEARCH BUILDING “ÖKOPARK HARTBERG” 106
3.2.5 REFERENCES 106
3.3 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TWO ITALIAN PLANTS 107
3.3.1 INTRODUCTION 107
3.3.2 THE COMBINATION OF SOLAR COOLING AND SOLAR HEATING 107
3.3.3 OPERATION MODES OF A SOLAR COOLING PLANT FOR A SMALL RESIDENTIAL
BUILDING WITH A REVERSIBLE ABSORPTION CHILLER 108
High-Combi WP2.2 – D6
3.3.4 COMBINED SOLAR COOLING AND HEATING PLANT FOR A BIG RESIDENTIAL BUILDING
WITH ABSORPTION MACHINE. 120
3.3.5 FUNCTIONING OF A SOLAR COOLING AND SOLAR HEATING PLANT FOR THE SMALL
RESIDENTIAL SECTOR WITH AN ABSORPTION CHILLER (SOLAR ALONE) 129
3.3.6 FINAL REMARKS 134
4. COLD STORAGE DEVICES 137
4.1 INTRODUCTION 137

4.2 CHILLED WATER STORAGE 137
4.3 PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS (PCM) 138
4.3.1 ICE STORAGE 138
4.3.2 SNOW STORAGE 139
4.3.3 OTHER PCM MATERIALS 140
4.4 THERMO CHEMICAL REACTIONS 140
4.5 UNDERGROUND THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE (UTES) 141
4.6 REFERENCES 141
5. NEW ADVANCED STORAGE TECHNIQUE 142
5.1 PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS (PCM) 142

5.1.1 OPERATING PRINCIPLE OF PCMS 142
5.1.2 MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND APPLICATION EXAMPLES OF PCMS 144
5.2 SORPTION AND THERMO-CHEMICAL STORAGE 145
5.2.1 PRINCIPLES OF STORAGE MECHANISM 145
5.2.2 APPLICATION EXAMPLE: OPEN ADSORPTION SYSTEM 146
5.2.3 APPLICATION EXAMPLE: CLOSED ADSORPTION SYSTEM 147
5.2.4 APPLICATION EXAMPLE: THERMO-CHEMICAL ACCUMULATOR (TCA) 148
5.3 A HIGH-COMBI STORAGE SYSTEM WITH BOREHOLES 148
6. NEW GENERATION OF COLLECTORS 151
6.1 INTRODUCTION 151

6.2 COLLECTOR HEAT LOSSES 151
6.3 MARKET DEVELOPMENT MID TEMPERATURE COLLECTORS 152
7. REFERENCES 155
1. Introduction
The EU project HighCombi aims at development and demonstration of solar thermal
heating and cooling systems with high solar fraction. The HighCombi project
consortium consists of 12 partners from 6 countries. In total five demonstration plants
will be constructed, using different combination of technologies, components and
control strategies. The demonstration plants will be monitored and analysed for about
15 months. Based on these monitoring data the simulation and design tools will be
validated and the performance of the plants evaluated.
The aim of this study is to assemble the latest development of specific technology
aspects, which are relevant to applications for solar heating and cooling. The report
describes the state of the art and the latest development of seasonal thermal energy
storages (STES), solar space heating and cooling applications, cold storage devices,
new advanced storage techniques and the new generation of solar thermal collectors.
General aspects and definitions as well as design guidelines and cost examples are
given for STES. Further different constructions of STES are described and examples
in Austria, Germany and Greece are presented as implementations in practice.
General technology concepts for solar cooling are described in chapter 3 together with
realized installations for solar heating and cooling applications in Austria, Germany
and Greece. Further, detailed descriptions of two implemented solar heating and
cooling plants in Italy are given. On the market available closed cycle thermally
driven chiller with less than 100 kW cooling capacity are also listed for an overview.
An overview on cold storage devices is given in chapter 4, dealing with chilled water
storages, underground thermal energy storages (UTES), cold storages based on phase
change materials (PCM) and cold storages based on thermo chemical reactions.
Chapter five deals with new advanced storage techniques and concepts mainly
elaborated during the IEA SHC Task32 activities until end of 2007. These are
concepts with phase change materials (PCM), sorption and thermo chemical storages.
Concepts for a new generation of solar thermal collectors are presented in the last
chapter (chapter six). An overview of the latest development and on the market
available mid temperature collectors is given based on the IEA SHC Task33 results.
2. Seasonal Thermal Energy
Storage (STES)
Contributed by SOLITES (chapter 2.9.2: CRES; chapter 2.9.3: S.O.L.I.D.)
The technology of large scale seasonal thermal energy storage has been investigated
in Europe since the middle of the 70´s. First demonstration plants were realised in
Sweden in 1978/79 (Dalenbäck 1988, Lundin 1985) based on results of a national
research programme. Within the IEA (International Energy Agency), “Solar Heating
and Cooling” programme, experiences where worked out and exchanged in Task VII
“Central Solar Heating Plants with Seasonal Storage (CSHPSS)” since 1979.
Besides Sweden also Switzerland, Denmark and Germany investigated STES and
have built demonstration plants. First research programmes focused on basic research
including model calculations, laboratory experiments and the construction of small
scale pilot plants. The technical and economic feasibility of the storage concepts had
to be proven.
In Germany eleven large scale CSHPSS demonstration plants have been built since
1996. They are designed for solar fractions of between 35% and 60% of the total
annual heat demand for domestic hot water preparation and space heating of the
connected residential areas. Several technologies for seasonal heat storage have been
further developed and tested within these projects.
Because of economic and technical efficiency reasons seasonal thermal energy

storage applications are mainly large scale applications. However, some 100 projects
in single family houses are reported in Europe with large solar thermal systems and
seasonal heat storage (Röpke 2007), see also sections 2.7 and 2.9.3. Storages in small
scale applications are mostly house integrated and well insulated steel tanks. This
report focuses on large scale applications and corresponding storage concepts.
The following sections 2.1 to 2.5 are based on a recent and detailed state-of-the-art
report on seasonal thermal energy storage (Ochs 2007) that focuses mainly on tank
and pit thermal energy storages and recent investigations on suitable materials and
constructions. This report has been uptdated fractionally. Following sections describe
the construction of underground themal energy storages (aquifer and borehole thermal
energy storages), constructions cost of STES, design guidelines and project examples
for large, medium and small scale applications.
2.1 General Aspects

Seasonal heat storage offers a great potential for substituting fossil fuels using waste
heat from cogeneration heat and power plants (CHP) or solar energy for domestic hot
water preparation and space heating. Large scale seasonal storages in (solar assisted)
district heating systems have lower specific investment costs and reduced relative
thermal losses in comparison to decentralised heating systems.
Solar assisted district heating systems with seasonal thermal energy storage aim at a
solar fraction of 50 % or higher of the total heat demand for space heating and
domestic hot water preparation. The seasonal time shift between solar irradiance and
heat demand is matched by means of long term heat storage.
Central solar heating plants or solar assisted district heating systems may be realized
with various components and system configurations. The design of a seasonal thermal
energy storage depends on the system design (i.e. with or without heat pump,
integration of the auxiliary heating device) and the operation parameters (number of
charging cycles, maximum and minimum operation temperature). A typical
configuration of a solar assisted district heating system is illustrated in Fig. 2-1.
heating central with flat plate collectors

auxiliary boiler
Gas Condensing
boiler
domestic heat
transfer station
district heating net
solar net
seasonal hot water thermal
energy store
Fig. 2-1: Example of a solar assisted district heating system with seasonal thermal
energy storage, from (Bodmann et.al. 2006)
This report focuses on the description of the storage and not of the systems. Hence,
only some important aspects will be given. In (Bodmann et.al. 2006), (Benner et.al.
1999) and (Benner et.al. 2004) a detailed description of the different system and
configuration concepts can be found.
In Germany, research and development activities on solar assisted district heating
systems with seasonal thermal energy storage were funded within the programme
"Solarthermie-2000", which was initiated in 1993 for a period of 10 years. It has been
extended by the “Solarthermie2000plus” a programme running until 2011. Whereas
the main objective of the "Solarthermie-2000" was to improve and demonstrate the
technical and economic feasibility of systems with large scale seasonal thermal energy
storage, new priorities are in the focus of the “Solarthermie2000plus” programme. On
the one hand new promising solar thermal applications, such as solar cooling and
solar process heat, have to be developed and demonstrated also with solar fractions
between 10%- 30%. On the other hand the development of new storage concepts and
integration of other renewable energy sources than solar are prioritized
(www.solarthermie2000plus.de).
Despite more than 20 years of international research activities there is still no
economical and technical state of the art of seasonal heat storage. Hence, statements
given in the following sections can only be related to research and development.
However, the development of a technical state of the art must be one of the aims of
future approaches.
Although construction above ground may be preferable from the technical point of
view, for some reasons (optical, thermal losses, statical) seasonal thermal energy
storages are mostly buried or at least partially buried. Integration in the landscape is of
major importance especially as in most cases a seasonal thermal energy storage will
be located within or next to residential areas. There are several disadvantages
resulting from the construction below surface level. First of all additional costs arise
for the excavation. Secondly, the static is more complex due to the soil pressure.
Furthermore, a construction with rear ventilation of the thermal insulation is hardly
possible. Hence, construction in moist soil requires measures that prevent the
insulation from getting wet.
The wall of a buried thermal energy storage is an assembly of several layers. The
complexity of the design of such a composite wall arises due to the fact that on the
one hand the envelope has to guarantee protection of the thermal insulation from
moisture penetration from the inside and the outside but on the other hand desiccation
in case the thermal insulation is already wet has to be enabled.
2.2 Definitions
The comparison of different seasonal thermal energy storages or storage types is
complex. Without considering the entire system a comparison may lead to wrong
conclusions. Thermal losses increase with increasing temperature. Furthermore, the
maximum storage capacity depends on the maximum temperature difference between
fully charged and fully discharged. However, the operating conditions and
consequently the temperatures at which a seasonal thermal energy storage is operated
depend on the system configuration and control. In a heating system with heat pump
the storage can be discharged to temperatures in the range of 5 to 10°C, whereas
without heat pump the minimum temperature depends on the return temperature of the
heating net, which is in the range of 30 to 50°C, depending on the heating system.
Despite the above mentioned problems, the definition of terms that allow the
evaluation of (seasonal) thermal energy storages is instructive. The terms maximum
storage capacity (QS,max), storage utilization factor (ηS) and number of charging cycles
(CN) are frequently used to assess seasonal thermal energy storages. The definitions
are taken from (Raab 2006).
The solar fraction (fs) is the fraction of the total annual load (Qtot) requirement met by
solar energy (Qs). It depends on the entire system consisting besides the seasonal
thermal energy storage of the solar collector field, the auxiliary heating system,
connecting and distribution pipes, the control, and also on the heating load (space
heating and domestic hot water production).
Qs
fs = (1)
Qtot
The maximum thermal storage capacity (QS,max) is calculated according to equation

(2) as the product of the volume of the storage (Vs), the density (ρSM) and the thermal
capacity (cSM) of the storage medium and the maximum temperature difference
between the fully charged (θS,max) and fully discharged (θS,min) conditions during one
year.
QS ,max = VS ⋅ ρ SM ⋅ cSM ⋅ (ϑS ,max − ϑS ,min ) (2)
The annual storage utilization factor (ηS) is the ratio of the discharged thermal energy
(QS,out) to the charged thermal energy (QS,in), assuming that the storage capacity at the
beginning of the considered period is equal to the storage capacity at the end of the
period.
QS ,out
ηS = (3)
QS ,in
Τhe annual thermal losses QS,loss,a) can be related to the maximum thermal storage
capacity (QS,max) in order to calculate the maximum utilization factor (ηS,max)
⋅
Q S ,loss ,a
η S ,max = (4)
QS ,max
The number of charging cycles (CN) can be calculated, according to equation (5), as
the ratio of the discharged thermal energy (QS,out) to the maximum thermal storage
capacity (QS,max). An ideal adiabatic STES has one charging cycles per year. A daily
charged and discharged adiabatic thermal energy storage has 365 charging cycles per
year (see also Hadorn 1988). Operating seasonal thermal energy storages have
charging cycles between 1 and 2 due to short term effects.
QS ,out
CN = (5)
QS ,max
For a small (buffer) storage the heat loss rate in [W/K] is used to compare different
storage typologies. However, for a STES only the specific heat loss rate (related to the
surface area of the storage in [W/(m²K)]) may be used to compare different STES,
since the storage size is highly variant. As already mentioned above, a real
comparison of the performance of different storage types requires the consideration of
the entire system, which can only be done by system simulations. But first the
optimization criterion has to be defined: Optimization with respect to the solar
fraction of a solar assisted district heating system may lead to other results than
optimization with respect to minimization of the thermal losses of the seasonal
thermal energy storage or to the maximization of the collector yield or efficiency.
Nevertheless, in order to optimize the design of a seasonal thermal energy storage
with respect to thermal losses with same construction costs, or with respect to the
construction costs without increasing thermal losses, a detailed modelling of the heat
(and moisture) transfer through the envelope of such a storage is required.
2.3 Types of Seasonal Thermal Energy Storages
2.3.1 Construction
Four main types of seasonal thermal energy storages are in operation in German
research and demonstration plants. The four storage concepts shown in Fig. 2-2
include tank and pit thermal energy storage with and without liners, borehole thermal
energy storages (BTES) and aquifer thermal energy storages (ATES). Cavern thermal
energy storages (CTES), which may be accounted as the fifth type, have not been
investigated in the frame of the “Solarthermie-2000” and “Solarthermie2000plus”
programmes. Standard (stainless) steel or fibre reinforced plastic tanks may be
mentioned as alternative type. However, in this work they are accounted as type I.
tank thermal energy storage pit thermal energy storage

Erdsonden-Wärmespeicher
borehole thermal energy storage

aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES)
(BTES)
Fig. 2-2: Four types of seasonal thermal energy storages (Bodmann et.al. 2006)
Seasonal thermal energy storages may be distinguished on the one hand according to
the type of construction. Alternatively they are distinguished according to the storage
medium in gravel-water thermal energy storages (GW), soil/sand(/rock) water thermal
energy storages (SW) or hot water thermal energy storages (HW).
For the design and construction of a buried tank or pit with respect to the envelope of
the bottom and the wall of the storage, the storage medium does only play a minor
role. An exception may be the requirement of a double layer liner for leakage
detection, see section 2.5.2 and 2.4.1. However, whereas the cover of a gravel-water
storage may be realized similar to the wall envelope, the design of the cover of a hot
water thermal energy storage is complex and complicated. For this reason a
comparison of gravel/sand/soil-water and water as storage medium is briefly
discussed in section 2.3.2. Cover types for hot water thermal energy storages are
discussed in section 2.5.3.
Thermal energy storage was investigated on an international level within the IEA
framework. In the Task 7 of the Solar Heating and Cooling programme (www.iea-
shc.org) seasonal storage concepts were investigated. Furthermore in the framework
of the IEA implementing agreement on Energy Conservation through Energy Storage
(ECES, www.iea-eces.org), every three years an international conference is held,
where developments in the field of thermal energy storage are presented. The last of a
series of international conferences was the Ecostock 2006, held in Pomona (USA).
The very first ones were the Rockstorage 77 and Rockstorage 80 in Stockholm
(Sweden). In the beginning topics included mainly underground thermal energy
storages (UTES) with the storage medium water and ice. Most papers reported about
aquifers (ATES), duct or borehole thermal energy storages (BTES) and (small scale)
tanks. Later phase change materials (PCM) and sorption storages (liquid and solid)
gained more importance, however papers about sensible thermal energy storages
retained the majority till now. Research on pit thermal energy storages and tank
thermal energy storages is sparse.
Although the topics discussed in this work with regard to insulation, liner and heat
and moisture transfer mechanisms may be applied also to the BTES, in the following
sections the focus of the discussion is on buried tanks and on pit thermal energy
storages.
2.3.2 Storage Medium

The storage medium of a buried seasonal thermal energy storage is either hot water
(HW), gravel-water (GW) or soil/sand water (SW). Both tank and pit thermal energy
storages may be constructed as hot water thermal energy storages or as gravel or
soil/sand water thermal energy storages. However, mainly for economic reasons until
now only pit thermal energy storages were built as gravel water thermal energy
storages or soil/sand water thermal energy storages.
In case of leakage, a hot water storage may be repaired. However, a leakage in a
gravel- or soil/sand water storage is a total loss. As the risk of leakage is highest when
filling the storage with the gravel or sand/soil it is recommended to provide gravel- or
sand/soil -water thermal energy storages with a leakage detection system, i.e. by
means of evacuation detection using a double layer liner, such as in Steinfurt-
Borghorst (Pfeil et.al. 2000), (Pfeil et.al. 1999), (Pfeil et.al. 1999) or Eggenstein-
Leopoldshafen (Pfeil et.al. 2005), (Pfeil et.al. 2007). Thus, when filling the storage, a
failure may be detected before or when the storage is filled. In the latter case the
filling can be stopped and the leakage can be repaired.
The hot water (pit) thermal energy storage is also more preferable in terms of thermal
capacity, which is 50 % higher in comparison to gravel-water. The thermo-physical
properties of graver-water mixtures are well known from several investigations, e.g.
(Giebe 1989), (Chang 2001), (Hornberger 1998). The most recent was done by
Urbaneck (Urbaneck 2004), (Urbaneck et.al. 2000) where a summary of earlier work
can be found. In Table 2-1 important thermo-physical properties of gravel-water
mixtures are listed.
Table 2-1: Thermo-physical properties of gravel-water (Urbaneck 2004)
Water gravel gravel-water
(at 20 °C) particle mixture
porosity [-] - - 0.37 to 0.43
density ρ [kg/m³] 992.2 2620 to 2750 1950 to 2050
specific heat
cp [KJ/(kgK)] 4.18 0.77 to 0.93 2.0 to 2.2
capacity
thermal
λ [W/(mK)] 0.63 2.5 to 5.5 1.8 to 2.5
conductivity
Furthermore, a hot water thermal energy storage has better operation characteristics.
Due to the more dynamic behaviour of a hot water storage it is easier to integrate it
into the heating system. No additional buffer volume is required. A hot water seasonal
thermal energy storage can also be used as a buffer storage. Charging and discharging
of a gravel- or soil/sand-water storage is too slow.
Thermal stratification is recommended in order to reduce thermal losses and to
enhance collector efficiency. Due to the higher thermal conductivity of gravel-water
in comparison to water with λGW ≈ 2.2 W/(m K) and λW ≈ 0.6 W/(m K) see e.g.
(Urbaneck 2004), (Giebe 1989), (Chang 2001), better stratification can be sustained
using water only.
Whereas hot water thermal energy storages have without exception direct charging
systems with or without stratification devices, gravel water thermal energy storages
are equipped with indirect charging systems in the majority of cases. Most of the
research and pilot soil/sand pit thermal energy storages are equipped with indirect
charging systems, the storage in Eggenstein is charged/discharged directly as well as
all the ATES. Indirect charging by means of tubing similar to floor heating systems
requires less quality in terms of the storage medium. Stratification charging devices
are available only for hot water storages. With regard to the charging system hot water
storages are also advantageous.
If the thermal energy storage is filled with the excavated soil (or sand) after
installation of the insulation and the liner, the investment for gravel and for the
landfill of the excavated soil can be saved. However, the cost reduction potential of
the storage medium can be compensated by a plastic piping system for indirect
charging. Moreover, due to the requirements with respect to the pureness and quality
of the gravel (washed gravel) increased costs have also to be taken into account.
An important criterion for a successful operation of seasonal thermal storage in solar
assisted district heating systems is that the heat generated by solar collectors during
the day can be charged into the storage at the same time (in combination with a buffer
storage at least least during 24 h). Consequently, not only the amount of thermal
energy has to be taken into consideration but also the storage’s maximum thermal
power input. Large heat exchange areas are required due to the poor heat transfer rate,
resulting in relatively high values of the heat exchanger length (HX-length = tubing
length). Hence, indirect charging systems are complicated to install and expensive
(Ochs et.al. 2006). An overview of gravel water pit thermal energy storages with
direct (D) and indirect (I) charging system is given in Table 2-2.
Table 2-2: Selection of projects with gravel-water (GW) and soil/sand-water (SW)
thermal energy storages in comparison with BTES in Neckarsulm,
Germany
volume storage charging HX-length
location country Date* Reference
[m³] medium system lHX / [m]
(IEA Task XIV 1996),
Vaulruz CH 1983 3,500 SW I 1,200
(Hadorn 1985)
(Giebe 1989), (Hahne
et.al. 1987), (Vogt 1987),
Stuttgart D 1985 1,050 GW D+I 4,853
(Hahne 2000), (Hahne
et.al. 1989)
(Sørensen 2005), (Heller
2000), (Maureschat et.al.
Marstal DK 1996 3,500 SW I 5,600
1999), (Holm 2000),
(Holm 2000-2)
(Benner et.al. 1999),
(Urbaneck 2004),
(Urbaneck et.al. 2000),
Chemnitz D 1997 8,000 GW D -
(Pfeil et.al. 2006),
(Koch et.al. 1997)
(Hausladen et.al. 1998),
Augsburg D 1997 6,000 GW I 20,000 (LFU 2003), (Reuß 2003),
(Pfeil et.al. 2000)
(Bodmann et.al. 2003),
Steinfurt D 1999 1,500 GW I 7,000 (Reuß 2003), (Pfeil et.al.
2000), (Pfeil et.al. 1999),
(Pfeil et.al. 1999)
(Pfeil et.al. 2005), (Pfeil
Eggenstein D 2007 4,500 GW/SW D # -
et.al. 2007)
(Nußbicker et.al. 2003),
Neckarsulm D 1997 63,360 BTES I 15,840
(Nußbicker et.al. 2004)
HX: Heat Exchanger; I: indirect, D: direct charging system; n/a: not available; * first year of operation
#
(dis-)charging with vertical wells, similar to an aquifer; BTES: borehole thermal energy storage
(borehole length and diameter)
In (West 1999) the use of a direct charging system for gravel-water thermal energy
storages was studied in detail. Furthermore, direct charging of gravel-water thermal
energy storages was investigated by means of CFD simulation by Urbaneck
(Urbaneck 2004), (Urbaneck et.al. 2003) using the pilot storage in Chemnitz as an
example. Measured and simulated results indicate that direct charging systems work
satisfactorily.
Direct charging by means of waterways in a soil storage was investigated by outdoor
laboratory experiments. CFD simulations based on results from (Urbaneck 2004),
(Kiedaisch 2002) and (Chang 2001) were conducted to investigate the influence of
different parameters such as flow velocity, thermal conductivity of the soil/sand and
charging temperature. The system prooved to be technical feasible but without
economic benefit, see (Ochs et.al. 2006).
Consequently, gravel or soil/sand water pit thermal energy storages are only
advantageous, if static arguments are of major importance as in the case of the gravel
water pit thermal energy storage in Chemnitz (Urbaneck 2004), (Urbaneck et.al.
2000), where a parking lot was established on top of the storage or in Eggenstein-
Leopoldshafen (Pfeil et.al. 2005) (Pfeil et.al. 2007), where the storage is located in a
school yard and hence a 100% safety against failure has to be secured.
A cover for a hot water storage with comparable static characteristics requires
enormous technical and financial effort, as will be discussed in section 2.5.3. In Table
2-3 pros and cons of hot water and of gravel/soil/sand water pit thermal energy
storages are listed.
Table 2-3: Hot water vs. gravel water pit thermal energy storage
Hot water Gravel/sand/soil water
pit thermal energy storage pit thermal energy storage
+ thermal capacity + low static requirements
+ operation characteristic + simple cover
+ thermal stratification
+ maintenance/repair
− sophisticated and expensive cover − thermal capacity
− high static requirements to cover − charging system
load − additional buffer storage
− costs for landfill of excavated soil − maintenance/repair not possible
− gravel costs
2.4 Experiences with Research and Pilot Projects

Tank thermal energy storages have a structure made of concrete, of (stainless) steel or
of fibre reinforced plastic (sandwich elements). Concrete tanks are built utilizing in-
situ concrete or prefabricated concrete elements. An additional liner (polymer,
stainless steel) may be mounted on the inside surface of the tank. The insulation is
fitted outside the tank.
Pit thermal energy storages are constructed without further concerns for static supprt
by means by means of mounting insulation and a liner in the pit. The design of the lid
depends on the storage medium (and geometry). Whereas in the case of a gravel- or
soil/sand-water thermal energy storage the lid may be constructed proportional to the
envelope, the construction of a lid of a hot water energy storage requires major effort
and is the most expensive part of the thermal energy storage (see section 2.5.3).
For the construction of buried seasonal thermal energy storages there are no standard
procedures regarding the storage medium, charging the system (stratification) and the
envelope. In particular for the envelope, the requirements in terms of temperature and
aging resistance differ from related techniques such as landfill, tunnel, dam or water
reservoir construction.
Due to the size and geometry and also due to the requirements in terms of leakage
detection and lifetime most techniques and materials have their origin in landfill
construction. However, with respect to operation temperature there is no experience in
any of the above mentioned sectors.
Dimensions of pilot and research tank and pit thermal energy storages that have been
realized over the last 25 years for solar assisted district heating systems, range from
several 100 m³ up to more than 10,000 m³ like the pit thermal energy storage in
Marstal (DK) with 10,000 m³ or the tank hot water storage in Friedrichshafen (D)
with 12,000 m³ (see (Sørensen 2005) and (Benner et.al. 1999)). By definition, pit
thermal energy storages are entirely buried, the lid may be above ground, only
equipped with a membrane for rain and UV protection, e.g. Ottrupgaard or Marstal
(DK) or covered with soil, e.g. Chemnitz (D), Steinfurt-Borghorst (D) or Eggenstein
(D). In the majority of the demonstration projects tank thermal energy storages are
also buried or partially buried for space and optical reasons.
In (Bodmann et.al. 2006), (Benner et.al. 2004), (Benner et.al. 1999), (Hahne et.al.
1998), (Lottner 2000), (Mangold et.al. 2001), (Mangold et.al. 2003), (Schmidt et.al.
2001) and (Pfeil et.al. 1998) a detailed description of German projects with (seasonal)
thermal energy storage from the years 1994 to 2005 is given. Both, tank thermal
energy storages and pit thermal energy storages have been realized. Construction
techniques of tanks range from concrete with stainless steel liner (Friedrichshafen
(Benner et.al. 1999), (Reineck et.al. 1997), (Lichtenfels et.al. 2000), (Raab et.al.
2004)) to high performance concrete without further liner (Hanover (Benner et.al.
1999), (Bodmann et.al. 2003), (Lichtenfels 2004), (Jooß 2001), (Lichtenfels et.al.
2000), (Schlosser 2006)) to fibre reinforced resin (Ilmenau (Bühl 2001), (Nilius et.al.
2003), (Haase 2006)). There are projects with gravel-water such as in Steinfurt-
Borghorst (Benner et.al. 1999), (Bodmann et.al. 2003), (Reuß 2003), (Pfeil et.al.
2000), (Pfeil et.al. 1999), (Pfeil et.al. 1999) or gravel-sand-water like in Eggenstein-
Leopoldshafen (Pfeil et.al. 2005), (Pfeil et.al. 2007), with hot water thermal energy
storages (Munich (Mangold 2006), (Mangold 2006-2), (Schmidt et.al. 2006)) and also
with ATES and BTES, see below. In Attenkirchen (Benner et.al. 2004), (Beuth et.al.
Juni 2006), (Reuß 2004), (Reuß 2003), (Reuß et.al. 2001) a so-called hybrid thermal
energy storage was realized. A hot water tank is placed in the centre of a BTES. At
ITW experiments on different concepts of pit heat storages are carried out in the
framework of the project „Further Development of the Pit Heat Storage Technology“.
Materials and concepts are tested in two outdoor laboratory research storages (Ochs
et.al. 2006), (Ochs et.al. 2005), (Ochs 2005-2) (Ochs et.al. 2006-2), (Ochs et.al. 2006-
3), (Ochs et.al. 2006-4), (Ochs et.al. 2007-2), (Ochs et.al. 2007-3), (Bader 2004),
(Stumpp 2003), (Kreis 2005), (Liebchen 2007), (Dippon 2005).
Besides Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden had extensive research on
seasonal thermal energy storages. A summary of projects in Denmark is given in
(Heller 2000). Swiss projects are summarised in (Hadorn 1997), (Hadorn 1997-2). In
(Boysen 1985), (Boysen 1985-2), (Dalenbäck 1993), (Dalenbäck 1999) and in
(Gustafson 1985) seasonal thermal energy storage projects from Sweden are gathered.
All other countries did not have any substantial research project, although some single
publications may be found, i.e. (Todd 1978) from Wales or (Ritola 1994), (Ritola
1995) from Finland. A further seasonal storage is reported by (Schmidt et.al. 2004)
and (Dalenbäck 1999) to be in Greece (Lykovrissi in Athens). The 500 m³ stainless
steel tank is build above ground in front of the district. Further details are given in
§2.9.2. In Austria district heating with (seasonal) thermal energy storage does only
play a minor role. Instead wood chips or wood pellets are used more frequently. An
exception may be the solar assisted district heating system in Gneismoos (details in
(Raab 2006)) with a steel tank, which is mounted above ground. The 100 m³ storage is
entirely insulated with 20 cm rock wool insulation. In Linz, the district heating system
was extended by a 34,500 m³ steel tank storage, constructed above ground
(Gimmelsberger 2004). Several of these steel tank storages have been built around the
world (Hedbäck 2005).
In Sweden some projects with tank storages above ground were realised, such as the
5,000 m³ concrete tank in Ingelstad, the 1,500 m³ steel tank in Falkenberg or the
Nykwarn welded steel tank with a volume of 1,500 m³ (see (Boysen 1985), (Boysen
1985-2), (Dalenbäck 1993)).
Steel tanks were also applied for solar assisted district heating systems like in Rise
(DK), where a 4,000 m³ steel tank is operated in a district heating system (Grydehoj
et.al. 2005).
In Crailsheim a 100 m³ buffer storage was built using prefabricated concrete elements
and a stainless steel liner. A further 480 m³ in-situ concrete storage serves as a buffer
for a 39,000 m³ BTES. Both tanks can be operated at temperatures up to 108 °C as
they are operated with three bar (Bauer et.al. 2006), (Bauer et.al. 2007).
Hot water tank thermal energy storages can also be realized using glass fibre
reinforced plastics. Such a storage was built in Ilmenau, Germany using sandwich
elements consisting of fibre reinforced UP resin with PUR core (Bühl 2001) and
(Nilius et.al. 2003).
Although borehole thermal energy storages (BTES) and aquifer thermal energy
storages (ATES) are not in the focus of this report, some examples are given for the
sake of completeness. Furthermore, some results and considerations of this work may
be applied for the construction and operation of BTES and ATES, as well. BTES that
are operated as seasonal storage in solar assisted district heating systems, like the
storages in Neckarsulm (Nußbicker et.al. 2003), (Nußbicker et.al. 2004) or Crailsheim
(Raab et.al. 2005), (Bauer et.al. 2006), (Bauer et.al. 2007) are insulated at the top
only, as the bottom and the sides are not accessible. Aquifer thermal energy storages
are not accessible at all and are consequently not insulated. Therefore, very large
storage volumes are required. Examples for medium to high temperature aquifer
storages in Germany are the storages in Rostock (Bodmann et.al. 2006) and (Schmidt
et.al. 2000), in Berlin (Köhler 2006) and in Neubrandenburg (Kabus 2006). In Berlin
a thermal energy storage in 300 m depth and a cold storage in 60 m depth are operated
under the German Reichstag (Sanner 1999).
An overview about international projects with seasonal thermal energy storage can be
found in (Hadorn 1988), (IEA Task XIV 1996), (Boysen 1984), (Bankston 1986),
(Boysen 1990), (Fisch et.al. 1996) , (Dahlenbäck 1998), (Bokhoven et.al. 2001),
(Fisch et.al. 1998) or (Mahler 2004). A collection of European large scale solar
heating plants with mostly large thermal energy storages is given in (ELSSHN 2006).
In addition to the realised research and pilot projects further studies were carried out.
A very detailed study about a seasonal thermal energy storage for a district heating
systems in Mannheim (D) was prepared by (Geipel 1983) including material testing
and design studies (see also (Geipel 1979), (Geipel 1982)). A prototype of a pit
thermal energy storage was also planned in Wolfsburg (Stickrodt et.al. 1984). Further
investigations on the feasibility of seasonal (pit) thermal energy storages are presented
by (Braxein et.al. 1998). A model, scale 1:10, was realized in Jülich, Germany, (see
also (Liegl 1996), (Braxein et.al. 1996), (Meliß et.al. 2000)). Further studies on
central solar heating plants with tank and pit heat seasonal storage were carried out in
UK, USA and Canada and are summarised in (Boysen 1990). The first seasonal
thermal energy storage realised in North America was the BTES in Okotoks / Canada
in 2006 (Liebel et.al. 2006).
Table 2-4 gives an overview about international projects with buried tank thermal
energy storages and pit thermal energy storages. In Fig. 2-3 to Fig. 2-13 pictures of
the construction of some of the storages are presented. In the following section firstly
the construction materials and techniques related the insulation and liner are listed. A
comparison of experiences from the operation of the research and pilot thermal energy
storages follows in section 2.4.2
Table 2-4: Geometry of (partially) buried hot water tank storages and pit thermal
energy storages, volume (V), total surface area (A), slope angle (β), aspect
ratio (h/d) and volume to area ratio (A/V)
V A β h A
Country
d V
Date§)
Location/name Reference
[m³] [m²] [°] [-] [1/m]
Tanks
(Gustafson 1985), (Roseen
1978 800 550 38 6.0/12.6 0.69
Studsvik †) S et.al. 1980), (Heller 1997)
(Gustafson 1985), (Heller
1980 10,000 1,750 90 12.0/32.4 0.18
Lombohov S 1997), (Norbäck et.al. 1980)
(Raab 2006), (Dalenbäck
1989 640 n/a 90 n/a n/a
Särö S 1993), (Dalenbäck 1991)
Rottweil D (Hirt et.al. 1997) 1994 600 289 90 5.0/13.0 0.48
(Dahlenbäck 1998), 1994 1,000 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Lisse NL (Bokhoven et.al. 2001)
(Bodmann et.al. 2003), 1996 4,500 1,650 90 10.7/25.7 0.37
Hamburg D (Schulz et.al. 1996)
(Benner et.al. 1999), (Reineck
et.al. 1997), (Lichtenfels et.al. 1996 12,000 2,796 90 19.4/32.4 0.23
Friedrichshafen †) D 2000), (Raab et.al. 2004)
(Bühl 2001), (Nilius et.al.
1998 300 262 90 8.0/7.2 1.14
Ilmenau D 2003), (Haase 2006)
(Bodmann et.al. 2003), (Jooß
2000 2,750 1,135 90 11.1/19.0 0.41
2001), (Lichtenfels et.al.
†)
Hanover D 2000), (Schlosser 2006)
(Benner et.al. 2004), (Beuth
et.al. Juni 2006), (Reuß 2004),
2001 500 350 90 8.0/8.9 0.7
(Reuß 2003), (Reuß et.al.
Attenkirchen *) D 2001)
(Mangold 2006), (Mangold
2006-2), (Schmidt et.al. 2006),
2006 480 362 90 14.5/6.3 0.75
(Raab et.al. 2005), (Bauer
Crailsheim D et.al. 2006)
2) †) (Mangold 2006), (Mangold
Munich D 2006 6,000 1,800 90 16.1/24.6 0.30
2006-2), (Schmidt et.al. 2006)
Pits
Wales (HW) UK (Todd 1978) 1977 100 260 n/a n/a 2.6
Vaulruz (SW) CH 1983 3,500 4,600 n/a 4.6/29.6 1.3
(Hadorn 1985)
(Hansen et.al. 1983), (Hansen
Lyngby (HW) DK 1983 540 n/a n/a 4.3/10.3 n/a
et.al. 1985)
(Giebe 1989), (Hahne et.al.
Stuttgart (GW) D 1987), (Vogt 1987), (Hahne 1985 1,050 835 45 3.7/17.5 0.84
2000), (Hahne et.al. 1989)
(Voigt et.al. 1988), (Voigt
Berlin (HW) $) D et.al. 1988-2), (Voigt et.al. 1986 170 n/a 34 3.05/7.4 n/a
1985), (Seefeld et.al. 1986)
V A β h A
Country
d V
Date§)
Location/name Reference
[m³] [m²] [°] [-] [1/m]
Meyrin (SW) CH (Hadorn 1988) 1986 20,000 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Växjö (HW) S (Dalenbäck 1993) 1987 1,000 n/a n/a n/a n/a
(Dalenbäck 1993), (Zinko
Malung (HW) S 1989 1,000 n/a n/a 4.0/7.0 n/a
et.al. 1994)
(Wesenberg et.al. 1990),
Hoerby (HW) DK (Wesenberg 1993), (Pedersen 1990 500 n/a 90 n/a n/a
1992)
Herlev x) (HW) DK (Heller 2000) 1991 3,000 1,630 90 6/26.25 0.54
Lyngby (SW) +) DK (Ussing 1991), (Heller 2000) 1991 500 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Sjökulla (HW) FN (Ritola 1994) ,(Ritola 1995) 1993 195 n/a 34 2.7/11.7 n/a
(Heller 2000), (Heller 1997),
Ottrupgaard
DK (Heller 2000), (Duer et.al. 1995 1,500 1,400 27 5.0/16.0 0.93
(HW) $)
1993)
(Sørensen 2005), (Heller
2000), Maureschat et.al.
Marstal (SW) $) DK 1999 3,500 1,850 34 7/21.15 0.53
1999), (Holm 2000), (Holm
2000-2)
(Urbaneck 2004), (Urbaneck
Chemnitz (GW)
^) D et.al. 2000), (Pfeil et.al. 2006), 1997 8,000 3,375 90 7.0/39.0 0.42
(Urbaneck et.al. 2003)
Egenhausen (Koch et.al. 1997), (Pfeil et.al.
D 1997 300 115 60 4.0/8.7 1.2
(SW) $) 1998)
(Pfeil et.al. 2000), (Hausladen
Augsburg (GW) D et.al. 1998), (LFU 2003), 1997 6,500 n/a 90 n/a n/a
(Reuß 2003)
(Benner et.al. 1999), (Pfeil
Steinfurt-
et.al. 2000), (Pfeil et.al. 1999),
Borghorst (GW) D 1999 1,500 1,305 50 4.0/24.25 0.87
$) (Pfeil et.al. 1999),(Reuß
2003), (Bodmann et.al. 2003)
(Heller et.al. 2002), (Duer
2002 500 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Lyngby (HW) +) DK 2000)
(Sørensen 2005), (Sørensen
Marstal (HW) $) DK 2003 10,000 5,600 27 6.5/40.5 0.56
2004), (Sørensen 2006)
Eggenstein (Pfeil et.al. 2005), (Pfeil et.al.
D 2007 4,500 1,964 35 8/27.7 0.44
(HW)#) 2007)
§) x)
year of inception Tubberupvaenge
*) †)
Hybrid: BTES with tank in center cylindrical geometry with truncated cone bottom/top
#) $)
Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, inverted pyramid trunk
construction in 2007
^)
construction in 1996, n/a not available
+)
first construction 1991, rebuild 2002
Fig. 2-3: First gravel- water pit thermal Fig. 2-4: Construction of the gravel-
energy storage in Germany water pit thermal energy
constructed in 1985 in storage (8,000 m³) in
Stuttgart, 1,050 m³ pit with Chemnitz, Germany:
2.5 mm HDPE-liner (ITW, installation of liner (2.5 mm
University of Stuttgart) HDPE geomembrane) and
protective fleece before
filling with gravel; back-
ground: extruded poly-
styrene insulation sheets
(XPS) at side wall (TU
Chemnitz)
Fig. 2-5: Insulation and drainage Fig. 2-6: Mounting sheets of insulation on
at the side wall of the the side wall of the concrete tank
concrete tank storage in storage in Hamburg (ITW, Univer-
Rottweil (ITW, Univer- sity of Stuttgart)
sity of Stuttgart)
Fig. 2-7: Construction of the 12,000 m³ concrete tank in Friedrichshafen, Germany,
installation of mineral wool sheets (ITW, University of Stuttgart)
Fig. 2-8: Construction of the high performance concrete tank in Hannover (IGS, TU
Braunschweig) and mounting bulk insulation in geobags on the roof of the
concrete tank (PKi, Stuttgart)
Fig. 2-9: The 1,500 m³ pit thermal energy storage in Steinfurt-Borghorst, Germany,
pit with double layered 2 mm PP-liner, installation of plastic piping for
indirect charging system between layers of gravel (ITW, University of
Stuttgart)
Fig. 2-10: Hot water pit thermal energy storage in Marstal, DK, pit sealed with
HDPE membrane and charging system, installation of the floating cover
on 10,000 m³ pit, composite of HDPE, vapour barrier, protective fleece,
steel grid, mineral wool, expanded polystyrene (EPS), and PVC rain cover
(Marstal Fjernvarme)
Fig. 2-11: Research storages at ITW, top left: preconfected EPDM liner, welding
machine with HDPE liner, bottom left: manual hot air welding at T-joint
of TPE liner, bottom right: Extrusion welding of PP-Al-PP compound
liner at an edge, (ITW, University of Stuttgart)
Fig. 2-12: Hybrid storage in Attenkirchen, Germany: BTES with buried 500 m³ hot
water tank (left hand side); Double U-pipe heat exchanger, right hand side
(ZAE Bayern)
Fig. 2-13: Hot water tank storage in Ilmenau, Germany made of sandwich elements,
fibre reinforced UP resin with PUR core (TU Ilmenau)
Fig. 2-14: München-Ackermannbogen: hot water tank made of prefabricated
concrete elements with stainless steel liner, bulk insulation material in
membrane-formwork with diffusible liner (ITW (left), Solites (right))
Fig. 2-15: Installation of the insulation by blowing from silo-truck into chambers
made of HDPE-barrier liners and loose onto the bottom (gravel-water
thermal energy storage in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, ITW)
2.4.1 Construction Techniques of Pilot and Research Storages

As will be explained in section 2.5.2, the most important functional parts of a thermal
energy storage are the thermal insulation and the liner (more details are elaborated in
section 2.5.2).. The materials applied within the last 25 years are summarised and
evaluated in the following sections. Experiences and developments are highlighted.
The design of the envelope of the thermal energy storage with respect to thermal
losses depends on several factors. The operating conditions such as the number of
charging cycles, the temperature sequence, and the maximum and minimum
temperatures may vary depending on the system configuration. Furthermore there
may be different boundary conditions for each location. The soil properties and soil
temperature may vary. Furthermore, in case of ground water, special considerations
have to be taken into account.
It is obvious that there is a need for an appropriate calculation tool to be able to
predict the thermal performance of a STES. With available tools and models such as
e.g. the XST model in TRNSYS (TRNSYS 2000) a detailed design of a seasonal
thermal energy storage is not possible, as e.g. calculations are conducted with a
constant value for the thermal conductivity of the insulation of the entire storage and
only a uniform thickness of the insulation can be given as input for the top, the side
walls and the bottom of the storage.
Liner
Several materials can be utilized as liner. The most common are (stainless) steel,
polymers such as polyolefines (HDPE, LDPE, PP) and elastomers (EPDM, IIR). But
also bitumen, clay, resin, high performance concrete and asphalt are considered and/or
applied in research and pilot projects.
The majority of the tank thermal energy storages are sealed with (stainless) steel
liners. Only the very first Swedish storages, Studsvik and Lombohov, and the thermal
energy storage in Lisse have elastomeric (IIR) or polymeric liner (HDPE),
respectively, see Table 2-6.
In the case of the pit thermal energy storages the situation is vice versa. Stainless steel
was only applied in Berlin and in Lyngby for the cover and the pit and in Ottrupgaard
only for the cover. Most pit thermal energy storages are sealed with HDPE
geomembranes (2 – 2.5 mm). Furthermore PP, EPDM, IIR and TPE liner were
investigated an applied. Several polymers have been utilized for liner and other
applications, see Table 2-5.
Table 2-5: Application of polymers in (seasonal) thermal energy storages
Polymer Application Example
Stuttgart (GW), Berlin,
liner, drainage grid, geogrid, Chemnitz, Egenhausen,
HDPE
piping, rain cover Augsburg, Marstal (HW),
Stuttgart (lab)
liner, fabric, geogrid, geonet,
Marstal (SW), Steinfurt-
PP geocontainer, piping, rain
Borghorst
cover
fabric, geo-grid, -net, -
PET various
container
PA fabric various
rain cover, ground water
PVC Friedrichshafen, Marstal (HW)
protection
PVC-PE
liner El Paso *
(reinforced)
TPE liner Sjökulla, Stuttgart (lab)
FPO liner n/a
EPDM liner Herlev, Stuttgart (lab)
IIR (reinforced) liner Wales, Studsvik, Lombohov
BTES (Neckarsulm,
PB piping
Attenkirchen)
PEX piping BTES (Crailsheim, Okotoks)
Resin (reinforced) sandwich Ilmenau
Bituminous
liner Berlin (repair of liner)
Polymer
GW: Gravel Water, HW Hot Water, lab: outdoor laboratory at ITW; * solar pond
Whereas the investigations in Mannheim (Geipel 1983) indicated that with the
exception of (stainless) steel no material is durable enough to be applied as liner in
seasonal thermal energy storages, the Wolfsburg study (Stickrodt et.al. 1984)
indicated that HDPE or bituminous asphalt may be applied. The requirements in terms
of temperature resistance and aging behaviour were similar in both cases. However,
there are no final conclusions from operation as both storages were never realized.
Despite the warning from the Mannheim study, HDPE has been applied several times
such as in Marstal (Sørensen 2005), (Heller 2000), (Maureschat et.al. 1999), (Holm
2000), (Holm 2000-2), Chemnitz (Benner et.al. 1999), (Urbaneck 2004), (Urbaneck
et.al. 2000), (Pfeil et.al. 2006), (Urbaneck et.al. 2003) or Augsburg (Sørensen 2005),
(Heller 2000), (Maureschat et.al. 1999), (Holm 2000), (Holm 2000-2) and is still
applied due to a lack of better alternatives. In the most recent project in Eggenstein-
Leopoldshafen (Pfeil et.al. 2005), (Pfeil et.al. 2007)a HDPE-Al composite liner is
utilized (see also section Leakage below).
As described in (Braxein et.al. 1998), (Liegl 1996), (Braxein et.al. 1996) and (Meliß
et.al. 2000) in Jülich a 1:10 scale model of a pit thermal energy storage was
constructed. Based on investigations conducted by Grosskurth (Grosskurth 1984) PP
as polymeric membrane material for the pit and stainless steel 1.4571 was preferred.
Liners are either made of prefabricated liners (tarpaulins) that are delivered to the
construction site folded in one piece such as the IIR liners in Studsvik (Gustafson
1985), (Roseen et.al. 1980), (Heller 1997) or Lombohov (Gustafson 1985), (Heller
1997), (Norbäck et.al. 1980). Alternatively, membranes are welded on-site to form a
liner.
Welding of elastomeric membranes is not possible. Bonds have to be vulcanized.
However, several companies developed a technology, which is mainly applied for flat
roof sealing. The elastomeric membranes are coated to enable bonding of elastomeric
membranes similar to hot air welding. However, whether the quality concerning the
temperature resistance and aging behaviour of the welding is equal to the quality of
the elastomeric membrane remains to be investigated.
TPE are materials with both polymeric and elastomeric properties and thus can be
welded. TPEs are copolymers or a physical mix of polymers and elastomers (usually a
polyolefine and a rubber). The only seasonal thermal energy storage built with TPE is
the pit thermal energy storage in Sjökulla (Ritola 1994), (Ritola 1995). Experiences
with TPE obtained at the outdoor laboratory at ITW are discussed in chapter 2.5.3.
However, medium size storages for single family houses with volumes up to10 m³
may be built using flexible liners, such as elastomers or TPE, as was investigated by
(Visscher 2001), (Wilhelms et.al. 2006), (Wilhelms 2005). EPDM liners are also
applied in medium sized storages that are offered by the Austrian Company
SolarPlexus. The solar thermal energy storages are insulated with EPS blocks.
Volumes up to 20 m³ are available as stand-alone storage. For larger volumes the
customer has to provide the static structure (Solarplexus 2006).
Polymers (and TPEs) may be welded with hot air or hot wedge welding machines. If
this is not possible, e.g. at edges or at T-joints, manual hot air welding or extrusion
welding may be applied.
The joints of stainless steel liners are either folded seam welded, which is possible for
stainless steel sheets with a thickness of some 0.5 mm or welded with the tungsten
inert gas (TIG) method. For TIG welding a sheet thickness of at least 1.25 mm is
applied in practice.
The joints of both polymer and of stainless steel liners must be tested for leakages.
For stainless steel welding the penetrant method (DINEN571-1 1997) and/or vacuum
testing is applied. If possible, polymer membranes are welded with a double seam.
These double seams can be tested by pressurized air, which is more time and cost
effective than testing by vacuum bell jar or by spark detection. However, in edges
leakage detection is difficult and a 100 % reliability cannot be guaranteed.
For this reason, the gravel water pit thermal energy storage in Steinfurt-Borghorst is
sealed with a double PP liner with a geogrid in between. Thus, elements are produced
that may be continuously monitored by evacuation (Pfeil et.al. 2000), (Pfeil et.al.
1999), (Pfeil et.al. 1999). In Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Pfeil et.al. 2005), (Pfeil et.al.
2007) this concept has been further developed. Whereas in Steinfurt-Borghorst a
geogrid was used as spacer, chambers consisting of two layers of polymer liner are
filled with bulk insulation. The external liner is HDPE as ground water barrier. The
internal liner is an Al-HDPE composite liner, which is water and water vapour proof,
see also below (section “Leakage”).
(Geo-)membranes have a width depending on the material of usually 1 to 5 m and are
delivered to the construction side as rolls with a length of 50 to 100 m, depending on
the membrane material and thickness. Compound or coated membranes (vapour
barriers) are only available with a width of maximum 1.20 m, as, worldwide,
aluminium foils are only produced up to this width.
The tank thermal energy storage in Ilmenau (Bühl 2001) was made of prefabricated
sandwich-elements consisting of fibre reinforced resin with PUR/PIR core. Different
mounting techniques for these sandwich elements have been developed, which are
described in detail in (Nilius et.al. 2003). Fibre reinforced resin tanks up to 40 m³ are
commercially available (Haase 2006). An additional liner is not required. However,
the low diffusion resistance of available resins may be a problem if such a tank made
of glass fibre reinforced sandwich elements is buried and consequently rear
ventilation is not possible. Nevertheless, (fibre reinforced) resins may be an
interesting alternative for lining of concrete tanks as well. However, in situ
construction in a pit has not been demonstrated yet.
In addition to polymeric or stainless steel liners clay or bentonite liners known from
landfill construction are a possibility. In the storages in Berlin (Voigt et.al. 1988),
(Voigt et.al. 1988-2), (Voigt et.al. 1985), (Seefeld et.al. 1986) and in Ottrupgaard
(Heller 2000), (Heller 1997), (Heller 2000), (Duer et.al. 1993) clay liners were
applied. In Hoerby (Wesenberg et.al. 1990), (Wesenberg 1993), (Pedersen 1992)
bentonite concrete was applied.
Thermal Insulation
Whereas in earlier projects, such as in Lombohov (S), Vaulruz (CH), Friedrichshafen
(D), Chemnitz (D) or Sjökulla (FN) sheets of rock or mineral wool, polyurethane
(PUR), extruded (XPS) or expanded (EPS) polystyrene were installed at the side walls
and on the cover, the more recent thermal energy storages like Hanover (D), Steinfurt-
Borghorst (D), are insulated with bulk insulation material such as expanded glass or
foam glass gravel (Bodmann et.al. 2006), (Mangold 2006), (Schmidt et.al. 2006).
Recent projects like the hot water tank thermal energy storage in Munich (D)
(Schmidt et.al. 2006) or the gravel-water thermal energy storage in Eggenstein-
Leopoldshafen (D) (Pfeil et.al. 2005), (Pfeil et.al. 2007) are also insulated using
expanded glass granules and foam glass gravel. Particularly for large thermal energy
storages (V > ~2000 m³), installation of bulk material by pouring or by air-injecting is
much more effective with regard to costs and time than mounting thermal insulation
sheets or plates (see also section 2.5.2).
Only for the more recent projects bottom insulation is installed. It is either made of
sheets of foam glass as in the case of the 100 m³ buffer storage in Crailsheim, or of
compacted foam glass gravel (Munich) due to the required pressure resistance at high
temperatures. Bottom insulation with expanded glass granules is also possible and
was realised in Eggenstein.
There seems to be still no consensus whether seasonal thermal energy storages should
be insulated entirely or only on the cover (and at the sidewalls). Whereas all German
projects with the exception of the first German pit thermal energy storage in Stuttgart,
do have side wall insulation and most recent also bottom insulation, the pit thermal
energy storage in Ottrupgaard, Lyngby and Marstal (DK)1 are only insulated on the
top (see also floating cover, section 2.5.3).
The pit thermal energy storage in Stuttgart is insulated on top with lava stones,
λR = 0.25 W/(m K), according to (Giebe 1989)). The effective thermal conductivity is
a factor higher than that of e.g. mineral wool, λR = 0.04 W/(m K), or expanded glass
granules, λR = 0.08 W/(m K), resulting in relative high insulation thickness, if the
thermal losses shall be kept at a minimum. The gravel water thermal energy storage
was operated with a heat pump. Hence, operating temperatures did not exceed 50 °C.
1
The 10,000 m³ pit thermal energy storage has insulation in the trench at the very
upper part of the storage which is accounted to the top
The pit thermal energy storage in Stuttgart remains the only storage with natural
inorganic insulation till now.
Lightweight bricks or concrete, consisting of different fractions of either expanded
glass granules or expanded clay may be another option, too. Lightweight concrete in
combination with clay granule backfill was applied once in Lombohov. However, the
projects turned out to be unsuccessful, also in terms of very high thermal losses.
Measurements by Benner (Benner 1999) indicate that these lightweight building
materials are not suitable for the insulation of buried seasonal thermal energy
storages. The thermal conductivity increases significantly compared to the loose bulk
materials.
For the 1:10 scale model in Jülich ((Liegl 1996), (Braxein et.al. 1998), (Braxein et.al.
1996) and (Meliß et.al. 2000)) rock wool was preferred for the roof insulation. In the
very detailed Mannheim study (Geipel 1983) different insulation materials were
investigated. The author came to the conclusion that none of the existing insulation
materials such as foam glass, polystyrene, or PUR are suitable. Expanded glass
granules have not been available at this time. For the pit thermal energy storage that
was planned in Wolfsburg (Stickrodt et.al. 1984) different insulation materials were
investigated as well. Foam glass was found to fit best as thermal insulation for the pit
and for the cover. However, as mentioned before, this thermal energy storage was
never realized.
In Table 2-6, liner, type and, if available, thickness of the thermal insulation of
research and pilot projects are listed. The insulation type and thickness and, therefore,
the heat transfer resistance vary significantly from project to project. A direct
comparison without consideration of the entire system is only little instructive.
However, a trend from sheets to bulk insulation and from only cover insulation to
entirely insulated storages can be seen for both, tank thermal energy storages and pit
thermal energy storages. Furthermore, it becomes obvious that tanks are sealed with
stainless steel liners in the majority of cases, whereas pits have mainly polymer lining.
Experiences made during operation of these pilot and research thermal energy
storages are discussed later in section 2.4.2.
Table 2-6: Thermal insulation and liner of pilot and research thermal energy storages (tanks and pits)
Thermal insulation
Location/name Country Reference Year top side wall bottom
Envelope/lining material
Tanks
(Gustafson 1985), 20 cm PUR blocks (floating
- -
Studsvik S (Roseen et.al. 1980), 1978 cover)
(Heller 1997) concrete, 2 mm IIR rubber, reinforced by additional 1.5 mm polyester net
(Gustafson 1985), lightweight concrete + backfill lightweight concrete + backfill
20 cm PUR blocks (floating
(Heller 1997), with cement bound expanded clay with cement bound expanded clay
Lombohov S 1980 cover)
(Norbäck et.al. 1980) granules granules
concrete, IIR rubber
(Raab 2006), mineral wool mineral wool -
Särö S (Dalenbäck 1993), 1989
(Dalenbäck 1991) rolled AluZink / 2 mm steel spiral folded, without further static structure
(Hirt et.al. 1997) 15 cm mineral wool, 15 cm EPS 20 cm mineral wool (Steinlamelle) -
Rottweil D 1995 concrete, 0.5 mm stainless steel (austenitic Chrom-Nickel), folded seam welded, later partially 1.25 mm
stainless steel WIG welded
(IEA Task XIV 1996), foam glass foam glass foam glass
Lisse NL (Dahlenbäck 1998), 1994
HDPE
(Bokhoven et.al. 2001)
(Benner et.al. 1999), 30 cm rock wool sheets 20 rock wool sheets -
Hamburg D (Bodmann et.al. 2003), 1996
(Schulz et.al. 1996) concrete, 1.25 mm stainless steel, WIG welded
(Benner et.al. 1999), 30 cm rock wool sheets 20 cm rock wool sheets -
(Reineck et.al. 1997),
Friedrichshafen D (Lichtenfels et.al. 1996
2000), (Raab et.al. concrete, 1.25 mm stainless steel (1.4571), WIG welded
2004)
(Bühl 2001), (Nilius 15 cm PUR (Sandwich, glass fibre 15 cm PUR (Sandwich, glass fibre
n/a
Ilmenau D et.al. 2003), (Haase 1998 reinforced UP resin) reinforced UP resin)
2006) glass fibre reinforced epoxide resin
Thermal insulation
(Benner et.al. 1999), 70 cm recycled glass granules in 30 to 70 cm recycled glass
(Bodmann et.al. 2003), -
bags granules in bags
Hanover D (Jooß 2001), 2000
(Lichtenfels et.al. high performance concrete, no additional liner, overlapping vapour barrier towards insulations
2000), (Schlosser 2006)
(Benner et.al. 2004), XPS-Insulation on top - -
(Beuth et.al. Juni
Attenkrichen D 2006), (Reuß 2004), 2002
(Reuß 2003), (Reuß concrete, no additional liner (in the centre of a BTES)
et.al. 2001)
(Mangold 2006), 40 cm recycled glass granules 40 cm recycled glass granules in
20 cm foam glass
(Mangold 2006-2), (loose) lost membrane formwork
Crailsheim2 D (Schmidt et.al. 2006), 2006
(Raab et.al. 2005), concrete, 1.25 mm stainless steel, WIG welded
(Bauer et.al. 2006)
(Mangold 2006), 30 to 70 cm recycled glass
70 cm recycled glass granules in 30 cm foam glass gravel
(Mangold 2006-2), granules in lost membrane
Munich D 2006 bags (compacted)
(Schmidt et.al. 2006) formwork
concrete, 1.25 mm stainless steel, WIG welded
Pits
60 cm polystyrene 30 cm polystyrene -
Wales (HW) UK (Todd 1978) 1977
butyl
(IEA Task XIV 1996), 60 cm polystyrene 60 cm polystyrene -
Vaulruz (SW) CH 1983
(Hadorn 1985) n/a
(Hansen et.al. 1983), 20 cm polystyrene (floating cover) - -
Lyngby DK 1983
(Hansen et.al. 1985) 1 mm butyl
2 The 100 m³ concrete tank (A/V=1.41), which is used as a buffer storage in Crailsheim (Germany), was built in 2005. It is constructed above
ground but similar to the construction method of buried tank storages. As it is operated as a buffer storage less insulation is reqired. The storage is
protected against wind and rain by a trapezoid shaped sheet. It is sealed on the inside of the concrete shell with a WIG welded stainless steel liner.
Thermal insulation
(Giebe 1989), (Hahne 90 cm lava stone - -
et.al. 1987), (Vogt
Stuttgart (GW) D 1985
1987), (Hahne 2000), 2.5 mm HDPE
(Hahne et.al. 1989)
(Voigt et.al. 1988), VIS (floating cover, consisting of
foam glass foam glass
(Voigt et.al. 1988-2), vacuum insulation elements)
Berlin (HW) D 1986
(Voigt et.al. 1985), various (bentonite, 2.5 mm HDPE, tar-epoxide resin, various leakage problems), stainless steel cover: VIS
(Seefeld et.al. 1986) (floating cover consisting of vacuum insulation elements)
n/a n/a n/a
Meyrin (SW) CH (Hadorn 1988) 1986
n/a
PU PU PU
Växjö (HW) S (Dalenbäck 1993) 1987
HDPE
10-20 cm polyfoam (in-situ
40 cm polyfoam (in-situ foamed
(Dalenbäck 1993), foamed PU) additional 10 cm -
Malung (HW) S 1989 PU)
(Zinko et.al. 1994) mineral wool
0.5 mm stainless steel, double seam fold, 1.2 mm at edges and corners
(Wesenberg et.al. n/a n/a n/a
Hoerby (HW) DK 1990), (Wesenberg 1990
1993), (Pedersen 1992) bentonite-concrete
PU plates PU plates PU plates
Herlev (HW) DK (Heller 2000) 1991
EPDM, 0.5 mm Stainless Steel (1999)
(Ussing 1991), (Heller mineral wool at cover - -
Lyngby (SW) 6) DK 1991
2000) n/a, stainless steel at floating cover
(Ritola 1994), 56 cm mineral wool 15 cm PU + 15 cm polystyrene 30 cm PU
Sjökulla (HW) FN 1993
(Ritola 1995) TPE (PP-EPDM)
(Heller 2000), (Heller 32 cm PU (floating cover) - -
Ottrupgaard
DK 1997), (Heller 2000), 1995
(HW) Clay, stainless steel in floating cover
(Duer et.al. 1993)
Thermal insulation
(Sørensen 2005), n/a n/a n/a
(Heller 2000),
Marstal (SW) DK (Maureschat et.al. 1999
1999), (Holm 2000), PP (?)
(Holm 2000-2)
(Urbaneck 2004), 24 cm XPS sheets 12 cm XPS sheets -
Chemnitz (GW) D 1997
(Pfeil et.al. 2006), 2.5 mm HDPE
(Urbaneck et.al. 2003)
Egenhausen (Pfeil et.al. 1998), 30 cm (2 layers) EPS, 20 cm (2 layers) EPS 10 cm (1 layer) EPS
D 1997
(SW) (Koch et.al. 1997) 2.5 mm HDPE
(Pfeil et.al. 2000), XPS sheets and mineral wool foam glass sheets foam glass sheets
(Hausladen et.al. 1998),
Augsburg /GW) D 1997
(LFU 2003), (Reuß HDPE
2003)
(Benner et.al. 1999), 60 cm recycled glass granules (as 50 cm recycled glass granules in
12 cm foam glass sheets
(Pfeil et.al. 2000), loose bulk) vertical geobags
Steinfurt- (Pfeil et.al. 1999),
D 1999
Borghorst (GW) (Pfeil et.al. 1999),
2 mm PP + vapour barrier, double layered for vacuum testing on sidewalls
(Reuß 2003),
(Bodmann et.al. 2003)
(Heller et.al. 2002), rock wool sheets rock wool sheets -
Lyngby (HW) DK 2001
(Duer 2000) stainless steel, folded seam welded
(Sørensen 2005), 7.5 cm rock wool and 12.5 to 33.5 10 cm EPS at first 1.3 m from top
-
Marstal (HW) DK (Sørensen 2004), 2003 cm EPS (floating cover) in trench
(Sørensen 2006) 2.5 mm HDPE
50 to 90 cm recycled glass 50 cm recycled glass granules in
Eggenstein- (Pfeil et.al. 2005), 90 cm foam glass gravel
D 2007 granules in evacuated chambers evacuated chambers
Leopoldshafen (Pfeil et.al. 2007)
2.5 mm HDPE with Al core towards water, 2 mm HDPE towards soil for ground water protection
2.4.2 Experiences with Operation of Pilot and Research Storages
Thermal Losses
Practical experiences over the last 25 years demonstrate that seasonal heat storage in
buried tanks or pits is technically feasible. However, for the majority of the research and
pilot plants for solar assisted district heating systems with buried or partially buried
(seasonal) thermal energy storage the thermal losses are higher than calculated or
simulated during the design phase.
It is obvious that a comparison of different (seasonal) thermal energy storages is
complex. There are plenty of parameters that may differ. On the one hand the volume
and geometry of the storage, the insulation thickness and type may differ significantly.
On the other hand the operation conditions are different for each system: the (average
and maximum/minimum) operation temperatures, the quality of stratification and the
return flow temperature of the heating net influence the thermal losses of a (seasonal)
thermal energy storage. However, those parameters do not depend on the storage but on
the thermal energy system. All those constructional and operational characteristics
influence the exergetic and thermal losses. Furthermore, only in some cases the losses
of the tubing from the heating central to the seasonal thermal energy storage is included,
when authors report thermal losses of the thermal energy storage. The length and type
of tubing may also differ significantly.
Nevertheless, Table 2-7 shows a comparison of calculated and measured values of
thermal losses of some of the demonstration projects of solar assisted district heating
systems with buried seasonal thermal energy storage. Actual thermal losses are 30 % to
50 % higher than the design/simulation values; in one case the thermal losses are even
more than four times higher (see also (Bodmann et.al. 2003), (Schlosser 2006),
(Mangold 2006-2), (Ochs et.al. 2006-2), (Ochs et.al. 2006-3)).
There are several reasons that cause the high thermal losses compared to the
design/simulation values. Poor stratification causes higher internal (exergetic) losses.
Higher thermal losses to the ground resulting from increased temperature at the bottom
region of the storage as a consequence of high return temperatures of the heating net
contribute further to an increase of the overall thermal losses. The bottom area of the
majority of the research and pilot projects thermal storages is non insulated or is poorly
insulated. Insufficient knowledge about the boundary conditions (ground water level
and flow) may also contribute to an underestimation of the thermal losses.
However, the main reason may be that the asumed thermal conductivity of the
insulation material was assumed too low. The thermal conductivity of porous materials
increases with increasing moisture content and with increasing temperature. For the
simulation of the German projects the thermal conductivity of the insulation was taken
from DIN 4108 (DIN4108 Teil 4 2004). The assumption of constant material properties
such as the effective thermal conductivity of the insulation material and of the
surrounding ground, but also the water vapour resistance index of the liner leads to
wrong results as will be demonstrated later in this report.
Hence, a major part of the increased thermal losses of pilot and research storages may
result from moistened insulation. The quality of the envelope with respect to protection
against moisture penetration is often deficient. Several authors reported that thermal
losses are assumed to have increased due to moistened or wet insulation (i.e.
Lombohov, Hamburg, Friedrichshafen, Malung, Chemnitz and Marstal).
⋅
Table 2-7: Thermal losses ( Qmeas ) of selected demonstration projects with buried hot water tank storages and pit thermal energy storages –
comparison of design/simulation and measured data
⋅ ⋅
V A A ⋅
Q meas
Q meas
⋅ ∆T #) Q
Location V
/name
Country Reference Date Q design ∆T ⋅ A
[m ] [m ] [m ] [MWh
3 2 −1
a −1 ] [− ] [K ] [KWh K −1 m 2 a −1 ]
Tanks
(Gustafson 1985), (Roseen et.al. 1980),
1978 800 550 0.69 n/a 1.07-1.3 n/a n/a
Studsvik S (Heller 1997)
(Gustafson 1985), (Heller 1997),
1980 10,000 1,750 0.18 250 3 n/a n/a
Lombohov S (Norbäck et.al. 1980)
(Raab 2006), (Dalenbäck 1993),
1989 640 n/a n/a n/a 3 n/a n/a
Särö S (Dalenbäck 1991)
(Benner et.al. 1999), (Schulz et.al. 1996),
1996 4,500 1,650 0.37 360 – 430 3.8-4.5 42 5.7
Hamburg D (Bodmann et.al. 2003)
(Benner et.al. 1999), (Reineck et.al.
Friedrichs- 1997), (Lichtenfels et.al. 2000), (Raab 1996 12,000 2,796 0.23 320 – 360 1.5-1.6 49 2.5
hafen D et.al. 2004)
(Bühl 2001), (Nilius et.al. 2003),
1998 300 262 1.14 n/a 1.2 n/a n/a
Ilmenau+) D (ELSSHN 2006)
(Benner et.al. 1999), (Bodmann et.al.
2003), (Jooß 2001), (Lichtenfels et.al. 2000 2,750 1,135 0.41 90 – 100 1.3-1.4 33 2.5
Hanover D 2000), (Schlosser 2006)
Pits
Stuttgart (Giebe 1989), (Hahne et.al. 1987), (Vogt
D 1985 1,050 835 0.84 27 <1 8 0.4
(GW) $) 1987), (Hahne 2000), (Hahne et.al. 1989)
Malung (Dalenbäck 1993),
S 1989 1,000 n/a n/a n/a 1.5 n/a n/a
(HW) (Zinko et.al. 1994)
Chemnitz (Urbaneck 2004), (Urbaneck et.al. 2000),
D 1997 8,000 3,375 0.42 n/a 1.4 n/a n/a
(GW) x) (Pfeil et.al. 2006), (Urbaneck et.al. 2003)
⋅ ⋅
V A A ⋅
Q meas
Q meas
⋅ ∆T #) Q
Location V
/name
Country Reference Date Q design ∆T ⋅ A
[m ] [m ] [m ] [MWh
3 2 −1
a −1
] [− ] [K ] [KWh K −1 m 2 a −1 ]
(Benner et.al. 1999), (Pfeil et.al. 2000),
Steinfurt
D (Pfeil et.al. 1999), (Pfeil et.al. 1999), 1999 1,500 1,305 0.87 70 – 90 n/a 26 2.4
(GW) §)
(Bodmann et.al. 2003), (Reuß 2003)
Marstal (Sørensen 2005), (Sørensen 2004),
DK 2003 10,000 5,600 0.56 338 n/a 22 0.6
(HW) †) (Sørensen 2006)
+) §)
extrapolation of a 5 month period incl. connecting pipes
average storage temperature minus average ambient/ground temperature ∆T =Tm,s-Tm,a
$) #)
462 h simulation, operation with heat pump, Tav,storage = 16.5 °C
x)
extrapolation of 8 week data, operation ceased in 2006 n/a not available
†)
a period of 6 month according to (Sørensen 2005)
Leakage
With every type of liner in both, tanks and pits, leakage problems occurred. In the
case of hot water thermal energy storages, leakages may be repaired, in case of
gravel/sand/soil-water thermal energy storages, a leakage is a worst case scenario.
Problems with clay and bentonite liners are reported most frequently. However,
leakages also occurred in thermal energy storages with polymer and stainless steel
liners. Due to major leakage problems operation of seasonal thermal energy storages
was ceased in several cases. Nevertheless, with the exception of the storage in
Ottrupgaard, DK (Heller 2000), which is sealed with compacted clay, initial leakage
problems could be solved in the majority of cases.
Stainless steel welding seams are leakage tested by the penetrant method
(DINEN571-1 1997). Furthermore vacuum bell jar testing is applied. Polymer
welding seams may be proofed by pressurized air, by vacuum bell jar or by spark
detection. Nevertheless, several leakage problems were reported in pilot and research
projects.
The two first Swedish storages, Studsvik (Roseen et.al. 1980) and Lombohov
(Norbäck et.al. 1980), both sealed with a prefabricated IIR liner, ceased operation: in
Lombohov that was because of unacceptably high thermal losses due to moistened
insulation resulting from leakages. In the case of the Studsvik storage the floating lid
(including the entire solar collectors that were mounted on the lid) broke down as a
result of decreased water level due to major leakage problems.
In an earlier small scale project in Wales (Todd 1978) leakage out of cracks in the
butyl liner resulting from bad joints in the insulation were reported. However, after
the joints were improved no further problems from operation of the 100 m³ pit were
reported.
Danish experiences are similar: The leakage of the clay sealed Ottrupgaard storage
was mentioned above. Additionally, the hot water storage in Hoerby sealed using
bentonite concrete showed severe leakages due to cracks. Attempts to stop leakage
were not successful (Wesenberg 1993), (Pedersen 1992).
A 3,000 m³ storage built in Herlev, Tubberupvaenge (DK) showed leakages in the
EPDM liner which resulted in severe water losses. Only after a further stainless steel
liner was installed, leakages could be stopped (Heller 2000).
Again in the latest realised project in Denmark, the 10,000 m³ pit thermal energy
storage with floating cover in Marstal (Sørensen 2004), leakage problems were
reported. A leakage was found and repaired at the welding seam between the liner and
the inlet of the (dis-) charging pipes. Another leakage was reported at the manhole of
the floating cover. The welding seams (extrusion seams) between the liner and the
pipe seem to be a major problem (Sørensen 2006).
In the Netherlands, the 1,000 m³ hot water storage in Lisse (NL) was sealed with a
HDPE liner. Leakage problems are reported in (Mahler 2004).
A small hole in the welding seams of the Sjökulla hot water pit thermal energy
storage caused unacceptable water losses. The leakage was difficult to detect, as
vacuum detection at the edges, where the leakage could finally be located, is hardly
possible (Ritola 1994).
In Germany leakage problems are also reported:
The storage in Rottweil, sealed with 0.5 mm stainless steel was pressure tested using
compressed air after welding the stainless steel liner. Only after several attempts and
further welding work the storage became leakage free (Hirt et.al. 1997).
The hot water pit thermal energy storage in Berlin was first sealed with bentonite.
Several attempts to stop the leakage, which amounted to 3 m³ per hour, remained
without success. An additional layer with bentonite granules did not stop the leakages
due to missing compaction. Also an additional attempt with a HDPE liner showed
major leakages, which could not be located and repaired. After several attempts using
e.g. tar-epoxide resin as sealing the leakage problem could be solved (Voigt et.al.
1988-2).
Furthermore, the HDPE liner of the gravel water pit thermal energy storage in
Stuttgart was not free of small leakages (Hahne et.al. 1987), (Hahne et.al. 1989). In
(Hahne 2000) leakages of 10 to 15 m³ per year, accounting for about 3 % of the water
volume, are reported. A (major) part of the water losses is assumed to result from
small leakage in the welding seams. Another part may be the result of diffusive losses
due to permeation through the HDPE liner.
As a leakage is not repairable without major effort in case of gravel or soil pit thermal
energy storages, the gravel water pit thermal energy storage in Steinfurt-Borghorst
was sealed with a double PP liner with a geogrid in between. In this way elements are
manufactured that may be monitored continuously by evacuation (Pfeil et.al. 2000),
(Pfeil et.al. 1999), (Pfeil et.al. 1999). However, water loss is still reported, despite of
the double layer: IGS Braunschweig reports that several m³ of water had to be
replenished into after only some years of operation. However, losses are expected to
be diffusive and not due to leakage in the liner.
Based on the experiences from Steinfurt-Borghorst evacuated chambers are realized at
the bottom, the side-walls and the top of the gravel-water thermal energy storage in
the most recent project in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Pfeil et.al. 2005), (Pfeil et.al.
2007). Due to the presence of ground water, an external (soil faced) liner is required.
Chambers are fabricated using the two layers of polymer liner. The external liner
installed as ground water barrier is a HDPE liner. The internal liner is an Al-HDPE
composite liner, which is water and water vapour proof. Instead of a geogrid as spacer
the chambers are filled with bulk insulation which is required anyway.
Liner failure is not only reported in the case of thermal energy storages. Also in
landfill, dam or pond construction leakages are reported (see i.e. (Koerner et.al. 2005),
(Reddy et.al. 1997) and (Needham et.al. 2003)). Leakage detection methods are
therefore mainly developed for landfill applications. Further descriptions may be
found in (Rollin et.al. 2003), (Brummermann et.al. 2003) and (Peggs et.al. 2003).
Whereas welding seams may be proofed during construction, failure due to aging
(brittle break) may also occur after a certain time. The lifetime of polymer liners
strongly depends on the polymer recipe and the operation conditions. The higher the
temperature, the shorter is the lifetime of a certain polymer (Grosskurth 1984),
(Koerner et.al. 2005), (Reddy et.al. 1997), (Needham et.al. 2003), (Bartholomeo et.al.
2003), (Hsuan et.al. 1998), (Schäfe et.al. 2003), (Pedersen et.al. 1999) and (Pedersen
2004). Also sunlight exposure enhances aging (Lopes et.al. 2003). However, aging
behaviour of polymer and compound liner is not satisfyingly investigated yet. In
addition to the urgent development of accelerated aging methods , field tests have to
be conducted. Whether tensile testing of liners is the best criterion has still to be
prooved. Additionally peel and shear tests of welding seams have to be conducted.
Torsion tests of liners as a function of temperature may be a further method to
compare the temperature resistance of different geomembranes.
As mentioned above, experiences with compacted clay and bentonite liners are
predominantly negative. The permeability rate of a bentonite sealing depends on the
degree of compaction. Bentonite or clay linings have to be wet and compacted in
order to ensure tightening. In the case of the hybrid clay liner (clay and EPDM) of the
Ottrupgaard storage an unacceptable water loss of 6 m³ per day, corresponding to 150
% of the volume of the storage per year, is reported in (Heller 2000). The liner is
described in detail in (Duer et.al. 1993). Sealing with bentonite was already
investigated in 1982 by (Harasim et.al. 1982) for so called artificial aquifers.
A further attempt using bentonite liner, in Stuttgart in 2005, remained without success
(Ochs 2005-2), although laboratory experiments were promising concerning
permeability rates (Brellochs 2004). In order to measure the permeation rate an
additional bentonite liner was installed in an entirely sealed pit. After adding a layer
of protective fleece the storage was filled with gravel in order to ensure sufficient
compaction. Between the outer EPDM liner and the inner bentonite liner a drainage
grid was placed. It was planned to determine the permeation rate by measuring the
amount of drainage water by pumping. Due to mistakes during construction and
insufficient quality at the overleaping areas, especially in the edges, the bentonite
lining produced severe losses. The experiment was hence discontinued. Experience
and excellent workmanship is a key requirement when working with bentonite.
2.5 Construction of Buried Tank and Pit Thermal Energy

Storages
2.5.1 Geometry of Buried Thermal Energy Storages

In order to design and construct a (seasonal) thermal energy storage with minimized
construction costs and with minimized thermal losses at the same time, optimization
of both, the soil works and the storage construction is required.
In the case of pit thermal energy storages, the pit geometry determines also the
geometry of the storage. The geometry of tank thermal energy storages, constructed
with in-situ concrete or with prefabricated elements, is more flexible. However, in
both cases the earth works contribute significantly to the total construction costs. The
desired storage type and the construction sequence (i.e. tank with insulation inside or
outside, with or without liner) determine the geometry and size of the construction pit.
Buried thermal energy storages may be constructed as cuboid, cylinder, as inversed
(and truncated) pyramid or cone or as a combination of one of these geometries.
Eventually, the construction costs have to be minimized.
For the optimal geometry of a (seasonal) thermal energy storage the minimization of
both, internal exergetic losses (Qint) due to thermal stratification and external thermal
losses (Qext) via the envelope of the storage have to be considered (see Fig. 2-16).
dt
Qint Qext
h
h hs
d db
Fig. 2-16: Geometry of a buried seasonal thermal energy storage, energetic and
exergetic losses
Depending on the operation mode, short-term (buffer) storage or long-term (seasonal)

storage, respectively, the internal or external losses dominate. For short term storage,
the yearly number of charging cycles (CN: charging, standstill and discharging) is
between 260 and 280. The number of charging cycles for seasonal storage is below 2,
hence, the external thermal losses are more significant. With respect to the external
losses the A/V ratio has to be minimized. Accordingly, an optimum between optimum
h/d and A/V ratio has to be found.
Thermal losses via the envelope may be reduced by means of optimized A/V ratio and
by thermal insulation measures. The A/V ratio is determined by the volume and by
the geometry of the storage. Storages with the shape of a sphere have lowest A/V
ratios. However, construction of such a shape is not practical.
The exergetic losses depend on the storage medium (water, gravel-water, soil/sand-
water) and the aspect ratio (h/d). Contrariwise, the thermal losses via the envelope
depend on the A/V-ratio of the storage (and on the thermal resistance of the
insulation). The smaller the storage and the larger the A/V ratio, the more important
becomes the envelope with an effective thermal insulation.
For small stratified hot water storages in the majority of cases experimental as well as
simulation results indicate that an aspect ratio (h/d) smaller than 3 is disadvantageous.
However, aspect ratios between 1 and 10 are suggested by different authors ((Lavan
et.al. 1977), (Sharp et.al. 1978), (Abdoly et.al. 1982), (Cole et.al. 1982), (Ismail et.al.
1988), (Cotter et.al. 1993), (Al-Najem et.al. 1993), (Hahne et.al. 1998-2), (Matrawy
et.al. 1996), (Nelson et.al. 1999) and (Panthalookaran 2006)). A value of three (to
four) seems to be the most practical (Cabezza et.al. 2006), see Table 2-8.
As experiences show for seasonal thermal energy storage an aspect ratio of 1 is most
promising. Based on experiences, in (Raab 2006) an aspect ratio of 1 is suggested for
seasonal thermal energy storages, too. A sensitivity analysis based on system
simulations using TRNSYS software (Fluent 2006), showed nearly no effect of
changes of the aspect ratio on the solar fraction of the investigated solar assisted
district heating system. The thermal performance of the seasonal thermal energy
storage decreases by a decreasing aspect ratio. However, depending on the
configuration of the solar assisted district heating system, the increased thermal losses
of the thermal energy storage may be compensated by a higher collector yield due to
lower return temperatures of the solar collector field.
Table 2-8: Number of charging cycles and recommended aspect ratio (h/d) of buffer
storages and of seasonal thermal energy storages
(dis-)charging cycles (CN) aspect ratio h/d
[1/a] [-]
buffer thermal energy
260 to 280 ≈ 3.0
storage
seasonal thermal energy
1.2 to 1.6 ≈ 1.0
storage (tank or pit)
CFD simulations may be more promising for evaluating large (seasonal) storages than
obtaining experimental results. For large thermal energy storages gathering
experimental data for various geometries and varying parameters is cumbersome and
impractical for economic reasons.
An efficiency definition based on the First and the Second Law of Thermodynamics is
given in (Panthalookaran 2006). With this so-called Storage Evaluation Number
(SEN) efficiency, a combined energetic and exergetic evaluation criterion, it could be
confirmed that for a cylindrical geometry values of the aspect ratio between 1 and 3
should be aimed at. Above aspect ratios of 2 only slight improvements of the SEN
number are achieved.
Although practice and theory show that an aspect ratio of 1 should be aimed for, due
to geophysical constraints such as ground water flow or rock layers in the ground,
aspect ratios lower than 1 were realized in most cases, i.e. Hamburg (h/d≈0.4),
Friedrichshafen (h/d ≈ 0.6) or Hanover (h/d ≈ 0.7), see Table 2-4.
Especially the very large pit thermal energy storages, such as the seasonal thermal
energy storages for Wolfsburg (10,000 m³) and Mannheim (30,000 m³), both planned
but not realized, or the 10,000 m³ pit thermal energy storage in Marstal have in
comparison to the surface area relatively shallow pits with flat slopes. The results are
small aspect ratios as shown in Table 2-9.
Table 2-9: Volume (V) height (h), slope angle (b) and surface area of large pit
thermal energy storages with inverted pyramid trunk geometry
Mannheim Wolfsburg Marstal
reference (Geipel 1983) (Stickrodt et.al. 1984) (Sørensen 2004)
volume V [m³] 30,000 10,000 10,000
slope β [-] 1/1.3 1/2 1/2
height h [m] 15 8 6.5
surface area Ac [m²] 75 x 50 51 x 51 65 x 42
Total area Atot [m²] 8,300 5,400 5,600
A/V ratio [1/m] 0.3 0.5 0.6
aspect ratio * [-] 0.70 0.23 0.16
* ratio of height and mean edge length/diameter dm=(dt+db)/2
The slopes of these three examples are with 27°, 38° and 27°, respectively, relatively
flat. Depending on the soil type, steeper slopes are not always possible without further
adjustments, as will be shown in the next sections. Storages with flat slopes require
relatively large cover areas. The construction of the lid accounts for a significant part
of the total construction costs, see also section 2.5.3 below.
2.5.2 Envelope of the Storage
The envelope has to fulfil several functions: it has to be impermeable by the storage
medium (i.e. water and water vapour), thermal losses due to conduction have to be
minimised to a minimum and penetration of moisture from the surrounding soil must
be prevented.
Furthermore, the envelope must resist break-down or failure, even in the case of e.g.
vandalism or attack of rodents. By using additional protective fleeces damage of the
single functional layers may be prevented during construction. Necessary grommets
through the liner, for example (dis-)charging pipes or sensors for the measurement
and control system are critical points and should consequently be minimized..
The design of the envelope, presented in this work, is the result of experiences with
several pilot and research projects (see chapter 2.4). Additionally results from outdoor
laboratory experiments conducted at ITW further contribute to the design
recommendation.
The envelope of a buried seasonal thermal energy storage is a composite consisting of
several layers, the most important being the liner and the thermal insulation.
Furthermore, several geosynthetics such as vapour barrier, geogrid, geonet, drainage
grid and (protective) fleece are part of the envelope. Generally, the used geosynthetics
such as geomembranes, geogrids and geotextiles have various functions such as
separation, filter, drainage, reinforcement, protection, lining, sealing and origin from
several sectors, see Table 2-10. A good overview about geosynthetics is given in
(Rüegger et.al. 2003) and (Koerner 1998).
Table 2-10: Construction of buried (seasonal) thermal energy storages, related
sectors
sector material method reference
(Neal 1981), (Lu et.al. 1996),
(Swift et.al. 1992), (Lu et.al.
clay, bentonite, HDPE,
solar pond welding 2004), (Cao 2004), (Weinberger
PP, XR-5
1964), (Jubran et.al. 2004),
(Jaefarzadeh 2004)
(Rollin et.al. 2003), (Koerner
welding, leakage
landfill HDPE, PP 1998), (Stief 1996), (Gallagher
detection
et.al. 2003)
tunnel HDPE, PP welding (Brummermann et.al. 2003)
basin, water HDPE, PP, PVC, FPO, (Peggs et.al. 2003), (Young 2000),
welding, leakage
reservoir, pool, TPE, elastomers, (Talley et.al. 2000), (Roos et.al.
detection, cover
pond bentonite 1999)
welding, leakage (Koerner et.al. 2005),
dam HDPE, PP
detection (Hsuan et.al. 1998)
clay, bentonite, PVC, leakage (Schäfe et.al. 2003)
canal
HDPE, PP detection
welding, leakage (Fricklas et.al. 2006),
elastomeric membrane, detection, (March et.al. 1995)
(flat) roofing
FPO, TPE, PVC permeation
barrier
tank facility, (Contitech 2006)
chemical tank welding, leakage
HDPE, PP, FPO
foundation, detection
catchment basin
prefabricated (Dyneon 2006)
gas and vapour
elastomeric membrane liner, permeation
holders
barrier
membrane roofs flourpolymers (ETFE) cover (Haase 2006-2)
corrosion permeation (Hanke 2000)
elastomers
protection, sealing barrier
PIB, PEX, HMPE, PE- (Liebel et.al. 2006),
tubing -
RT (Kramer et.al. 1998)
A design of a composite wall of a pit thermal energy storage with vertical slope is
shown in Fig. 2-17.
The complexity of the composite wall (assembly of several layers) arises due to the
fact that the envelope has to protect the thermal insulation from moisture penetration
from the inside and the outside, while at the same time enable desiccation in case the
thermal insulation is already wet.
soil
concrete or steel, according to special geotechnical
method
drainage (labyrinth-like polymer core with filter
layer on outer or on both sides)
diffusive liner, welded or bonded
protective fleece (optional)
thermal insulation (expanded glass or clay granules,
foam glass gravel)
(lost) form work (or geocontainer / geobag)
protective fleece (1200 g)
liner: stainless steel, compound or polymer liner
Fig. 2-17: Multilayered (composite) vertical side wall of a seasonal thermal energy
storage, insulation interior with respect to the concrete/steel structure
There are various reasons for moisture penetration from different sources:
(i) upon delivery on site, insulation materials contain at least a small amount of
moisture,
(ii) due to storage at the construction site the material remains exposed to ambient
conditions (wind, rain, surface water) thus the water content of the material
may increase further,
(iii)construction material moisture is also a source for moistened insulation. In
case of concrete tank thermal energy storages (or pit thermal energy storages
with shotcrete layer, slotted wall or bored pile wall) concrete is part of the
composite envelope. After construction the moisture content of in-situ
concrete (i.e. B45) is in the range of 120 kg/m³ to 180 kg/m³. Prefabricated
concrete elements may have a moisture content up to 120 kg/m³, see (Jooß
2001). This is especially a problem in the case of concrete tank thermal energy
storages, where the insulation is mounted at the exterior with respect to the
concrete, see Fig. 2-18.
soil
protective fleece (optional)
drainage (labyrinth-like polymer core with filter
layer on outer or on both sides)
diffusive layer, welded or adhesive bonded
(lost) form work (or geocontainer / geobag)
thermal insulation (expanded glass or clay granules,
foam glass gravel)
vapour barrier (optional)
concrete, reinforced
liner: stainless steel, compound or polymer liner
GW
Fig. 2-18: Multilayered (composite) side wall of a seasonal thermal energy storage,
exterior insulation with respect to the concrete/steel structure
Internal insulation would be preferable with regard to the statical conditions of the
(concrete) shell, as temperature induced stress would be minimized (see also (Reineck
et.al. 1997), (Lichtenfels et.al. 2000), (Jooß 2001)) and the reduction of longitudinal
heat conduction. However, no tank with internal insulation has been realised so far.
Mounting the liner on the insulation without producing cold bridges may be the most
significant obstacle.
2.5.3 Covering Hot Water Thermal Energy Storages

As demonstrated in section 2.3.2, in comparison to gravel- or soil-water thermal
energy storages, hot water thermal energy storages offer a number of advantages.
However, construction of the top cover is more complex and expensive. According to
(Ochs 2005-2), (Ochs et.al. 2006-4) and (Heller 1997) lid constructions for large pit
water thermal energy storages account for more than 50 % of the total costs.
Three types of covers can be distinguished. Self-supporting (shell, dome or barrel
shaped) covers, supported covers and floating covers. The advantages as well as the
limits and constraints of the particular covers are summarised in Table 2-11.
Table 2-11: Types of covers for hot water thermal energy storages (tanks and pits)
self-supporting (shell) cover
+ accessible/removable cover
+ storage is accessible/maintainable
- complex construction
- relatively high construction cost (pass)
- limited storage volume/surface area
supported cover
+ accessible/removable
+ storage is accessible/maintainable
- penetration of liner at bottom
- high mechanical load on column (foundation
slab required)
floating cover
+ simple cost-effective construction
+ nearly unlimited surface area (for buoying
cover)
- limited accessibility/removability
- limited/no accessibility to the storage (for
maintenance /repairs)
- limited space for charging system
At least one of each lid type was already realized in research or pilot storages.
Whereas the supported cover, which is installed in two German pilot projects
(Rottweil and Hamburg), is the least preferable, there is no clear winner between the
self-supporting cover and the floating cover.
The economic benefit of a floating cover in comparison to a self-supported cover is
obvious. However, in terms of restrictions for removing/replacing the cover, for
example, if it is damaged due to vandalism or attack of rodents, the self-supported
cover is advantageous. Floating covers are not covered with soil, thus the material
should be covered by a UV-resistant rain cover. For storages with floating covers, a
level control is required to make sure the storage cannot be empty at any time.
Furthermore, measures that compensate for water expansion due to temperature
increase, have to be taken into account. In Marstal (Sørensen 2005), for example, the
surplus water is drained when the storage is charged (= heated) and fresh water is
topped up when the storage is discharged (= cooled).
In comparison to self-supporting covers, it is more complicated to design a floating
cover in such a manner that rain water can be drained off the cover. A slope of at least
2-3 % is recommended. While this was not a problem in Ottrupgaard (Heller 2000),
the floating cover in Marstal (Sørensen 2006) and the buoying cover at ITW (Ochs
2005-2) did not work well in this respect. All projects with floating covers provided
protective measures, such as a fence, against unwanted access to the top of the
storage.
Table 2-12: Self-supported, supported and floating covers of pilot and research hot
water thermal energy storages (tanks and pits)
cover type pilot/research reference remark
Project
Shell Växjö (S) (Dalenbäck 1993) pit
cover Särö (S) (Raab 2006), (Dalenbäck 1993), steel tank
(Dalenbäck 1991)
Malung (S) (Dalenbäck 1993), pit
(Zinko et.al. 1994)
Friedrichs- (Benner et.al. 1999), (Reineck et.al. tank, shell cover
hafen (D) 1997), (Lichtenfels et.al. 2000), (Raab
et.al. 2004)
Herlev (DK) (Wesenberg et.al. 1990), (Wesenberg pit
1993), (Pedersen 1992)
Sjökulla (FN) (Ritola 1994), (Ritola 1995) Pit
Hanover (D) (Benner et.al. 1999), (Bodmann et.al. tank, shell cover
2003), (Jooß 2001), (Lichtenfels et.al.
2000), (Schlosser 2006)
Munich (D) (Mangold 2006), (Mangold 2006-2), tank, pre-stressed shell
(Schmidt et.al. 2006) cover
Stuttgart (lab) (Ochs et.al. 2007-2), (Ochs et.al. 2007-3) pit, sandwich shell cover
supported Rottweil (D) (Hirt et.al. 1997) tank, 1 column
cover Hamburg (D) (Benner et.al. 1999), (Bodmann et.al. tank, 6 columns
2003), (Schulz et.al. 1996)
floating Wales (UK) (Todd 1978) pit
cover Studsvik (S) (Gustafson 1985), (Roseen et.al. 1980), tank, modular
(Heller 1997)
Lombohov (S) (Gustafson 1985), (Heller 1997), tank, modular
(Norbäck et.al. 1980)
Berlin (D) (Voigt et.al. 1988), (Voigt et.al. 1988-2), pit, modular
(Voigt et.al. 1985), (Seefeld et.al. 1986)
Ottrupgaard (Heller 2000), (Heller 1997), (Heller pit, modular, 2 supporting
(DK) 2000), (Duer et.al. 1993) crossbeams mounted on 4
beams
Lyngby (DK) (Ussing 1991), (Heller 2000) pit
Marstal (DK) (Sørensen 2005), (Sørensen pit
2004),(Sørensen 2006)
Stuttgart (lab) (Ochs et.al. 2005), (Ochs 2005-2), (Bader pit, buoying
2004)
2.6 Construction of Underground Thermal Energy Storages

(UTES)
Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) systems can be divided into two
groups (Sanner 2001):
o Systems where a technical fluid (water in most cases) is pumped through heat
exchangers in the ground, also called "closed" systems (BTES)
o Systems where groundwater is pumped out of the ground and injected into the
ground by the use of wells, or in underground caverns, also known as "open"
systems (ATES, CTES (not considered in this report)).
An advantage of closed systems is the independence from aquifers and water
chemistry, an advantage of open systems is the generally higher heat transfer capacity
of a well compared to a borehole. This makes ATES usually the cheapest alternative,
if the subsurface is hydrogeologically and hydrochemically suited.
A list of realised UTES projects for high-temperature applications (more than 50 °C)
is given in Table 2-13.
Table 2-13: High-temperature UTES projects
Max.
Volume
flowrate
Location/name Country Date Location/name Country Date
[m³/h] [m³]
ATES BTES
Dorigny / SPEOS CH 1982 11.8 Cormontreuil F 1989 1,500
Hørsholm DK 1982 80 Groningen NL 1984 23,000
Utrecht NL 1991 100 Kullavik S 1983 8,100
Berlin D 1998 100 Lulea 2 S 1983 120,000
Gouda NL 1998 25 Neckarsulm D 2001 63,300
Rostock D 2000 15 Anneberg S 2002 60,000
1)
Neubrandenburg D 2003 100 Attenkirchen D 2002 10,500
CTES Vol. [m³] Mol / TESSAS B 2002 16,000
2)
Avesta S 1982 15,157 Okotoks CN 2007 35,000
Lyckebo S 1982 104,300 Crailsheim D 2008 37,500
1)
General data for the projects and further references are given in (Sanner 1999); reference: (Kabus
2006-2); 2) reference: (Wong 2006)
General demands and recommendations for the design of UTES systems can be found
e.g. in the VDI – Guidelines 4640 (VDI 4640, 2000). The Verein Deutscher
Ingenieure (VDI, the Association of German Engineers) has prepared extensive
guidelines for the thermal use of the underground. The guidelines, officially labelled
as “Guideline VDI 4640: Thermal use of the Underground”, consist of four parts and
is available in German and in English:
1. Foundations, approvals, environmental aspects
2. Ground source heat pump systems
3. Underground thermal energy storage
4. Direct use
The guidelines concern the thermal use of ground to a depth of about 400 meters.
Systems for heating only, cooling only and both heating and cooling are treated.
Environmental aspects such as primary energy use, CO2 emissions, thermal impacts
on the ground and groundwater, hydraulic impacts, possible consequences of leakage
of heat carrier fluids etc. are included as well. The second part includes (among
others) design guidelines for the possible specific heat extraction rate for ground-
coupled heat pumps with vertical boreholes or shallow horizontal pipes. In the third
part, storage specific aspects like e.g. water treatment methods to prevent precipitation
caused by chemical changes and suitable materials for different applications
(temperatures) are mentioned. Especially ATES and BTES systems are described in
detail including hydro-geological prerequisites and recommendations for design. Part
four focuses on the direct usage of underground cold or heat without any additional
equipment like groundwater cooling or heating or cooling of air by earth channels.
2.6.1 Construction of Borehole Thermal Energy Storages (BTES)
In a BTES the underground is used as storage material. They do not have an exactly
separated storage volume. Suitable geological formations for this kind of heat storage
are e.g. rock or water-saturated soils with no or only very low natural groundwater
flow. Heat is charged or discharged by vertical borehole heat exchangers (BHE)
which are installed into a depth of typically 30 to 100 m below ground surface. BHEs
can be single- or double-U-pipes or concentric pipes mostly made of synthetic
materials, see Fig. 2-19. The space between the pipes and the borehole wall is usually
refilled with a grouting to reduce the thermal borehole resistance. If the borehole is
stable enough also water can be also refilled.
In a storage appliccation the distances between boreholes vary between 1.5 and 3 m,
depending on size and depth of the storage.
BTES do not have a vertical temperature stratification as the storages discussed above
but a horizontal stratification from the centre to the borders. That is because the heat
transfer is mainly driven by heat conduction and not by convection. At the boundaries
therfe is a temperature decreases as a result of the heat losses to the surroundings. The
horizontal stratification is supported by connecting the supply pipes in the centre of
the storage and the return pipes at the boundaries. A certain number of BHEs are
hydraulically connected in series to a row and certain rows are connected in parallel.
During charging, the flow direction is from the centre to the boundaries of the storage
to obtain high temperatures in the centre and lower ones at the boundaries of the
storage. During discharging the flow direction is reversed.
At the top surface of the storage an insulation layer reduces heat losses to the ambient.
The side walls and bottom are normally not insulated because of inaccessibility.
Compared to ATES systems BTES systems are easier to realise and to operate. They
need less maintenance and have a high durability. Because of the closed loop system
BTES systems usually require also more simple procedures for authority approvals,
unless high-temperature storage (more than 50 °C) is foreseen.
A BTES concept has a modular design. Additional boreholes can be easily connected
and the storage can increase, for example, as the size of a housing district grows and
the loads increase. The size of the storage has, however, to be between three to five
times higher than that of a hot-water heat storage to obtain the same heat capacity.
Because of the lower capacity for charging and discharging often a buffer storage has
to be integrated into the system. Table 2-14 shows typical general values for BTES
systems.
ground
surface
double U- pipe
150 mm
heat pipe connection covering
25 mm insulation layer
in sand underlay
borehole wall
injection tube for
grouting material
borehole depth (30 - 100 m)

grouting borehole
(e.g. bentonite-sand-
cement-suspension)
return supply
grouting
single U- pipe concentric pipe
borehole
heat ex-
changer
Fig. 2-19: Common types and vertical section of borehole heat exchangers (BHE)
Table 2-14: Typical values of BTES system for heat storage application
Borehole diameter (mm) 100-150 Flow rate in U-pipes (m/s) 0.5 -1.0
Borehole depth (m) 20 -200 Average capacity (W/m) 20 - 30
Distance between boreholes (m) 2–6 Min. / max. re-infiltration -5 / >
temperature (°C) +70
Thermal ground conductivity 2–4 Typical cost of BTES 50 – 80
(W/mK) storage (€/m)
BTES with drilled boreholes can be applied in any type of underground composition.
However, the geological and hydro-geological conditions will influence the
construction of boreholes as well as the storage efficiency. The most important
underground parameters that should be considered are the thermal conductivity and
the thermal capacity.
o The thermal conductivity is related to the mineral composition and the
porosity of the underground strata. Normally, the conductivity ranges between
2 and 5 W/(mK). The lowest values are to be found in clayey unconsolidated
formations with a high porosity, and even lower in organic sediments. In
theory, these types of sediments can be used, but in practice they are rejected
for economic reasons.
o The thermal capacity is in general related to the content of water in the strata,
which in turn is directly depending on the ground water level and the porosity.
A high porosity above the ground water level will in addition constitute a low
thermal conductivity. This means that a low ground water table combined with
high porosity is a worst-case situation that should be avoided.
Furthermore, at a given site the efficiency of a BTES system may be influenced by a
natural ground water flow. In that case the storaged energy is partly or completely
transported away from the BTES site.
The site-specific thermal properties of the underground can be detected by test drilling
and the performance of a Thermal Response Test (TRT).
Since BTES systems utilise closed loops in a limited region of the underground for
the storage, the systems have a limited impact on the surrounding environment
(Hummelshøj et.al. 2004). Some environmental impact of BTES can be caused by the
working fluid (in case of leakages) and by the temperature change within and around
the storage region. For heat storage and other applications with temperatures above
freezing point water is the predominant working fluid and therefore uncritical in this
respect. Also ethanol/water-mixtures are meanwhile acceptable by most authorities.
High temperature applications can be critical in water protection areas. Authorities
normally require calculations regarding the area influenced by the temperature change
including effects induced by groundwater flow, if existent.
In Germany, boreholes must usually be sealed with e.g. a bentonite suspension to
prevent ground water exchange between different ground layers. Furthermore, the
mining authorities have to be involved as well if boreholes are deeper than 100 m. In
Sweden, boreholes are normally deeper and accepted as open water filled holes. In
most countries using the BTES technology, a protective casing has to be drilled into
the bedrock.
2.6.2 Construction of Aquifer Thermal Energy Storages (ATES)

Aquifers are below-ground widely distributed and water filled permeable sand, gravel,
sandstone or limestone layers with high hydraulic conductivity. If there are
impervious layers above and below and no or only low natural groundwater flow, they
can be used for thermal energy storage. In this case, two wells (or groups of wells) are
drilled into the aquifer layer and serve for extraction or injection of groundwater.
During charging periods cold groundwater is extracted from the cold well, heated up
by the heat source (e.g. solar or waste heat) and injected into the warm well (see Fig.
2-20). In discharging-periods the flow direction is reversed: warm water is extracted
from the warm well, cooled down by the heat sink and injected into the cold well.
Because of the different flow directions both wells are equipped with pumps,
production- and injection pipes.
Because the storage volume of an ATES can not be thermally insulated against the
surroundings heat storage at high temperatures (above 50 °C) is normally only
efficient for large storage volumes (more than 20,000 m³) with a favourable surface to
volume ratio. However, for low temperature or cooling applications also smaller
storages can be feasible.
Head of the well
Seal
Base plate
Clay-cement-
heat exchanger suspension
charging discharging
Injection pipe
cold well warm well Production pipe
caprock Screen
aquifer
bedrock Gravel
Pump
Fig. 2-20: General scheme of an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) and
layout of a well for charging and discharging (Source: Geothermie
Neubrandenburg GmbH)
ATES systems are not as easy to realise as BTES systems, and need more
maintenance and pre-investigations, but if the conditions are favourable, payback
times are typically short (Hummelshøj et.al. 2004). ATES systems cannot be
constructed in all geological conditions, and hence they sometimes require extensive
pre-investigations, which have to be taken into account and budgeted already from the
early design phase. The process of obtaining a permit for installation can be complex
and time-consuming for the first plant in the region, and many restrictions in relation
to protection of ground water resources and environmental impact assessment may
diminish possibilities. Some ATES plants have shown different kinds of operational
problems, most of which can be handled with simple measures. One major identified
problem is clogging of wells. In most cases, the clogging processes can be avoided by
a proper well and system design.
An ATES system has a high demand on ground conditions at the construction site. A
suitable hydro-geology is a prerequisite. The ground parameters have a strong effect
on feasibility, design and operation of an ATES system (number and location of
wells, production rate, thermal losses etc.). The thermal conductivity kf of the aquifer
layer is the main parameter. For a water exchange between aquifer layer and
production / injection well values of kf > 10-5 m/s are necessary, see Table 2-15.
Table 2-15: Typical hydraulic conductivity values
Ground type Hydraulic conductivity (m/s)
Course gravel 100 - 10-1
Fine gravel 10-1 – 10-3
Course sand 10-3 – 10-4
Medium sand 10-3 – 10-5
Fine sand 10-4 – 10-6
From the geological point of view pore- karst- and fissure aquifers can be
distinguished. Table 2-16 gives an overview of the most important parameters in this
respect (Sanner, B. 1993).
Table 2-16: important hydrogeological parameters (Sanner, B. 1993)
Parameter Unit Explanation Identification
kf [m/s] hydraulic conductivity; pumping test,

high values (> 10-5) necessary for direct laboratory test at
water exchange ground samples
T [m²/s] transmissivity; hydraulic conductivity times pumping test,

aquifer-thickness ground profile
n [%] porosity; fraction of the void spaces in a laboratory test at

material ground samples
Z [m] depth of water table; distance from ground profile,

groundwater surface to ground surface piezometer
Accordings to Andersson it is not possible to give exact criteria for when an ATES
system is feasible or not (Andersson 2003). It depends strongly on the total system
concept. The requirements on the aquifer properties from the system side depend on
the size of the storage project. That is the flow rate that has to be handled and volume
of energy that will be stored.
In general the aquifer porosity will govern the volume needed. This will normally be
much less for an aquifer with a prime porosity than for an aquifer that mainly consists
of fractured rock.
The flow rate, that means the volume of water that, as a function of time, can be
extracted and reinjected from and into the aquifer, will be related to the aquifer
transmissivity (the hydraulic conductivity times the aquifer thickness). In theory, there
is no transmissivity limit. However, in practice the limit for prime porosity aquifers is
determined by the possibilities to construct functional wells. This limit can be defined
as a situation where the dominating grain size is less than 0.06 mm and corresponds to
a transmissivity less than 10-5 m2/s (Andersson 2003). The latter figure may also be
relevant for the fractured aquifer type, but in that case without any well design
restrictions.
Other properties and conditions that have to be considered are:
- Stratigraphy (sequence of layers)
- Grain size distribution (mainly prime porosity aquifers)
- Structures and fracture distribution (mainly fractured aquifers)
- Aquifer depth and geometry, hydraulic boundaries included
- Storage coefficient (hydraulic storage capacity)
- Leakage factor (vertical hydraulic influence)
- Degree of consolidation (hardness)
- Thermal gradient (temperature increase with depth)
- Static head (ground water level)
- Natural ground water flow and direction of flow
- Water chemistry
Van Loon gives recommendations for values of hydrogeological parameters for small
and big ATES systems for the Netherlands (van Loon 1991), see Table 2-17.
According to (Sanner, B. 1993) they are also valid as a general reference for Germany
and central Europe. Table 2-18 shows typical general values for ATES systems.
Table 2-17: site specific prerequisites for ATES systems (for the Netherlands; van
Loon 1991)
small project big project
parameter
(25 m³/h) (500 m³/h)
thickness of confining layer d>5m d > 20 m
thickness of aquifer D > 10 m D = 50 - 100 m
transmissivity T > 5•10-4 m²/s T = 1•10-2 - 3•10-2 m²/s
natural groundwater flow v < 3 cm/d v < 11 cm/d
danger of ground depression not relevant prefer deep aquifer
Table 2-18: Typical values of ATES system for heat storage application
Flow pumped per well (m3/h) 10 - 100 Capacity per well at 25 m3/h and 870
delta T = 30 K (kW)
Flow re-infiltration per well 10 - 75 Min. / max. re-infiltration 3 / 80
(m3/h) temperature °C
Borehole diameter (mm) –200 - Transmissivity of aquifer (m2/s) 10-3 -
600 10-4
Borehole depth (m) 10 - 300 Typical total cost of ATES 100 -
storage (€/kW) 200
The suitability of the ground conditions at a specific site has to be evaluated during
pre-design by a geological investigation. In a first step a ground profile for the
interesting range of depths is sufficient. If a suitable ground layer is assumed based on
this information the hydro-geological parameters like hydraulic conductivity and
natural groundwater gradient should be identified by pumping tests.
A known problem of ATES systems is the frequent appearance of well-clogging. This

is mainly caused by oxygen entering the fluid circle resulting in Fe/Mn-scaling. To
prevent this a proper well design is necessary and a hermitically tight pipe system
with overpressure is vital. This also prevents gas clogging.
Mainly for high temperature heat storage (above 40-50 °C) a detailed knowledge of
the mineralogy, geochemistry and microbiology in the underground is necessary to
prevent damage to the system caused by precipitation of substances in plant
components like heat exchangers, pipes, fittings and well screens (Sanner et al. 1990).
These problems are mainly caused by the already mentioned Fe/Mn-scaling and by
carbonate scaling. A selection of water treatment methods is available against
carbonate scaling, like e.g. Na+ ion exchange, addition of acids (HCL) or CO2. (Koch
et. al. 1993).
Comprehensive information about chemical and environmental aspects of ATES
systems was collected in the IEA ECES Annex VI. For more information see also
(Ruck et. al. 1990).
Materials used in the aquifer-circuit should account for the high risk of corrosion
caused by the groundwater. Add-ons to prevent corrosion usually can not be used
because of the open system. Suitable corrosion resistant materials are e.g. titanium
heat exchangers and plastic pipes.
A monitoring and maintenance program is very important for the long-run

performance and the lifetime of an ATES system. Pressure, flow rate and production
temperatures of the wells should be monitored regularly. Problems like well-clogging
can usually be identified early. In time, action can prevent a serious damage of the
wells.
The official approval of the water authorities for the construction and operation of an
ATES usually takes a long time. An application for the development of an ATES
system should address the relevant authority and should start up at an early project
stage with some kind of consultation. The formal application should include all or
some of the following issues (Hummelshøj et. al. 2004):
- Location of unit;
- Technical presentation of the plant;
- Description of the operational modes;
- Description of the geological conditions, hydro geology, etc.;
- Model simulation of plant in operation;
- Description of annual and daily ground water flow rates;
- Implications on the ground water resource, including possible thermal balancing;
- Description of the amount of water affected by temperature increase and the period
of time;
- Risk assessment of ground water reactions, microbiological impacts and impact on
the water catchment;
- Environmental risk assessment (benefits included) and preventive action plan;
- Physical risk assessment and preventive action plan;
- Economic calculation to establish whether potential damages are larger than the
benefit;
- How to monitor the system during operation.
The approval will often be given under specific restriction and only lasts for a limited
period (often 15-20 years).
2.7 Design guidelines
This section gives first values for feasibility investigations and some general
recommendations. Advanced specifications are site and system specific and have to
be determined during a detailed design process. For details to the different storage
concepts see sections 2.5 and 2.6. Fig. 2-21 shows a comparison of the four already
described storage concepts regarding heat capacity and geological requirements.
Because of the lower specific heat capacities of a gravel/water mixture and different
underground materials these storage volumes have to be significantly higher
compared to a water storage to be able to store the same amount of heat at the same
temperature difference.
water tank gravel-water pit BTES ATES

storage medium
water gravel-water soil / rock sand-water
heat capacity in kWh/m³
60 - 80 30 - 50 15 - 30 30 - 40
storage volume for 1 m³ water equivalent
1 m³ 1.3 - 2 m³ 3 - 5 m³ 2 - 3 m³
geological requirements
o stable ground o stable ground o drillable ground o natural aquifer
conditions conditions o groundwater layer with high
o preferably no o preferably no favourable hydraulic conduc-
groundwater groundwater o high heat capa- tivity
o 5 - 15 m deep o 5 - 15 m deep city (kf > 10-5 m/s)
o high thermal o confining layers
conductivity on top and below
o low hydraulic o no or low natural
conductivity groundwater flow
(kf < 10-10 m/s) o suitable water
o natural ground- chemistry at high
water flow temperatures
< 1 m/a o aquifer thickness
o 30 - 100 m deep 20 - 50 m
Fig. 2-21: Comparison of storage concepts regarding heat capacity and geological
requirements
For the choice of a suitable storage concept for a specific plant all relevant boundary
conditions have to be taken into account: local geological situation, system
integration, required size of the storage, temperature levels, power rates, legal
restrictions etc. Finally, decisions should be based on an economic optimisation of the
different possibilities.
For all concepts a geological investigation has to be made in the pre-design phase.
The highest demands with regard to this are made by ATES and BTES. The legal
requirements have to be checked in the pre-design phase as well. In most countries the
usage of the ground for heat storage has to be approved by the local water authorities
to make sure that no interests regarding drinking water are affected. This can also
become necessary if the ground surrounding a storage tank is heated up by heat
losses.
After construction the storages have start-up times between two to five years,
depending on the storage concept, to reach normal operating conditions. Within this
time, the surrounding ground is heated up and the heat losses of the storage are higher
than during long-term operation.
Size and necessary heat capacity of a storage depend very much on the particular
application. One possible application for seasonal or long-term heat storage is in
connection to solar thermal systems. Some rough design guidelines for solar-assisted
district heating systems are shown in Table 2-19. For comparison numbers for small
solar systems are given as well.
To reach a high efficiency of the solar system it is vital that the solar part and the
storage are correctly integrated into the conventional heating system and that design
quality is high - of both the solar and storage part and all other components for heat
supply: the district heating network, the heat transfer substations and the HVAC-
systems in the buildings.
One crucial point in all storage applications are the return temperatures from the heat
distribution systems. In systems without a heat pump the return temperature defines
the lowest temperature level in a system – and by this the lowest usable temperature
level for discharging the storage. In many installations measured return temperatures
are much higher than design values. This results directly in a reduced heat capacity of
the connected heat storage because this depends linear on the temperature difference.
Table 2-19: Design guidelines for solar thermal systems in central and northern Europe (FC = flat-plate collector, W = water)
System type small solar system for small solar Small seasonal storage central solar heating central solar heating
domestic hot water combisystems system plant with diurnal plant with seasonal
storage (CSHPDS) storage (CSHPSS)
Source (Hahne 1998) (BINE 2001) (Sonnenhaus-Institut (Hahne 1998) (Hahne 1998)
2005, Jenni 2007)
System size single family house single family house single family house1) more than 30 apartments more than 100
or more than 60 persons apartments (each 70 m²)
Collector area 1–1.5 mFC² per person 2.5–4.0 mFC² per person 25-90 mFC² 0.8–1.2 mFC² per person 1.4–2.4 mFC² per MWh
annual heat demand
Storage volume 50–80 litres/mFC² 50–80 litres/mFC² 100–250 litres/mFC² 50–100 litres/mFC² 1.4–2.1 mW³/mFC²
Solar net energy 350–400 kWh/mFC² per 280-350 kWh/mFC² per 220-300 kWh/mFC² per 350–500 kWh/mFC² per 230–350 kWh/mFC² per
year year year year year
Solar fraction (new buildings)
Domestic hot 50 % 50 %
water
Total heat 7–15 % 12–20 % 50-90 % 10–20 % 40–60 %
demand
1): well insulated building, heating demand 5 kW
2.8 Cost of STES
Construction cost of the four storage concepts vary significantly. However, there is
not one optimum storage concept for all applications and not every storage concept
can be built everywhere.
Fig. 2-22 shows a typical cost allocation for one example of each of the four storage
concept.
5,700 m³ water tank in Munich, 2007 4,500 m³ pit storage in Eggenstein, 2007
connection to charging/
others others
central heating ground dischar- ground
plant 3% 13%
work ging works
charging/
5% 12% device
discharging 15%
device 6%
8%
insulation
14% 910 T€ 533 T€
static insulation
stainless steel construction
liners
32% 34%
liner 38%
20%
37,500 m³ BTES in Crailsheim, 2008 20,000 m³ ATES in Rostock, 2000

connection others ground work
to heating 6% others 3%
plant 13%
4%
Insulation
25% 520 T€ 171 T€ wells
connection 45%
con- BHEs incl.
of ground-
nection drilling work
water loop
of BHEs 52%
39%
13%
Fig. 2-22: Exemplary allocation of construction cost for different storage concepts
(BHE: borehole heat exchanger; cost figures in thousand Euros (T€)
without planning and VAT)
Fig. 2-23 presents the cost data of built pilot and demonstration plants and of some
detailed studies in Germany. The listed storages are high temperature heat storages
(working temperatures up to 95 °C) and are mostly integrated into central solar
heating plants with seasonal storage (CSHPSS).
To be able to compare different storage concepts and storage materials the specific
storage costs are related to the water equivalent storage volume. Due to the lower
specific heat capacity of soil and gravel, the storage volume of gravel/water-, duct-
and aquifer storages has to be scaled by a factor of about 1.3 to 5. The exact scaling
factor depends on the site specific geological parameters and the special requirements
of the application (temperature levels, required capacity rates etc.). The volume of
aquifer storages cannot be exactly specified. The relevant quantity is the maximal
thermal capacity of the wells for charging and discharging.
500
Investment cost per m³ water-equivalent [Euro/m³]
Ilmenau Rottweil realized

(HW-GRP) study
450 (HW)
Crailsheim hot-water (HW)
400 Steinfurt gravel/water (GW)
BTES
350 Kettmann- ATES
hausen
(HW-GRP)
300
Hannover
(HW-HDC)
250 Stuttgart
(K/W)
Hamburg
200
Bielefeld
150 Berlin-
Munich
Biesdorf
100 Chemnitz Friedrichshafen
(HW)
Neckarsulm
50 (1. phase)
Potsdam
Rostock
Crailsheim
0
100 1,000 10,000 100,000
Storage volume in m³ water-equivalent [m³]
GRP: glass-fiber reinforced plastic; HDC: high-density concrete;
ATES: Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage; BTES: Borehole Thermal Energy Storage
Fig. 2-23: Specific storage costs of demonstration plants (cost figures without VAT)
Fig. 2-23 shows the strong cost decrease with an increasing storage volume. The
storage costs include costs of charging devices, connecting pipes from the storage to
the heating central and planning costs. Moreover, system costs like costs for heat
pumps are not considered. Additional costs can arise especially for duct and aquifer
storages for site exploration. Higher maintenance costs have to be taken into account
for water treatment in aquifer storages, if necessary.
Appropriate sizes for seasonal heat storage are located between 2000 and 20000 m³
water equivalent. Within this range the investment costs vary between 40 and
250 Euro/m³. Generally, hot-water heat storages are the most expensive ones. On the
other hand, they have some advantages concerning the thermodynamical behaviour
and they can be built almost everywhere. The lowest costs can be reached with ATES
and BTES. However, they often need additional equipment for operation like e.g.
buffer storages or water treatment and they have the highest requirements on the local
ground conditions.
The economy of a storage system depends not only on the storage costs, but also on
the thermal performance of the storage and the connected system. Therefore each
system has to be examined separately. Important parameters in this context are the
maximum and minimum operation temperatures of the storage and of the district
heating net. Obviously heat from the storage can only be used as long as the storage
temperature is higher than the return temperature of the district heating system. This
lower temperature limit can be extended by the integration of a heat pump into the
system. To determine the economy of a storage, the investment, maintenance and
operational costs of the storage have to be related to its thermal performance.
The heat cost per kWh of storaged heat can not be given in general because it depends
very much on the application and the connected system. For the above mentioned
central solar heating plants with seasonal heat storage the solar heat costs for solar
fractions of around 50% range between 0.19 and 0.50 Euro/kWh (without subsidies).
This represents the investment required to save 1 kWh of fossil end energy use and is
calculated according to VDI 2067 (VDI 2067, 1983). The figures are valid for the
German market (without VAT, interest rate: 6 %). These costs can not compete with
the costs of conventional district heating systems or decentralised systems so far.
However, further cost reduction combined with an efficiency increase on the one hand
and rising prices for fossil fuels one the other hand will direct these systems into
profitability in the medium-term future.
2.9 Project examples

In this section project examples for solar thermal systems with seasonal storage are
described. This is not a complete project list but just some selected examples.
At first some German experiences with central solar heating plants with seasonal
storage (CSHPSS) are given. Afterwards two experiences with small and medium
scale projects are described.
2.9.1 Large scale projects - Central Solar Heating Plants with

Seasonal Storage (CSHPSS), Germany
Fig. 2-25 shows a list with CSHPSS demonstration projects in Germany. The first
demonstration plants with solar assisted district heating and seasonal heat storage
were realised in 1996 in Hamburg and Friedrichshafen and in January 1999 in
Neckarsulm. The given numbers for solar fraction are simulated values for long-term
operation.
The systems in Friedrichshafen (see Fig. 2-24) and Hamburg (see Fig. 2-26) were
built according to a similar scheme (see Fig. 2-1). The heat obtained from the solar
collectors on the roofs of the buildings is transported to the central heating plant via
the solar network and directly distributed to the buildings when required. The surplus
heat in the summer period is charged into the seasonal heat storage to be used for
space heating and domestic hot water supply in autumn and winter.
STES
Fig. 2-24: CSHPSS in Friedrichshafen (source: ITW / University of Stuttgart)
Project Reference Heat Collector area Type of storage Storage Max. design Solar Start
demand at present volume temperature fraction*) of
(design) (design value) [m3] for storage [%] opera-
[MWh/a] [m2] [°C] tion
Friedrichshafen- (Benner et.al. 2004) 3,000 4,050 concrete tank with stainless steel liner 12,000 95 47 1996
Wiggenhausen1) (Bodmann et.al. 2006) (4,100) (5,600)
Hamburg- (Benner et.al. 2004) 1,600 3,000 concrete tank with stainless steel liner 4,500 95 49 1996
Bramfeld1) (Bodmann et.al. 2006)
Neckarsulm- (Benner et.al. 2004) 1,660 5,470 borehole thermal energy storage with 63,300 85 50 1997
Amorbach1) (Bodmann et.al. 2006) (2,200) (6,000) PB-BHEs
Chemnitz (Benner et.al. 2004) 570 540 pit storage with gravel/water filling and 8,000 85 30 1997
(1. phase) 2) (Urbaneck 2000) (1,200) (vacuum tubes) plastic liner
Steinfurt- (Benner et.al. 2004) 325 510 pit storage with gravel/water filling and 1,500 90 34 1998
Borghorst1) (Bodmann et.al. 2006) doubled plastic liner
Hannover- (Benner et.al. 2004) 700 1,350 concrete tank without liner 2,750 95 39 2000
Kronsberg4) (Bodmann et.al. 2006)
Rostock-Brinck- (Benner et.al. 2004) 500 1,000 shallow aquifer storage 20,000 50 62 2000
manshöhe3) (Bodmann et.al. 2006)
Attenkirchen5) (Reuß et.al 2006) 490 800 borehole thermal energy storage with 10,000 85 55# 2002
inner concrete tank
Munich-Acker- (Bodmann et.al. 2006) 2,300 2,900 concrete tank of prefabricated sections 5,700 95 47 2007
mannbogen5) (Mangold 2006-2) with stainless steel liner
Crailsheim (Bodmann et.al. 2006) 4,100 5,470 borehole thermal energy storage with 37,500 85 50 2007
(Mangold 2006-2) (7,300) PEX-BHEs
Eggenstein- (Bodmann et.al. 2006) 1,150 1,600 pit storage with water filling and 4,500 90 35 2007
Leopoldshafen6) plastic liner
Fig. 2-25: Seasonal solar thermal energy storage projects in Germany
PB: Polybutylene; PEX: cross-linked Polyethylene; *): calculated value for long-term operation; #: primary energy saving,
1):
: source: ITW, University of Stuttgart, 2): source: TU Chemnitz, 3): source: GTN Neubrandenburg GmbH, 4): source: IGS, University of
Braunschweig, 5): source: ZAE Bayern, 6) source: PKi GmbH & Co. KG
Fig. 2-26: CSHPSS in Hamburg (source: Gockell)
The long-term heat storage via vertical borehole heat exchangers (BHE) in the ground
was investigated in a former project (Seiwald et al. 1995). The pilot BTES built in
Neckarsulm in 1997 (see Fig. 2-27) with a volume of 4,300 m³ confirmed the
research results. The first part of the storage (20,000 m³) was built in 1998 as a first
phase. In 2001 the second phase with an increased volume of 63,300 m³ was finished.
Fig. 2-27: Elementary school in Neckarsulm

In 1996 a gravel-water pit heat storage was built in Chemnitz in the course of a
necessary soil decontamination. The storage is designed for a maximum temperature
of 85 °C and is charged and discharged by direct water exchange. The system is
designed for an annual heat demand of 1,200 MWh/a and a solar fraction of 42 %. In
2006 the system was taken out of operation because of a change in the ownership and
a cheap offer for district heating.
In August 1998 the demonstration plant in Steinfurt-Borghorst went into operation
(see Fig. 2-28). It was established in the frame of the governmental R&D-programme
“50 solar settlements in Northrhine-Westfalia” and provides heat for 42 apartments in
15 single-family and 7 multifamily houses. As seasonal heat storage, a gravel-water
pit heat storage is used. It is charged or discharged via horizontal heat exchanger
pipes. The buildings in Steinfurt are equipped with floor heating systems to allow low
operating temperatures for the district heating network. During the heating period, the
network is operated on the lower supply-temperature level of the floor heating system
in order to reduce network losses and to achieve the lowest possible return
temperatures within the network. If higher temperatures for domestic hot water
preparation are required in the connected houses, this is achieved via additional
electrical heaters in each building.
Fig. 2-28: CSHPSS in Steinfurt-Borghorst (source: Gockell)

In Rostock, the first CSHPSS system with an ATES went into operation in 2000 (see
Fig. 2-29). The plant provides heat for a large multifamily house with 108 apartments.
The storage is situated in a depth of 15 to 30 meters below ground surface and is
operated at a temperature level below 50 °C in order to reduce heat losses and to
avoid water treatment. To achieve high storage efficiency, a heat pump is integrated
into the heat supply system. For heat distribution, a low-temperature heating system
with radiators has been realised in order to maintain low operating temperatures (max.
supply temperature 50 °C) and consequently favourable operation conditions for the
solar system and the heat pump.
Fig. 2-29: Multifamily house with solar roof in Rostock
In Hannover (see Fig. 2-30), a water tank made of a high-density concrete material
was built. The material has low vapour permeability, an additional liner for water and
vapour tightness can be omitted. An additional charging and discharging device with
a variable height was installed in the middle of the storage volume. With this device,
the temperature stratification in the storage can be improved and simultaneous
charging and discharging becomes possible. The plant is in operation since June 2000.
Fig. 2-30: CSHPSS in Hannover (source: Gockell)

The plant in Attenkirchen supplies 30 low energy houses and a gymnasium with heat
by the solar system with a collector area of 800 m² (Fig. 2-31). The heat storage is a
central concrete water tank with a volume of 500 m³ that is surrounded by borehole
heat exchangers (90 BHE, 30 m deep). Depending on the temperature levels in the
two parts of the storage, heat pumps use the BHEs as heat source and deliver heat into
the water tank or use the water tank as heat source and supply heat into the district
heating network.
Fig. 2-31: Site plan of the CSHPSS in Attenkirchen (source: ZAE Bayern)
The project development for the solar assisted district heating system with seasonal
thermal energy storage at the Ackermannbogen in the city centre of Munich started in
2000. The supplied residential area consists of four large and eight smaller
multifamily houses with altogether 300 apartments and a yearly heat demand of
2,300 MWh (Fig. 2-32). 2,900 m² of solar collectors are mounted on top of three of
the large multifamily houses. The seasonal thermal energy storage was built as a
water tank built with prefabricated concrete elements and a stainless steel liner. To
reach a high usability of the storage an absorption heat pump is integrated into the
system that is driven by heat from a district heating network that also covers the
remaining heat demand in the local heat distribution network.
Fig. 2-32: Site plan of the CSHPSS in Munich (source: Munich City Utilities)
In Crailsheim-Hirtenwiesen a former military area is recently transferred into a new
residential area (Fig. 2-33). The service area of a first project phase comprises a
school, a gymnasium and 260 singe family houses. 7,300 m² of solar collectors will be
installed to a large extent on a noise protection wall facing south (Fig. 2-34) when the
first phase will be finished. Between the residential area and the noise protection wall
a borehole thermal energy storage will be located that will be operated as a seasonal
storage.
Fig. 2-33: Site plan of the CSHPSS in Crailsheim
Fig. 2-34: Solar Collectors on a noise protection wall in Crailsheim

The solar system is separated into two parts: a diurnal and a seasonal part. The diurnal
part consists of about 2,300 m² of solar collectors on retrofitted multifamily houses,
the school and the gymnasium and a 100 m³ buffer tank that is located close to the
school. The solar energy from this part can mostly be used directly to supply the heat
demand from the service area. The solar collectors on the noise protection wall, the
BTES and a second buffer tank with 480 m³ form the seasonal part of the system. The
water tank of the seasonal part was added because of the high capacity rate of the
solar collectors during summer. This high capacity rate can not be charged directly
into the BTES during daytime but has to be distributed over a longer time period.
Heat from the seasonal part can be transferred to the diurnal either directly or via a
heat pump. The heat pump allows a higher usability of the temperature difference of
the seasonal heat storage and thus a higher storage capacity. Furthermore the
efficiency of the whole solar system becomes much more robust against high return
temperatures from the heat distribution network. According to the simulations the
BTES will be heated up to 65 °C at the end of September, the lowest temperatures at
the end of the heating period will be 20 °C. Maximum temperatures during charging
will be above 90 °C. The storage is built in spring 2008. It is composed of 80
boreholes with a depth of 55 m. The storage volume is a cylinder with the boreholes
situated in a 3 m x 3 m square pattern. The borehole heat exchangers are double-U-
pipes made from cross-linked polyethylene (PEX).
In Eggenstein a CSHPSS concept was developed for the first time for an existing
area. A school building, a gymnasium, a fire brigade and an indoor swimming pool
built in the 1970’s and a new gymnasium form the supply area. First of all a
comprehensive retrofitting concept was prepared for the existing buildings before the
solar system was designed. From the economical and the technical point of view this
is vital for a high efficiency of a CSHPSS system. For the seasonal storage a gravel-
soil water pit was chosen because of its location on a schoolyard and the given high
requirements on safety aspects.
The scientific and technical accompaniments of the realised CSHPSS systems confirm
with very few exceptions good agreement with the predicted performances of the
solar plants. Problems occurred mainly during start-up and in connection with the
conventional part of the heating systems.
One general conclusion is the importance of a comprehensive, system-wide
consideration of the solar system in the design phase. In the first years of operation of
the first plants storage efficiencies and solar fractions were less than expected due to
high return temperatures from the district heating networks. Simulations for the
system in Neckarsulm showed an increase of the solar fraction by six percentage
points with a decrease of the return temperatures by 5 K compared to the 1999
measured values (yearly mean value in 1999 app. 50 °C; Seiwald 2000). The return
temperature gives the lowest temperature level in the system and the minimum
discharging temperature for the seasonal heat storage. Therefore, in the end, a higher
return temperature means a lower heat capacity of the heat storage. Main reasons for
the high return temperatures are improper design and construction of the heat
distribution systems and of the tap water circulation systems inside the buildings. To
reduce the possible consequences of these problems low-temperature heating systems
should be installed and design and realization of the hydraulics should be checked
carefully during the construction phase.
2.9.2 Medium scale Project – Seasonal storage in Attica, Greece

Contributed by CRES
The Solar Village 3 in Pefki, Athens, Greece was part of an ambitious program, with
active and passive solar systems providing space and water heating for 1750
inhabitants, designed in the early 80’s, and inhabited from the late 80’s.
Fig. 2-35: Solar Village 3 in Pefki, Greece
A central Solar System with Seasonal Thermal Storage was installed at the north of
the village. The tank covers the needs for domestic hot water and space heating of the
multi-floor building behind the storage as seen in Fig. 2-35.
Description of the system:

Site-Climate:
• Average annual Air Temperature: 17.9oC
• Degree Days (base temp. 18 oC): 1199 oC days
Building Characteristics:
• Number of floors: 5
• Number of apartments: 24
• Total domestic area: 1700m2
Solar collectors:
• Collector aperture area: 162 m2
Load:
• Domestic Hot Water - DHW ( total energy consumption): 48MWh/year
• Space Heating - SH (energy consumption): 42MWh/year
Interseasonal Storage:
• Water volume: 500m3
• Insulation thickness:
o Cylinder part:300mm of Mineral Wool
o Ground base: 300mm of Foam glass
• Design heat loss coefficient: 0.22W/m2K
• Tank area per water volume: 0.744m2/m3
Fig. 2-36 Basic diagram of the system
Evaluation of the system:
The results that are presented here come from the year 90-91 when the system was
monitored in detail and give a good estimation of its typical performance.
1. During a period of two years, an amount of 140 MWh was stored at the
storage tank and 100 MWh were used either for DHW (23 MWh) or for SH
(77 MWh). Thus the efficiency of the tank is 71 % which was very close to the
estimated.
2. The real heat losses from the tank and the tubes were 25-35 % bigger from the
estimated. However, this was expected, since during the design phase the heat
losses from the distribution network and the heat exchangers were not taken
into account.
3. There was no important stratification in the tank. This was expected due to the
fraction of diameter and height of the tank.
4. The energy consumption for heating space was 30 % bigger from the
estimated and the storage system couldn’t cover the thermal loads in February
and March.
2.9.3 Experiences from a solar plant with long-term storage in a

small scale project
Contributed by S.O.L.I.D.
The building
A 2-story residential building located in Graz Ragnitztal (Austria) in a sunny location
on top of a hill; total floor area is 220 m². The outline of the building is basically
rectangular-shaped, with the long side pointing towards South.
Retrofit of the building
A good thermal state of the building is considered crucial for high solar fractions and
especially for long-term storage. Christian Holter’s house used to be a farmhouse until
1890, afterwards it was adapted to a residential house. The building was totally
refurbished in the early 1990’s, implementing the following measures:
Significantly improve the building’s thermal insulation: ground floor towards
cellar (10 cm + 4 cm footstep sound-absorbing insulation), roof in the attic
story (20 cm mineral wool), exterior walls (12…21 cm mineral wool),
windows (effective k-value including frame 1.6 W/m²*K)
extension of the window area from 22 to 40 m² to enhance passive solar gains
heating load reduced from 26 kW (before retrofit) to 7.2 kW, equal to 32.7 W/m²
floor area
installation of a low temperature floor heating system
Fig. 2-37 View of the building and the solar collector array on the roof
Solar plant and energy storage
Collector field
Flat plate collectors with selective coating, no low-iron glass; roof mounted.
Effective collector area (absorber area): 48 m². There are 2 collector arrays: one
array on the west part of the roof with 32.8 m², the second one on the east part
with 15.2 m². Both arrays are South-oriented.
Estimated collector efficiency values based on the aperture area: η1 = 75.4%,
a1 = 3.3…3.8 W/m²*K
Gross collector area: 57 m². Due to geometric limitations of the absorber supplier
in the time the collectors were built, the utilization of the gross area is not
optimal, leading to a ratio of absorber area to gross area of only 84%.3
Energy storage
There is a total of 69 m³ of buffer storage volume in 3 steel water tanks (formerly
used as beer barrels in a brewery), located in a nearby building which used to be a
stable when the building was a farmhouse.
Each tank has a diameter of 2.58 m and a height of 4.4 m. The 3 tanks are
connected in parallel.
The thermal insulation of the tanks is made by 50 cm perlite insulation
(λ = 0.05…0.06 W/m*K)
Connections to the storage tanks are on the lower and upper side of the tanks as
well as at approx. 60% of the tanks’ height.
The space between the tanks is filled with solid bricks. Thus, the total storage
volume of the 3 tanks plus the bricks adds up to an equivalent of approx.
80 m³ of water.
The tanks are mounted on a roof construction instead of an ordinary steel
construction in order to reduce heat losses known to be important from the
experience in past projects.
The total energy storage potential of the storage system was calculated to some
3,300 kWh of useful energy.
The additional thermal mass inside the building includes the pavement of the floor
and the building walls. The pavement of the floor heating inside the building is
between 6 and 12 cm thick, so based on an allowed temperature variation of ±2 K it
serves as a day-storage. The total thermal storage of the house was calculated to be
73 kWh/K.
3 Today’s large-area flat plate collectors
Fig. 2-38 Positioning of one of the storage tanks into the building
The energy supply concept

Design concept
In the course of the building retrofit, a low temperature heating system (floor heating)
was installed in the entire building. Design temperatures are 35/30°C (32/28°C in
some rooms). The design heating load is 7.2 kW, including ventilation losses.
The hydraulic connection of the system allows for some operation modes which are
today rarely found in solar combisystems:
The domestic hot water preparation is done only by the eastern collector array
(15.2 m²) which feeds the DHW tank through an internal heat exchanger.
Both collector arrays can load energy into the 3 storage tanks by transferring the
energy over the external heat exchanger.
Both collector arrays can serve hot water for the floor heating, without first
passing through a heat exchanger. The floor heating is served with the water-
glycol mixture flowing through the collectors.
So, there are 2 independent hydraulic circuits allowing for some hybrid operational
modes: the system is capable of heating up the tap water (eastern array) and at the
same time deliver energy to the space heating or to the storage tanks on a different
temperature level (western array). This complicated hydraulics and control approach
leads to the absolutely minimal temperatures provided to the collector arrays and thus
maximizes the solar energy yield. In particular, the period of solar supported space
heating can be extended to the maximum based on the direct flow of collector liquid
through the floor heating system. Priority is always given to that part of the system
which, at a certain moment, requests the lowest temperature level.
Fig. 2-39 Hydraulic scheme of the solar plant with storage circuit, space heating
circuit and domestic hot water circuit
Results
TRNSYS simulations of the plant show a total solar fraction of 76%, referring to
standard climatic year, for both heating and hot water preparation. The monitoring
period 1993 to 1994 proved this solar fraction figure. The solar fraction of the hot
water preparation was calculated to be 76%, the monitoring results showed approx.
85%. This is mainly due to a lower water consumption compared to the one used in
the simulations. Compared to the standard climatic year, the monitoring period had its
heating degree days reduced by 12%.
In the monitoring period, the backup heating of the domestic hot water storage was
turned off from the beginning of March until the end of October. From mid February
until mid October, the necessary space heating energy was predominantly provided
directly by the collectors. In the interim period, the space heating contribution was
mainly served by the energy stored in the tanks. The storage tank losses in the months
of September and October amount to some 30%.
Of the total collector energy yield, approximately 33% are used for heating (both
direct heating without heat exchanger and indirect heating from the storage tanks) and
13% are used for hot water preparation. A 54% of the collector yield is lost in the
storages as thermal losses.
Experiences and lessons learned

A specific collector area of 7 m²/kW has shown to be a reasonable choice for
combisystems with high solar fraction and can be recommended based on the
simulation and monitoring results from Christian Holter’s house.
The optimum for the cost-benefit ratio is also reached at a specific solar collector area
of about 6 to 7 m²/kW. The achievable solar fractions assume an allowed room
temperature variation of up to 4°C.
100
90
80
70
60
[% SF]
50
40
30
short-term
20 1,000 l/m²
1,500 l/m²
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
[m ²/kW]
Fig. 2-40 Solar fractions against specific collector area (m² collector area per kW
heating load) for different storage volumes
The variation of different parameters in simulation calculations showed a big
influence of the thermal insulation of the building on the solar fraction. In opposition
to this, the internal thermal masses inside the house did not show a big influence on
the overall solar fraction.
Energy storage
The storage tanks were installed in 1994. Due to hydraulic and control problems, in
1994 the maximum temperature in the tanks reached only 72°C. The following figures
show the temperatures in the storage tanks during the monitoring period and as
calculated by the TRNSYS simulation.
Fig. 2-41 Monitored storage temperature values during the year 1994 in 4
different measurement heights in the tank
Fig. 2-42 Monitored storage temperature values calculated by TRNSYS

simulation in 4 different measurement heights in the tank
In the first year of operation of the storage tanks, there were significant energy
losses in the storage tanks due to missing thermosiphones in the de-aeration
pipes.
The water taken from the storage tanks should be mixed to the desired temperature
level near to the storage tank. This avoids long pipes with hot water.
Further simulation runs with different storage volumes showed that specific
storage volumes of more than 1,500 l/m² collector area did not significantly
increase the solar fraction of the system. On the other hand, the decrease of the
solar fraction below 1,500 l/m² is almost linear. Thus, from this experience, a
specific storage volume of 1,000…1,500 l/m³ is considered best suited for
long-term storage applications.
The thermal insulation of the storage tanks should make sure that the energy
losses do not amount to more than 10% per month.
2.9.4 Small scale seasonal storage examples

Small storage tanks have been used in some successful occasions, such as an
apartment block in Oberburg, Switzerland [Widmer P.] and a single family house
in Steiermark, Austria [Fink C. et. al.].
In Oberburg, energy for heating the 8 apartment building is completely covered
by a 276 m2 solar roof collector field, connected to a 205 m3 water storage tank.
No additional heating energy is required and warm water is provided throughout
the year.
The Austrian case, where a 85 m² collector field is connected to a 75 m³ water
storage tank, shows that space heating and DHW preparation solely realised by
active and passive solar energy is, technically and from an architectural point of
view, feasible.
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3. Solar Space Heating and Cooling
Applications
Contributed by ISE
3.1 Thermally Driven Cooling Technologies
3.1.1 Introduction
Thermally driven cooling technologies are relatively well known technologies. The
absorption technology for example is to be considered as the oldest cold producing
technology. It was developped 1810 by John Leslie. The first commercially available
H2O/LiBr-absorption chiller was on the market in 1945 (Carrier)[1].
The basic principle is that thermal energy on a high

temperature level is used to extract thermal energy on
a low level. Both energy flows are rejected at a
medium temperature level.
Fig. 43 shows a scheme of this principle. Qcold
represents the actual cooling power.
A key figure describing the efficiency of such a

thermally driven cooling technology is the quotient of
extracted Energy to delivered Energy – the
dimensionless Coefficient Of Performance (COP).
Fig. 43 Principle of thermally
COP =
Qcold
Qheat
[−] driven cooling processes
This value does not include electricity used for pumps, fans, etc..
Nowadays the thermally driven cooling technologies coomonly used can be divided
into two groups, open cooling proccesses and closed cooling processes and further
into processes with solid or liquid sorbent. Fig. 44 gives an overview.
Fig. 44 Overview on thermally driven cooling technologies [Source: Fraunhofer ISE]
3.1.2 Closed Cycle Cooling Processes
In closed cycle cooling processes chilled water is produced. This can be used
afterwards in conventional cold distribution systems to cool down spaces (by fan
coils, cooled roofs, etc.) or processes. As shown in the table above, two main
processes exist: the absorption and the adsorption process.
Absorption chillers
Absorption chillers use liquid refrigerant/sorbents solutions. Fig. 45 shows the scheme
of a closed cycle single stage absorption process
Fig. 45 Scheme of a closed cycle absorption system [3]
In an absorption process a solution of refrigerant and solvent is heated under high

pressure in the generator. The refrigerant evaporates, the concentrated solution flows
through a restrictor to the absorber (low pressure level). The refrigerant vapour
condenses in the condenser by rejecting heat through a heat rejection unit. After that,
it is expanded to a lower pressure level via another restrictor. At this low pressure
level, the refrigerant evaporates again while absorbing heat at a low temperature level.
This is the actual cooling process. Hereafter the refrigerant vapour is drawn to the
absorber, where it is absorbed by the concentrated solution. The heat of this reaction
also has to be dissipated by the heat rejection unit. The emerged diluted solution is
pumped to the higher pressure into the generator, where the regeneration process
starts again. Before entering the generator, the diluted solution is preheated by the hot
concentrated solution coming from the generator through a solution heat exchanger.
As the solution pump only needs to pump incompressible fluids and does not need to
compress a gaseous refrigerant, it is much smaller than the compressor in a
conventional compression cycle and therefore consumes therefore only a fraction of
energy.
Two absorption pairs are commonly used: H2O/LiBr and NH3/H2O solutions. In both
cases the first liquid is the refrigerant, the second the absorbent. As water is the
refrigerant in the H2O/LiBr system, only chilled water temperatures above 0°C can be
produced. On the other hand, driving temperatures of around 80°C to 90°C are
sufficient to operate the process. On the other hand, with the NH3/H2O system cold
down to a level of -60°C can be delivered. But in order to reach these temperatures,
high driving temperatures (>200°C) are necessary.
For solar assisted air-conditioning applications the H2O/LiBr system has been mostly
used. NH3/H2O systems are normally directly gas driven, for solar applications high
efficient or concentrating solar collectors are needed in order to reach the necessary
driving temperatures.
Adsorption chillers
Fig. 46 Scheme of an closed cycle adsorption system [3]
Adsorption chillers use solid sorption materials as adsorbents. The water-silica gel
working pair is commonly used adsorbent-refrigerant materials in presently available
adsorption chillers. Fig. 46 shows a schematic diagram of an adsorption chiller. The
system consists of two sorbent compartments (1 and 2), an evaporator and a
condenser. The sorbent in compartment 1 is regenerated (desorption) using hot water
from the external heat source, e.g. the solar collector. The desorbed water vapour is
condensed in the condenser. At the same time, the sorbent in compartment 2
(adsorption) adsorbs the water vapour entering from the evaporator. The water in the
evaporator takes up heat from the chilled water circuit and evaporates. During this
process cold is produced. After a pre-set time or adsorption in compartment 2 has
reached a certain value, the hydraulics are switched, so that compartment 2 is
connected to the hot water circuit (i.e. desorption) and 1 is connected to the cooling
water (adsorption). In between these two phases a heat recovery phase is
implemented: water is circulated between the heat exchangers of compartment 1 and 2
cooling down the hot and desorbed compartment 1 and heating up the adsorbed and
cold compartment 2. This process is an essential step to minimize negative effects by
the thermal inertia of the system and increase the COP of the system.
3.1.3 Open cycle cooling processes
Open cycle cooling processes are those, in which the air that is to be cooled (or
dehumified) is in direct contact the working medium of the cooling process itself. The
refrigerant – as it is in direct contact with the air - is always water. These processes
consist of a combination of sorptive air dehumidification and evaporative cooling
(desiccant and evaporative cooling – DEC).
Open cycle cooling processes can be driven with moderate temperatures (45°C to
95°C). This makes them very attractice to be combined with solar thermal collectors.
Additionally, no cooling tower is needed, because the recooling is integrated in the
process.
As shown in Figure 47, open cycle cooling processes can be classified as follows:
• cycles with solid sorbent (dehumidification wheel, batch processes
with an adsorbent bed)
• cycles with liquid sorbent
From the above mentioned, only the dehumdification wheel is market available, both
adsorbent beds and cycles with liquid sorbent are very rare. Recently, a few
manufacturers of liquid desiccant cooling systems are in the testing phase [3].
Fig. 47 Scheme of an open cycle DEC system [3]
As shown in Fig. 47 the ambient air is first continously dehumified (dehumidification

wheel). During this process, the air gets dryer but also warmer. A rotation heat
exchanger between the return and supply air cools the dehumidificated supply air
through indirect evaporative cooling. In order to achieve this, the return air is cooled
down as far as possible by the evaporation of water in the return air stream. After the
indirect evaporative cooling step, and prior to the supply, air is blown into the
conditioned space whereas the air can be further conditioned to the desired level of
temperature and humidity by evaporation of water.
On the return air side, the pre-heated air is further heated up by a heat source (e.g.
solar thermal heat with or without backup, waste heat, etc.) to regenerate the sorbent
in the dehumidifier wheel.
Different configurations can be realised to adapt better to certain climates:

• Additional heat exchanger in the entering air channel for heating purposes in
moderate climates (backup possible)
• Additional compression chiller in the entering air channel for warmer and
more humid climates
• Supplementing the standard cycle with an additional enthalpy exchanger
DEC system with solid sorbent like the above described system are available from
several manufacturers in a broad range of size. The COP strongly depends on the
environmental conditions (e.g. ambient air temperature and humidity). In Central
European climates values between 0.5 to 0.9 have been obtained [3].
3.1.4 Survey of available products < 100kW
Table 1 shows the result of a survey of products available on the market for closed
cycle thermally driven chiller in the capacity range of up to 100kW.
Table 1: Closed cycle thermally driven chiller in the power range below 100kW
available on the market.
LiBr/H2O 3 SE
Adsorption
Driving Evaporater Cooling water
H2O/NH3 SE
Model Capacity temperatures temperature temperature COP

Tin/Tout Tin/Tout Tin/Tout
kW °C °C °C -
YAZAKI 88 / 83 12,5 / 7 (min
x 17,5 31 / 35 0,7
WFC 5 (min 75) 5)
YAZAKI 88 / 83 12,5 / 7 (min
x 35 31 / 35 0,7
WFC 10 (min 75) 5)
YAZAKI 88 / 83 12,5 / 7 (min
x 70 31 / 35 0,7
WFC 20 (min 75) 5)
YAZAKI 88 / 83 12,5 / 7 (min
x 105 31 / 35 0,7
WFC 30 (min 75) 5)
Sonnenklima 75 / -- 18 / 15
x 10 27 / 35 0,78
Suninverse (min 55) (min 6)
Rotartica x 4,5 100 / -- 12 / 7 38 / 42 0,71

Sortech
x 5,5 75 / -- 18 / 15 0,6
ACS 5
Nishiyodo
x 71 85 / 79,4 14 / 9 31 / 34,8 0,6
NAK 20/70
Nishiyodo
x 177 85 / 79,4 14 / 9 31 / 34,8 0,6
NAK 50/170
Mayekawa
Mycom x 50 75 / 70 14 / 9 29 / 33 0,6
ADR-15
Mayekawa
Mycom x 70,7 75 / 70 14 / 9 29 / 33 0,6
ADR-20
Mayekawa
Mycom x 106 75 / 70 14 / 9 29 / 33 0,6
ADR-30
EAW
x 15 90 / 80,5 17 / 11 30 / 35 0,71
WC SE 15
EAW
x 30 86 / 73 15 / 9 27 / 32 0,75
WC SE 30
EAW
x 54 86 / 71 15 / 9 27 / 32 0,75
WC SE 50
Climatewell
x 10 0,68
CW10
3.1.5 References
[1] Maake, W., Eckert, H.J.: Taschenbuch der Kältetechnik, 16. Auflage,
Müller, Karlsruhe 1978
[2] Recknagel, H., Schramek, E.R.: Taschenbuch für Heizung und
Klimatechnik, 71. Aufl., Oldenbourg, München 2003
[3] Henning, H.M.: Solar Cooling, Presentation at the ISES Solar World
Congress, Beijing 2007
3.2 Examples of realised solar heating and cooling (SHC)

systems
(Information taken from [4])
3.2.1 Ott & Spiess Langenau
Ott & Spiess Langenau concerns an office

building area of 415 m², cooled by chilled
ceilings and by displacement ventilation.
The chilled water is provided by an absorption
chiller. The solar thermal collector system,
equipped with a hot water buffer storage of 2
m³, provides heat for driving the absorption
chiller in the cooling season as well as for
heating in winter. Additional heat in case of
low solar gains or low storage temperature is
obtained from a CHP unit for combined
heat/electricity production (19.5 kW thermal
power, 8 kW electrical power). If the heat
demand still exceeds the capacity of the solar
system or of the CHP unit, additionally a gas
burner of 50 kW thermal power is started. The
chilled water from the common water/lithium- Fig. 48 Building and Collectors of
bromide absorption chiller is stored in a buffer Ott&Spiess [4]
of 1 m³ storage capacity. Due to the application
in chilled ceilings and in the ventilation system, the chilled water is provided at a
temperature of 13°C. A wet cooling tower re-cools the water to be used in the cooling
circle in the condenser and in the absorber of the chiller. In 1999, the annual
Coefficient of Performance COP (useful cold / driving heat) of the chiller was 0.56.
Approximately 9 % of the total heat input into the building for cooling and heating
was provided by the solar system.
Cooling Capacity 35kW

Collector type & area ETC, 45m²
Cooling technology Absorption (H2O/LiBr)
Thermal storage 2m³ primary, 1m³ secondary
Backup yes, primary (CHP)
In operation since 1997
Contact W. Mößle, Ingenieurbüro Ott&Spiess, l.ott@ott-spiess.de
3.2.2 University Hospital Freiburg
In 1999 the hospital of Freiburg

University, ‘Klinikum Freiburg‘ equipped
one of their laboratories with a solar
assisted air conditioning system. The total
cooled area of the building is
approximately 550 m². Two ventilation
systems with variable volume flow rates
are implemented, using cross-flow heat
exchangers for heat recovery in the
heating season. During the cooling season,
the supply air is cooled by means of heat
exchangers with chilled water, provided
by an adsorption chiller. The supply air
temperature is set to 18°C. The heat
provided by the solar thermal collector
system is used in summer to drive the
adsorption chiller as well as to heat the
ventilated supply air in winter. A hot water
storage of 6 m³ and a chilled water storage
of 2 m³ is integrated into the plant. In case
of nonsufficient solar radiation and low
hot water storage temperatures, additional
heat from district heat (steam network of
the hospital) is applied. A closed wet
cooling tower re-cooles the water to be
used in the cooling circles of the
condenser and during the adsorption
phase.
After adjustments in the chiller control due
to the specific operation of the chiller, the Fig. 49 Collector field and adsorption
evaluation of monitored data from 2002 chiller of Klinikum Freiburg
reveals daily values of the thermal [Source: ISE]
Coefficient of Performance COP (useful
cold / driving heat) for several days in the cooling season around the expected value
of 0.6. An annual net collector efficiency of 32 % was achieved.

Cooling technology Adsorption
Thermal storage 6m³ primary, 2m³ secondary
Backup yes, primary (district heat)
Contact Dipl.-Ing. Hendrik Glaser, University Hospital,

hendrik.glaser@uniklinik-freiburg.de
3.2.3 “Rethimno Village” Hotel, Crete
This installation uses flat plate collectors

(selective surfaces, 448 m²) for central
air conditioning (cooling and heating).
Also 199 m² polypropylene collectors
provide hot water for the heating of the
swimming pool. The solar collectors
supply an absorption chiller with hot
water of temperature 70-75 °C which
operates with a coefficient performance
of 60%. The absorption chiller uses the
hot water as source of energy and
Fig. 50 Collector field of the Rethimno
produces cool water of temperature 8-
Village Hotel [4]
10°C. The cooling medium is also water
(instead of Freon or Ammonia).The absorption chiller uses minimum electric energy
for the operation of the vacuum pump (0.5 kW).
The useful power is 105 kW. Also a boiler (gas) of 600 kW substitutes the collectors’
field when there is cloudiness or whenever there is need for air conditioning during
the night. During the winter period the solar collectors produce hot water of 55°C,
which is circulated directly to the fan coil units in the building. The same boiler
replaces the collectors’ field in case of overcast. The cold water (during the summer
period) and the hot water (during the winter period) is directed to the local air
conditioning units where they cool or heat respectively the ambient air within physical
procedures.

Collector type & area FPC, 448m² (+199m² unglazed for pool heating)
Cooling technology Absorption (H2O/LiBr)
Thermal storage n.a.
Backup yes, primary (600kW, gas fired)
Contact Koutroulis Bros S.A., Rethimno, Crete – Greece

Tel: +28310 25523/22693
3.2.4 Research building “Ökopark Hartberg”
The research building in the Ökopark

Hartberg is the first Austrian solar
assisted DEC ("desiccative and
evaporative cooling") system pilot
plant powered by renewable energy
which was installed to demonstrate
the DEC technology in Austria. The
building is used for seminars and
conferences and there is also an office
infrastructure. There are two floors,
(each about 140 m²) with a glass
facade in the South (in the lower part Fig. 51 Facade of the Ökopark building
there are 11 vacuum tube collectors). [Source: Uni Graz]
The experience from summer 2001
showed that the adiabatic air conditioning is sufficient for 50 to 70 % of the summer
days, only on days with higher humidity, heat is needed for the sorption based air
conditioning. The heat for the "sorptive cooling" is produced by solar collectors of 12
m2 and a biomass pellet boiler as backup system. There is a heat water storage facility
of 2m³ water for cooling and heating.

Cooling technology DEC
Thermal storage 2m³ primary
Backup yes, primary (biomass)
Contact Dr. Erich Podesser, Joanneum Research, Graz

erich.podesser@joanneum.ac.at
3.2.5 References
[4] Climasol – Solar Air Conditioning Guide,

http://raee.org/climatisationsolaire/doc/solar_cooling_english.pdf
3.3 Detailed Description of two Italian Plants
Contributed by POLIMI
3.3.1 INTRODUCTION
Solar cooling has recently entered market applications and the number of existing
plants is limited. Accordingly, the plant schemes are not yet standardized. The solar
plants are used throughout the year; in summer the solar energy is used to drive the
absorption chiller, while in winter the same energy is used for space heating.
mi
3.3.2 THE COMBINATION OF SOLAR COOLING AND SOLAR

HEATING
To get a high solar fraction and therefore a high collector use factor, it is necessary,
especially during the design of a solar cooling plant in order to foresee the
exploitation of the solar energy for the space heating in winter and DHW production.
In addition, it is necessary to fix the number of occupants and thus the DHW load
where the plant is realized, in order to estimate the appropriate (larger) collector
surface that will be necessary to cover the space heating and DHW demand. If the
plant is designed only for solar cooling purposes, the solar field can not deliver
enough energy during winter and also during a great part of spring and autumn. A
plant designed only for solar cooling purposes will be often subject to stagnation
problems, especially during spring and autumn. If, during the design phase, a plant is
set for space cooling, space heating and DHW production, the energy gains during the
whole year will be high and the solar fraction for DHW, in many cases will be close
to 100%. Concluding, in order to reach a high collector using factor it is necessary to
integrate a “cold well” where to reject excessive solar energy gains throughout the
year. In a solar energy plant, the definition of a cold well is linked to the final
destination of the solar energy. Accordingly, a cold well, could be the storage tank, in
a solar cooling plant, placed at the bottom of the absorption machine generator. At the
same time the cold well is the space heated during winter thanks to the preheated
water for means of the solar energy. Another example of a cold well is a seasonal
storage which, with a larger water mass, that is cooled during winter, is again
available to store the solar energy during summer and especially in autumn and spring
when space heating and space cooling may not be necessary. A solar plant with an
absorption machine and with a seasonal (or weekly) storage has two large cold wells
which allow reaching a high solar fraction and a high collector use factor.
To demonstrate the state of art of the combined solar cooling and solar heating plants,
two examples from residential applications are described in the following sections.
This information will provide practical information on how to realise a combined
plant.
3.3.3 Operation modes of a solar cooling plant for a small residential
building with a reversible absorption chiller
The first example of solar cooling and solar heating plant (combined) includes a
small absorption machine (Rotartica Solar 4,5 kWf) which is also reversible: heat
pump mode. This absorption machine produces hot water during winter, when it
works as a heat pump, and produces chilled water in the summer when it works as an
absorption chiller. The main equipment, the plant schemes and the different
functioning modes are reported in the next paragraphs. The combined plant presented
in the next figure, includes the following main equipments:
- Primary loop (solar): collectors field, pumping station, plate heath exchanger.
- Thermal storage tank
- Boiler for the back-up
- Reversible absorption machine (Rotartica Solar 7)
- External dry cooler for the heat rejection
- Distribution system with fan-coils
Looking at the system it is possible to find also the next equipments:
- Five (5) pumping groups (P1) and a solar pumping group (P2, P3, P4, P5)
- Three (3) Three way valves (on-off) with electric actuator (VT1, VT2, VT3)
- Four (4) two way valves with electric actuator (VZ1,VZ2, VZ3, VZ4)
- One (1) three way mixing valve with electric actuator (VM)
- Five (5) hydraulic collectors (CM1, CM2, CR1, CR2, CR3)
- One (1) plate heath exchanger
- Two (2) expansion vessels
Besides these equipment, for the correct operation of the system, there is a pumping
group included in the thermal back-up.
.
Fig. 1 Solar heating and cooling combined plant with ROTARTICA absorption chiller
(Rotartica Solar 7)
1. Hydraulic connections
Inside the system there is a storage tank, different hydraulic collectors and a heat
exchanger. To simplify the description of the hydraulic network, the overall system is
differentiated into a production side (side of the equipment connected to the system
which produces useful energy) and a user side (side of the equipment which uses
useful energy). The following presentation describes the distribution network for the
fan coils. The network is connected with the two hydraulic collectors on the user side:
one on the delivery side (CM1) and one on the return side (CR1). On the production
side, the two collectors are connected respectively with the chilled water delivery and
return coming from the absorption machine and with two other collectors on the user
side (CM2 and CR2). The two collectors on the user side CM2 and CR2 are also
connected with the absorption machine generator delivery and return side,
respectively. The collectors on the production side CM2 and CR2 are connected with
the delivery and return side of the thermal back up, respectively. The production side
(CM2) can be fed from the storage tank or alternatively from the plate heat
exchanger’s user side while the CR2’s production side is connected also to the user
side of the hydraulic separator CR3. The hydraulic separator on the user side of CR3
is also connected with the chilled water delivery of the absorption machine while its
production side is hydraulically connected both with the storage tank production side
and the solar plate heat exchanger user side.
With this system just described it becomes clear that the absorption machine generator
can be alternatively fed:
- Directly from the solar plate heath exchanger
- From the storage tank
- From the thermal back up
The absorption machine evaporator can alternatively feed:
- The fan coils distribution network
- The storage tank
Finally the adsorption machine absorber and condenser can alternatively reject heat
by means of:
- The dedicated dry cooler
The boiler, which serves as a thermal back up can deliver heath to:
- The absorption machine generator
The storage tank can deliver heat to:
- The absorption machine evaporator (when it works like a heath pump)
Finally, thanks to the hydraulic piping just described, the solar plate heat exchanger
will feed:
- The storage tank
The different working modes available from the system during the different seasons
are described in the following sections.
.
2. Working mode 1: space cooling only with the solar system
Fig. 2 Solar cooling directly from solar collectors
In this configuration the fan coils are fed by chilled water produced with the
absorption machine. The hot water (T > 80°C) necessary for driving the absorption
machine generator is supplied only from the solar system (fig. 2). From Fig. 2 it can
be seen that some two way manual valves are close (red) and other two way manual
valves are open (green). The same representation concept is used for the automatic
two-way valves (VZ…) and for the pumps (P…). The red lines, in this draft and also
in the next drafts, represent the circulation of the hot water while the blue lines
represent the circulation of chilled water. If a line is black that means that in those
particular pipes there isn’t fluid circulation.
After that, the absorption machine’s generator circuit selection is realized by:
- The switching of the three way automatic valve VT1 towards the collector
CM2
- The switching-on of the two way automatic valves VZ3 and VZ4
- The switching-off of the two way automatic valves VZ1 and VZ2
- The starting of the solar pump P1 and the stating of the two secondary pumps
P2 and P3
Starting of the pump P5 and switching of the three way automatic valve VT2 towards
the heat rejection system allows cooling the absorption machine absorber and
condenser, while starting of the pump P4 and switching of the three way automatic
valve VT3 towards the collector CR1 allows the chilled water produced in the
absorption machine evaporator to flow in the distribution fan coils network.
The system operates automatically; switching the summer mode, in a dedicated
electronic device, a sensor signals the request of chilled water for the space cooling
and the absorption machine is turned on. Accordingly the electronic device
configures the valves positions and the pumps for the absorption machine generator
feeding. On the solar side a sensor signals that there is enough energy delivered by the
sun for driving directly the absorption machine generator.
3. Working mode 2: space cooling only with the storage tank.
Fig. 3 Solar cooling with the adsorption machine generator directly fed with the hot
storage tank
The fan coils are fed with chilled water produced by the absorption machine. In this
configuration the hot water that will drive the absorption machine is only taken from
the storage tank.
The absorption machine’s generator circuit selection is realized by:
- Switching-on of the dual way automatic valve VZ1
- Switching-on of the dual way automatic valves VZ3 and VZ4
- Switching-off of the dual way automatic valve VZ2
- Starting the secondary pump P3
- Turning off of the solar pump P1 and the secondary pump P2
Starting the pump P5 and switching of the three way automatic valve VT2 towards the
heat rejection system allows cooling the absorption machine absorber and condenser,
while starting the pump P4 and switching of the three way automatic valve VT3
towards the collector CR1 allows the chilled water produced in the absorption
machine evaporator to flow in the distribution fan coils network.
and the absorption machine is turned on. Accordingly the electronic device configures
the valves positions and the pumps for the absorption machine generator feeding. On
the solar side, a sensor signals that there isn’t enough energy from the sun for driving
directly the absorption machine generator. However, other temperature sensors placed
in the storage tank signal to the electronic device that the storage tank can feed the
absorption machine due to its sufficient temperature. This sequence of events may
occur when there is no solar radiation but at the same time there is a space heating
demand.
4. Working mode 3: space cooling with the boiler
Fig. 4 Solar cooling with the adsorption machine generator directly fed with the
thermal back-up
The fan coils are fed with chilled water produced by the absorption machine. In this
configuration the hot water that will drive the absorption machine is only taken from
the boiler. It is important to note that the two manual ball valves, placed near the
boiler, are always opened, in the winter and during all others seasons.
The absorption machine’s generator circuit selection is realized by:
- Switching-on of the two ways automatic valve VZ3
- Switching-off of the two ways automatic valve VZ1 (This closed valve
prevents the natural circulation of the hot water from the tank to the
distribution network), VZ2 and VZ4.
- Starting the pump placed inside the boiler
- Turning off at the same time the pumps P1, P2 and P3
and the absorption machine is turned on. Accordingly the electronic device
configures the valves positions and the pumps for the absorption machine generator
feeding. On the solar side, a sensor signals that there isn’t enough energy from the sun
for driving directly the absorption machine generator. At the same time other
temperature sensors, placed in the storage tank, signal to the electronic device that the
storage tank can’t feed the absorption machine due to its insufficient temperature.
Then the electronic device switches on the boiler and sets all the valves in their
adequate position. This sequence of events may occur when there is no solar
radiation, the storage tank is discharged but at the same time there is a space heating
demand.
.
5. Working mode 4: charging of the storage tank
Fig. 5 Charging of the thermal storage tank in the solar-cooling and heating plant
In this particular configuration there isn’t any space cooling demand and thus the fan
coils are turned off. At the same time there is available solar energy and the storage
tank is discharged. The electronic device sets all the valves and the pumps in a
configuration that allows charging the storage tank, in particular:
- Switching of the three way automatic valve VT1 towards the storage tank
- Switching-off of the dual ways automatic valve VZ1
- Turning on at the same time the pumps P1, P2
- Turning off of the pumps P3 P4 and P5.
electronic device, a sensor signals the fulfillment of the space cooling and then the
absorption machine and the fan coils are turned off. Due to the presence of solar
energy and the low temperature in the storage tank, the electronic device signals to the
pumps and to the valves to charge the storage tank.
6. Working mode 5: space heating only with the solar energy taken from the solar
field.
Fig. 6 Solar heating directly from the collector field
This section elaborates the winter mode of operation for the solar cooling plant. In
Fig. 6 it is possible to see that during the winter mode it is necessary, that the user
opens the dual way manual valve placed on the hydraulic collector CM2 (the first on
the left). This dual way manual valve was always closed in the summer mode. In the
same figure it is also possible to see that the color of the pipe on the user side is now
red due to the circulation of hot water in the fan coils network. Then the fan coils are
fed with hot water maintained at a fixed temperature tank to the mixing valve VM.
In this configuration the required energy is delivered to the user side exclusively from
the solar collector field. So, the configuration of the system is realized by:
- Switching on of the three way automatic valve VT1 towards the hydraulic
collector CM2
- Switching-off of the two ways automatic valve VZ1 and VZ3
- Switching-on of the two ways automatic valve VZ2 and VZ4
- Turning on at the same time pumps P1, P2 and P3 and turning off pumps P4
and P5.
In this configuration the absorption machine is turned off. The mixing valve VM
placed on the hydraulic collector CM1 production side works at a fixed temperature
point and carries out two very important roles:
- Limiting overheating and preventing damaging of the distribution network
that could also impact the pipes that don’t withstand to the high temperatures.
- Delivering a low temperature fluid to the distribution system, causes a lower
energy loss that means higher energy savings.
The system operates automatically; switching the winter mode, in a dedicated
electronic device, the hot water is delivered to the fan coils. The sensor placed in the
collector field signals that there is enough energy available from the sun, so the plant
is configured for the direct alimentation of the user side with the water heated directly
from the solar field. This configuration can occur especially during autumn and spring
because there is still solar energy, but the outdoor temperature is already low.
7. Working mode 6: winter heating with the storage tank
Fig. 7 Solar heating directly from the storage tank
The fan coils are fed with hot water maintained at a fixed temperature thanks to the
mixing valve VM.
the storage tank. The configuration of the system is so realized by:
- Switching-on the two way automatic valves VZ1 and VZ2 and VZ4
- Switching-off the two way automatic valves VZ3
- Turning on pump P3 and at the same time turning off pumps P1, P2 , P4 and
P5 (pump P3 should be dimensioned to overcome all the pressure drops up to
the fan coils) .
In this configuration the absorption machine is turned off. The mixing valve VM is
placed on the hydraulic collector CM1 production side work at a fixed temperature
- Limiting overheating and preventing damaging of the distribution network
that could also impact the pipes that don’t withstand to the high temperatures.
- Delivering a low temperature fluid to the distribution system, causes a lower

electronic device, the hot water is delivered to the fan coils. When the sensor placed
in the collector field signals that there isn’t enough energy available from the sun,
then other sensors signal to the electronic device that the storage tank has reached an
adequate temperature for the space heating. As a consequence of that, all the valves
and the pumps are set for the space heating directly from the storage tank as explained
above.
8. Working mode 7: Space heating with the absorption machine as a heath pump.
Fig. 8 Solar heating with the absorption machine as a heat pump
The fan coils are fed with hot water maintained at a fixed temperature due to the
mixing valve VM.
If the user decides to work with the absorption machine like a heat pump it is
necessary to open the manual two way valve placed on the hydraulic collector CR3
(the first on the left). In this configuration the required energy is delivered to the user
side via the absorption machine that operates on an inverse refrigerant cycle. When
the water in the storage tank is below 40°C, this device is used like cold well for the
absorption machine while the boiler feeds the absorption machine generator and the
fan coils are used for heat rejection thus contributing to space heating. This heat
rejection allows cooling the absorption machine condenser and evaporator. The
configuration of the system is so realized by:
- Turning of pumps P1 P2 and P3 while turning on the pumps P4 and P5 are
turned on.
- The automatic valve VT2 intercepts the dry cooler used during the summer.
In this configuration the heat rejection is forced towards the indoor
environment.
- By mean of the three way valve VT3 and the automatic two way valve VZ1
(closed) the water flows from the absorption machine to the storage tank.
collector field signals that there isn’t enough solar energy available. At the same time
the sensors placed in the storage tank signal that the temperature is below 40°C. As a
consequence of that all the valves and the pumps are set for the space heating directly
from the storage tank as explained above. In the heat pump mode the absorption
machine achives a higher COP (from 0,92 to 1,8).
9. Working mode 7: Space heating only with the thermal back-up.
Fig. 9 Winter heating with the back-up
The fan coils are fed with hot water maintained at a fixed temperature tank to the
mixing valve VM.
the boiler. The configuration of the system is so realized by:
- Turning on the two way valve VZ2
- Switching-off of the two way automatic valves VZ1 and VZ3 and VZ4
- Starting the boiler and turning off of the pumps P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5. The
pump mounted on the boiler should exceed all the pressure drops.
In this operation mode, the absorption machine is turned off. The mixing valve VM
placed on the hydraulic collector CM1 production side works at a fixed temperature
- Limits overheating and prevents damage of the distribution network that
could also impact the pipes that don’t withstand to the high temperatures
Delivering a low temperature fluid to the distribution system, causes a lower
collector field signals that there isn’t enough energy available from the sun. At the
same time sensors placed in the storage tank signal that the temperature is below
40°C. As a consequence of that all the valves and the pumps are set for the space
heating directly from the boiler as explained above.
3.3.4 Combined solar cooling and heating plant for a big residential
building with absorption machine.
The second analyzed solar cooling plant is enslaved to a big Episcopal seminary
residential building placed in the south of Italy. The plant is realized by a big Italian
evacuated solar collector firm while the design was supported by the Polytechnic of
Milan. The building is equipped with a plane roof as indicated in fig. 10
Fig. 10 Solar field on the roof of the building where the solar heating and cooling
plant is realized
1) Plant’s equipment
The production plant incorporates the following equipment (Fig. 11):

- Solar field with evacuated tube collector CPC SP 21 Kloben of 145,2 m2
linked to the rest of the plant with a plate heath exchanger of 150 kW.
- Two storage tanks of 7000 lt each. (total volume 14000 lt.).
- Three cascade connected boilers (useful power: 349 kW each, total useful
power installed 1047 kW).
- Absorption machine Yazaki WFC-SC 10 (35 kW)
- Cooling tower Baltimor (90 kW)
- Buffer tank (1000 lt.)
- Electric back up for cooling (122 kW).
Fig. 11 Main equipments for the solar heating and cooling plant
The distribution plant includes the following main equipment:

- Two hydraulic collectors (delivery and returns) refered to as primary hot
collectors with 12 origins for collector
- Two hydraulic collectors (delivery and returns) refered to as primary cold
collectors with 4 origins for collector
For the user side, the calculated the cooling and the heating demand for every zone is
presented in Table 1.
Tab. 1 Heating and cooling demand for the different zones

POWER Operating hours of
Zones HEATING COOLING functioning during the day
EXIBITION ROOM 57 KW 83 KW 3 hours
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES 50 KW 57 KW 6 hours
SISTERS’APARTMENTS 72 KW 8 hours
CULTURAL ROOM 35 KW 57 KW 3 hours
PRIMARY SCOOL 57 KW 6 hours
SECIONDARY SCOOL 37 KW 6 hours
GYMNASIUM 30 KW 6 hours
AUDITORIUM 43 KW 100 KW 3 hours
MUSEUM BAAS 74 KW 105 KW 4 hours
DINING HALL 39 KW 3 hours
DORMITORY 71 KW 8 hours
BISCHOP’S SEAT 190 KW 8 hours
FIRST AID AND POLYFUNCTIONAL 271 KW 4 hours
ROOM
TOTAL: 1026 KW 402 KW
The zones that require both cooling and heating, the distribution equipment in the
room are fan-coils, while for zones with only space heating the distribution equipment
are radiators and in one case an air handling unit. There are 13 zones that require
space heating, while three of them are also served with chilled water, during the
summer, for space cooling. It is important to note, from the Table 1, that the heating
power (1047 kW) is sufficient to cover the entire demand for space heating, while the
cooling power (122 + 35 kW) doesn’t cover the user’s demand. The reason for this is
that the different zones are cooled during different hours of the day.
2) Description of the piping
Fig. 12 Primary loop from the collector field
The primary loop, where there is a flow of water and propylene glycol, consists of
pumping stations, a collector field and a plate heat exchanger. The other side of the
plate heat exchanger is connected to a primary loop from the collector field where
only water flows. According to fig 11 the plate heat exchanger is linked with two
storage tank connected in parallel. From the storage tanks it is possible to feed the
absorption machine generator, to the boilers’ alimentation or to the absorption
machine generator (fig 12). The boilers are connected in cascade and feed the
hydraulic collector where all the secondary hot circuits merge. However, on the return
side, the boilers are connected both with the storage tanks and the return hydraulic
collector (fig 12). Looking at fig. 12 it is possible to see that the absorption machine
generator is connected both to the storage tank and to the solar system. The
evaporator is fed with the return cold hydraulic collector while its delivery is
connected with the inertial vessel. The heat rejection, in this plant, is realized with a
cooling tower (fig. 13). The 1000 lt. buffer tank can be fed alternatively from the
return of the cold hydraulic collector or from the absorption machine evaporator
thanks to an automatic three way valve (fig. 13). The back up chiller is connected to
the inertial vessel while it feeds the hydraulic cold collector from which where all the
alimentations of the secondary side depart from (fig. 14). In fig 14 it is possible to see
how two collectors are used for space heating, while the other two collectors are used
for space cooling. The function of the two hot collectors is that the delivery collector
is directly connected with the boilers, while the return collector can feed directly the
boilers or can allow the heating integration with a low temperature return water
through the storage tank. For two cold collectors, the alimentation is directly
connected with the back up chiller while the return collector can alternatively feed the
back up chiller or allow the integration with the absorption machine.
The following sections will explain the different ways of operating the plant. The
winter or summer working mode is controlled by switching on-off the three way
automatic valves controlling the flow to the different zones.
Fig. 13 Connection of the hot water side with the collector field
Fig. 14 Plant connection with the cold system generator .
3) Working mode 1: space cooling only with the back up chiller.
Fig. 15 Space cooling realized with the electric heat pump.
The blue lines in the first plant show the chilled water flow, while the red lines
indicate the hot water flow. The green valve indicates that it is open while the red
valve indicates that it is closed. The same concept is used for the pumps. In this
configuration (fig. 15) the cold hydraulic collectors are fed with chilled water
produced with the electric chiller while the 1000 lt. buffer tank allows reducing the
electric chiller start and stop. The hot water delivery towards the different zones is
realized by:
- The automatic three way valve VT2 allows connecting the buffer tank with
the return collector
- Turning on the chilled water pump P7 .
The system operates automatically; switching the summer mode, the users’ side need
to be cooled then the pump P7 is turned on and the cold back up starts. The three way
valve allows cooling only with the back up.
4) Working mode 2: space cooling with the absorption chiller integration
In this configuration mode the absorption machine is connected in series with the
back up chiller. The three way automatic valve VT2 switch connects the cold
hydraulic collector with the absorption machine evaporator. The two pumps P6 and
P7 are turned on allowing the circulation of the chilled water towards the back up
chiller (fig 16)
Fig. 16 Space cooling with the absorption machine
In this configuration the absorption machine generator is fed by the hot water stored
in the storage alternatively in the first or second storage tank. In this example the
absorption machine is fed with the first storage tank while the second tank is charged
with solar energy coming from the solar field:
- The two way automatic valve VZ1 is opened
- The two way automatic valve VZ2 is closed
- The pump P4 is turning on allowing the chilled water delivery to the
absorption machine generator.
- The pumps P1 and P7 are turned on for charging the second storage tank.
- The P2 and P5 are turned off.
The absorber and the absorption machine condenser are connected with the cooling
power that allows the heat rejection.
The system operates automatically; switching to the summer mode, the users’ side
need to be cooled, then the pump P7 is turned on and the cold back up starts. The
sensors placed on the hot side signal that there is enough energy stored in the tank for
feeding directly the absorption machine generator. Then all the valves and the pump
are driven according to the configuration plant described.
5) Working mode 3: storage thanks charging
In this particular configuration the two tanks are alternatively charged (fig. 17). For
the first tank charging the two pumps P1 and P3 are turned on while the pump P2, P4
and P5 are turned off. In addition the VZ1 and the VZ2 automatic valves are turned
off. For the second tank charging the two pumps P1 and P2 are turned on while the
pump P3, P4 and P5 are turned off. In addition the VZ1 and the VZ2 automatic valves
are turned off. This operating mode can occur in different occasions:
- When the users side does’nt need to be cooled and there is solar energy
available from the collector’s field.
- When the plant, exploits the solar energy stored in the tank to cover user’s
demand.
Fig. 17 Storage tank charge
6) Working mode 4: space heating only with the thermal back up
The VT1 allows the direct connection with the return hydraulic collector and the
boilers. When space heating is necessary, then maintenance staff have to close all the
valves placed on the hydraulic cold collectors and mannually open all the two way
valves placed on the hot hydraulic collector. It is important to also switch on the three
way valves VT from the storage tanks to the boilers. The electronic device switches
on the three way automatic valve from the storage tanks to the hot hydraulic
collectors. The distribution equipment placed in the different zones are fed with hot
water at a fixed temperature thanks to the mixing valve (fig. 18). In this configuration
mode only the thermal back up produces hot water for the user’s side.
The selection of this configuration is the following:
- Switching on the three way automatic valves towards the boilers
- Turning on the pump P8 (main pump of the boiler).
The system operates automatically; switching to the winter mode, the users’ side need
to be heated, then the pump P8 is turned on and the boiler starts. The sensors placed in
the storage tank signals that there isn’t enough energy stored in the tank for feeding
directly the users’ side. Then all the valves and the pump are operated to allow the
configuration of the plant as previously described. This configuration mode doesn’t
allow any direct exploitation of solar energy for heating. If, during this time, there is
enough solar energy available, it will be stored in the storage tank.
.
Fig. 18 Space heating only with the thermal back-up
7) Working mode 5: space heating with the storage tank integration
The three ways automatic valve VT1 controls the connection between the primary
hydraulic collector and one of the two storage tanks. The distribution equipments,
placed in the different zones, are fed with hot water at a fixed temperature thanks to
the mixing valve (fig. 19). In this configuration mode the hot water is preheated by
the solar energy. In this example, the distribution network is fed by the first storage
tank while the second storage tank is charged from the solar system if there is enough
solar energy available by:
- Switching on the automatic tree ways valve VT1 towards the storage tanks
- Switching on the two way automatic valve VZ1
- Switching off the two ways automatic valve VZ2
- Starting the P4 for the hot water delivery to the users
- Starting the P1 and P3 for the second tank charging
- Turning off the pump P2 and P5
the storage tank signals that the temperature in the storage tank is greater than the
user’s return temperature, and then it favors the passage of the water through the
storage tank. This configuration mode allows the integration of solar energy.
Fig. 19 Space heating with the solar energy stored in the tank.
8) Working mode 6: Space heating with solar energy integration.
The three way automatic valve VT1 controls the connection between the primary
hydraulic collector and the plate heat exchanger. The distribution equipment, placed
in the different zones, are fed with hot water at a fixed temperature thanks to the
mixing valve (fig. 20). In this configuration mode the hot water is preheated by the
energy delivered through the plate heat exchanger from the solar field. In this
configuration the storage tanks are loaded and there is solar energy availability by:
- Switching-on the automatic three way valve VT1 towards the plate heat
exchanger
- Switching-on the two way automatic valve VZ1
- Switching-off the two way automatic valve VZ2
- Starting the P1 P2 and P4 for delivering hot water to the users
- Turning off the pump P3 and P5.
the storage tank signals that the temperature in the storage tank is greater than the
fixed maximum set point and the hot water temperature in the plate heat exchanger is
greater than the hot water return temperature from the user. Then it favors the passage
of the water through the plate heat exchanger. This configuration mode allows the
integration of solar energy.
.
Fig. 20 Space heating directly with solar energy from the collector field
3.3.5 Functioning of a solar cooling and solar heating plant for the
small residential sector with an absorption chiller (solar alone)
The third combined solar cooling and heating plant that is presented serves a small
residential building located in the North of Italy (Milan). The plant was designed and
realized by the Polytechnic of Milan. The main characteristic of this plant is that it is
equipped with evacuated tube collector with an area able to deliver energy both for
solar heating and cooling.
1) Plant’ elements
The production plant incorporates the following equipment:

- Solar system with evacuated tube collectors type CPC, KLOBEN total
surface: 22,56 m2 with a plate heat exchanger
- Two storage tanks: 1000 lt. + 500 lt.
- Absorption chiller Rotartica Solar 045
- Buffer tank with a capacity of 100 lt.
The 100 lt. buffer tank is used for test operations because the solar cooling plant is an
experimental plant that is also being used to test the direct delivery of the hot water to
the absorption machine without the solar collectors.
Fig. 21 General scheme for the third solar cooling and heating plant
The distribution plant includes two hydraulic collectors with four derivations for each.
In the ground floor rooms there are two fan coils with a cooling power of 3.3 kW and
a heating power of 2.5 kW, while in the first floor rooms there are two fan coils with a
cooling power of 3.3 kW and a heating power of 2.1 kW.
2) Hydraulic connections
The solar system delivers hot water to a plate heath exchanger thus providing an
energy flux from the primary solar circuit to the secondary circuit where the working
fluid is water. The plate heath exchanger can alternatively feed the storage tanks of
1500 lt. or the buffer tank of 100 lt. depending of the position of the three way manual
valve. The 1000 lt. storage tank is connected in series with a second storage tank with
a capacity of 500 lt. The latter can feed alternatively the absorption machine generator
or the distribution network. The 100 lt. buffer storage has a side that is connected to
the plate heath exchanger while its other side is connected directly with the absorption
machine generator. The 100 lt. buffer storage is a kind of hydraulic separator that
allows the interaction between the absorption machine generator and the solar field.
This section does not describe this way of operation. From Fig. 20 it is possible to see
that:
- The absorption machine generator is connected with the storage tank
- Its evaporator is connected with the distribution network
- Its absorber and its condenser is connected with an internal dry cooler.
Switching from the winter mode to the summer mode is selected by the user by
manually opening or closing the two way manual valve. The distribution network
with the four fan coils, is connected with the storage tanks (hot water production) and
with the absorption machine evaporator (cold water production).
3) Working mode 1: space cooling with solar energy
Fig. 22 Solar cooling from the storage tank
The sign convention is the same used in the previous plant description. The blue line
indicates cold water while the red line indicates hot water circulation. If the line is
black colored it means that in this pipe there isn’t any mass flow. If a valve or a pump
is green colored it means that the valve is opened and the pump is turned on, while if
a valve or a pump is red colored it mean that the valve is closed and the pump is
turned off.
The fan coils are fed with the cold water produced from the absorption machine. In
this configuration the energy necessary for driving the absorption machine comes
only from the solar field. This operating mode is realized with the following
configuration:
- Switching-on the three way manual valve VT towards the storage tank (1500
lt.).
- Switching-off the two way manual valves VZ1 and VZ2
- Switching-on the two way valves placed on the generator and on the
absorption machine evaporator.
- Switching-on the P1 and P2 and P3 pumps.
At the bottom of every single fan coil there is a three way valve that by-pass the flow
when the room’s load is satisfied.
need to be cooled then the sensors placed in the storage tank signals that the
temperature in the storage tank is greater than the fixed maximum set point and the
pump P3 is turned-on for the absorption machine generator alimentation. The
absorption machine is turned on. At the same time, if there is enough solar energy,
the pump P1 is activated (fig. 21).
4) Working mode 2: Storage tank charging
Fig. 23 Storage tank charge
This type of plant configuration occurs when there isn’t any space cooling demand
from the room and at the same time there is availability of solar energy (fig. 23). Then
the fan coils and the absorption machine are turned off while the storage tank is
partially or totally discharged by:
lt.).
- Switching-off the two way manual valves VZ1 and VZ2
- Switching-on the two way valves placed on the generator and on the
- Switching-off the pump P3.
doesn’t need to be cooled then the sensors placed in the storage tank signals that the
temperature in the storage tank is lower than the fixed maximum set point, and the
pump P2 is turned on for charging the storage tanks. The absorption machine is turned
off. Because there is enough solar energy, the pump P1 is activated (fig. 21).
5) Working mode 3: Space heating only with the storage tank
Fig. 24 Space heating only with the thermal storage
For the winter mode all the two way valves that intercept the absorption machine must
be closed. At the same time the two way manual valves VZ2 and VZ1 must be opened
for delivering hot water to the fan coils. In this configuration, represented in fig. 24,
the hot water flows in the fan coils placed in the different room and it came
exclusively from the storage tank. This operating mode is realized with the following
configuration:
lt.).
- Switching-on the two way manual valves VZ1 and VZ2
- Switching-off the two way valves placed on the generator and on the
- Switching-on the pump P3 and switching-off the pumps P1 and P2.
Looking at fig. 23 is possible to see that the absorption machine is turned off. At the
bottom of each fan coil there is a three way automatic valve that will by-pass the coil
if there isn’t any space cooling demand. The system operates automatically; switching
to the winter mode, the users’ side needs to be heated, then the sensors placed in the
storage tank signals that the temperature in the storage tank is greater than the fixed
maximum winter set point and the pump P3 is turned on for delivering hot water to
the distribution network. The absorption machine is turned off. Because there isn’t
enough solar energy, the pump P1 is turned off (fig. 21).
6) Working mode 4: space heating with solar field and storage tank
Fig. 25 Space heating and charging of the storage tank
In fig. 25 the fan coils are fed with hot water and in this configuration the necessary
heat is delivered to the absorption machine both from the solar field and storage tank.
This operating mode is realized with the following configuration:
lt.).
- Switching-on the two way manual valves VZ1 and VZ2
- Switching-off the two way valves placed on the generator and on the
- Switching-on the pumps P3, P1 and P2.
The absorption machine is turned off. At the bottom of each fan coil there is a three
way automatic valve that will by-pass the coil if there isn’t any space cooling demand.
The system operates automatically; switching to the winter mode, the users’ side
needs to be heated, then the sensors placed in the storage tank signals that the
temperature in the storage tank is greater than the fixed maximum winter set point and
the pump P3 is turned-on for delivering hot water to the distribution network. The
absorption machine is turned off. Because there is enough solar energy, the pump P1
is turned on (fig. 21).
3.3.6 FINAL REMARKS
The analyzed systems are quite different among them. That’s why there isn’t a
standardized solution available on the market. The Rotartica system (first scheme) is
an attempt to offer a standardized solution for the small residential sector that offers a
whole and complete system to the users. Such an installation should be realized with
strong financial and intellectual efforts, selecting a machine with technical
characteristics that satisfy the specific power and load requirements. Then the selected
plant design should go beyond the selection of an absorption machine. The realization
of a solar cooling and heating plant mandates the selection of the correct equipment
for space conditioning, for example, selecting a radiant floor, radiant walls or fan
coils, are preferable to new buildings where this decision can be reached during the
design phase. In addition, the plant should be as autonomous as possible, avoiding
manual operation by the user.
The second analyzed plant is conceptually different from the others. The integration
was based on an existing plant using a collector field that should be exploited both in
summer and winter. This way, both space heating and space cooling is integrated with
the solar energy. For space heating the integration is realized through the preheating
of the return hot water from the zones. This way, it is possible to achieve considerable
energy savings during winter. For space cooling, the hot water produced by the solar
field is exploited for driving the absorption machine enhancing the solar collector use
factor. The Kloben project is based on an existing plant and covers the loads so the
dimensioning of the equipment is simpler. The second advantage is related to the
integration of the old plant with the new plant. The automated management of the
plant is simpler because the two control strategies are divided and in such a big plant
there will be always a need for technical staff for the maintenance and the
management of it. The differences between the first and the second plant is that the
Rotartica plant exploits better the whole system while if there is integration of an
existent system the exploitation of solar energy is harder. Another weak point is that
there is no possibility to feed directly the absorption machine generator with hot water
from the boilers. Moreover, it is not foreseen to exploit solar energy for domestic hot
water production.
The third examined plant called ISSA (Integrated System Solar Assisted Air
conditioner) is an experimental plant, intended to verify a solar cooling and heating
system for the small residential sector without the use of conventional energy sources.
This system is coupled with a very efficient building with well insulated walls and
partitions. One problem that emerged during the design phase was the position of the
storage tank. For the tank protection it was chosen to install the tanks in the building.
This aspect involves energy gains during winter, but on the other hand it implies
reverse energy gains for space cooling during summer (there is a small increase of
cooling loads due to the presence of the storage tanks in the building).
After a year of operation, the ISSA solar plant also revealed some other small
problems. For example, looking at the information collected from the data acquisition
system of the tanks’ temperature, it was revealed that there was a temperature drop of
10 °C during the night (fig.24). This fact was explained with the investigation of the
mass flow (blue line in fig. 25). It is evident that the high tank’s temperature causes a
natural circulation in the distribution of the hydraulic collectors. In conclusion, it is
possible to avoid this significant energy loss driving the two way valve placed on the
top of the 500 lt. storage tank with an electric actuator that should open the valve only
when the P3 is switched-on.
Fig. 26 Temperature in the different levels of the storage tanks
Fig. 27 Main mass flows in the combined solar cooling and heating plant
The ISSA plant doesn’t have a thermal back up that allows space heating during
winter and the alimentation of the absorption machine generator during summer. Also
if this is the operating mode assumed in the design phase, there is always a problem
with the availability of a small boiler that produces hot water at a temperature greater
than 80-85 °C for starting the absorption process in the absorption chiller.
4. Cold Storage Devices
Contributed by SOLITES
This chapter describes available technologies for thermal cold storage. More detailed
information on this topic can be found e.g. in (Paksoy 2003) and (Dincer et.al. 2002).
The presented findings are valid for a temperature range of -10 - +20 °C. The main
source for this chapter is the work of the IEA ECES Annex 14 – “Cooling in All
Climates with Thermal Energy Storage” (Paksoy 2003).
For general remarks on thermal energy storage and possible storage concepts for
working temperatures above the freezing point of water see also chapter 5.
4.1 Introduction
Market available storage concepts for cold storage are chilled water storages, phase
change materials (PCM) including snow and ice storages and underground thermal
energy storage (UTES). The usage of thermochemical reactions for cold storage is
another promising technology but not market ready yet.
Cold storages can be used for short and long-term storage. They are most widely used
for daily storage cycles and are more economic by reducing the necessary peak
demand of chillers and moving the cold energy production into off-peak seasons than
saving energy.
Sources for cold can be conventional chillers or heat pumps but also natural sources
like ambient air, surface water from the sea, lakes or rivers, snow or ice. For long-
term storage also a combined heat and cold storage can be an interesting option
especially in combination with UTES. In this case e.g. the waste heat from comfort
cooling of a building during summer is charged into the ground and can be used for
heating of the building in combination with a heat pump in winter, see e.g.
(Hummelshøj 2004).
Especially if the temperature level of stored cold coming from natural sources can be
used directly (without chillers) high seasonal performance factors in the range of 6 –
40 can be reached for a cooling system and thus high energy savings and a favourable
economy are possible.
4.2 Chilled water storage

Chilled water storages are the most cost effective and simplest possibility for cold
storage. Common storage temperatures normally range between 4 °C and 18 °C.
Because of the low temperature difference compared to heat storage larger storage
volumes are necessary to store the same amount of thermal energy. Crucial for an
efficient storage process is a good temperature stratification in the storage volume,
which is more difficult to reach for cold storages than for heat storages because of the
lower temperature difference and by this also lower density difference inside the
storage volume. In this respect also the fact that water reaches its highest density at
4 °C has to be taken into account. Stratification devices can be used to enhance
stratification as well as multiple storage concepts. However, thermal losses increase
when multiple tanks are used and hydraulics and controls become more complex and
error-prone.
4.3 Phase Change Materials (PCM)

Cold storage systems using PCM utilise the latent heat of the phase change from solid
to liquid of the storage material to store thermal energy. Suitable materials that can be
used are ice, snow and other organic or inorganic materials. Available materials and
technologies are described in the following.
4.3.1 Ice storage

The latent heat of fusion of ice to water at 0 °C is 333 kJ/kg. This amount of heat is
equivalent to the energy demand necessary to heat one kg of water by 80 K. To use
this type of storage the refrigeration equipment has to be operated at working
temperatures below normal operation conditions for air-conditioning. Ice can be
produced e.g. at low cost periods and cold can be used at peak times.
Three different concepts for ice storage are distinguished:

- ice on coil
- ice slurries
- encapsulated ice
Each one of them is described in the following sections.
.
Ice one coil

In the ice on coil concept, also referred to as static type, a refrigerant or a brine
solution is circulated in an array of coils which is installed in a water tank. Ice is
formed around the coils in the water volume until a certain layer-thickness is reached.
Discharging normally takes place by circulating the water in the tank and melting the
ice from outside, but also internal melting is possible by circulating the brine.
Ice slurries
Ice slurries are supercooled water or thin glycol solutions that are composed of water
or glycol and ice pieces. This ice water is usually produced in ice harvesters by
running a thin water film over a cooling plate. On the surface of the cooling plate an
ice layer builds. Once the ice layer reaches a certain thickness it is removed either by
a hot gas defrost cycle from the inside of the cooling plates or mechanically from the
outside. The ice water then can be stored in a separate tank.
Ice harvesters are normally operated at atmospheric pressure. They overcome the
problem of an increasing thermal resistance of a growing ice layer that is known from
ice on coil systems.
At discharging the ice slurry is pumped directly to a heat exchanger or an
unpressurised system.
Encapsulated ice
Another possibility to overcome the problem of an increasing thermal resistance of a
growing ice layer is to pack the storage medium in small casings that are surrounded
and cooled / heated by a non-PCM working fluid. This technology is not restricted to
water as a storage medium but is also used with other PCM materials.
4.3.2 Snow storage

The storage of natural snow or ice is a very old technique that was used world-wide
before cooling equipment was developed. In the last 25 years seasonal snow and ice
storage technologies have been developed in Canada, USA, Japan and Sweden
(Paksoy 2003).
Stored snow or ice can be either natural or artificial. In suitable climates artificial
snow production by snow guns can be very cost and energy efficient. COPs are
reported to be between 50-500 depending on water and outdoor temperatures,
humidity, wind and equipment. Compared to natural snow/ice no pollution has to be
handled and no additional transportation costs arise with artificial snow/ice. However,
pollution normally can easily be tested and handled and transportation cost sometimes
can be passed to a community account.
One of very few known snow storage plants with a snow pit is the Sundsvall project
in Sweden (Skogsberg and Nordell, 2000), see Fig. 4-1.
Hospital
Wood Chips
Filters Heat Exchangers
Snow
+2oC +7oC
+10oC +12oC
Return Pipes
Fig. 4-1 The Sundsvall scow storage project (Skogsberg and Nordell, 2000)
Natural and artificial snow (30.000 m³) is stored on a watertight surface under a
wood-chips insulation layer. A direct cold extraction is used by pumping melted water
to a heat exchanger. There is a predicted natural melting of about 20-25 % of the total
volume per year.
In a similar concept for snow/ice storage a pit that is sealed by a plastic liner is used
for storage of snow, ice or ice slurries. The construction is similar to the pit heat
storages described in chapter 2. For the storage of snow or ice that is produced outside
the pit the cover construction has to be removable to be able to fill the storage
medium into the storage.
Ice boxes are insulated boxes where ice is produced inside by batch wise letting water
into the box and freezing it by natural or artificial cold air (Morofsky 1984). Cold is
extracted by melt water from the bottom. The heated melt water is recirculated and
sprayed on top of the ice block. Care has to be taken on expansion and creeping of the
ice and on possible damages caused by falling ice due to a non-uniform melting inside
the box.
4.3.3 Other PCM materials
Organic and inorganic PCMs offer a wide range of possible melting points and by this
storage temperatures. Most of the Materials that are suitable for cold storage are
inorganic salt hydrates. They offer high latent heat and low cost. Known problems of
salt hydrates are incongruent melting, supercooling and poor nucleation. For notes
about avoiding these problems see e.g. (Paksoy 2003).
Possible organic PCM materials are paraffin and fatty acids. Organic compounds
show a latent heat capacity that is about half of that of inorganic materials but they
have several advantages like melting without segregation into components and no
supercooling effects. Furthermore they are non-toxic, non-corrosive and chemically
inert. A disadvantage of organic PCMs is the low thermal conductivity.
The main problem for the technical implementation of the PCM technology is an
insufficient transport of thermal energy between the storage material and a working
fluid which is the necessary interface between the storage and a specific application.
Reasons are low thermal conductivities of the materials as well as contact resistances
and a small energy transferring area (Mehling 2004).
Analogous to 4.3.1 organic and inorganic PCMs can be encapsulated in micro- or

macro capsules. Microcapsules are more advantageous in terms of energy transport
and capacity rates for charging and discharging. Encapsulated PCM can be filled in
regular steel- or concrete-tanks and a suitable working fluid, e.g. water for
temperatures above 0 °C, can be used for charging and discharging.
Also compound materials consisting of PCMs and thermal conductivity enhancing
additives (e.g. graphite) are developed to overcome the problem of energy transfer
into the storage material (Mehling 2004).
A list with commercially available PCM materials including melting temperatures and
physical properties can be found on http://www.fskab.com/annex17/.
4.4 Thermo chemical reactions

Thermochemical reactions appropriate for thermal energy storage involve a reversible
chemical reaction, absorption, adsorption or a hydration process (Paksoy 2003). In an
endothermic chemical reaction a reactor is continuously fed with reactants as it
absorbs thermal energy. For discharging of the storage the reaction products are
returned to their initial state in an exothermic process.
Adsorption systems, working in open or closed cycles, can be used to produce cold,
utilizing waste heat from any thermal process or solar energy. In an open sorption
system, water is used as the adsorbate. Air transports water vapour and heat in and out
of the packed bed of solid adsorbents. In the desorption mode a hot air stream enters
the packed bed, desorbs the water from the adsorbent and leaves the bed cooler and
saturated. In the adsorption mode, the previously humidified, cool air enters the
desorbed packed bed. The adsorbent adsorbs the water vapour and releases the heat of
adsorption. The air exits warm and dry.
The energy storage density of thermochemical reactions is generally high but the
technology is at an early stage of development. Economically and technically feasible
systems have not been demonstrated yet.
4.5 Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES)
The UTES storage concepts have already been described in chapter 2.6. They are
mainly favourable for large scale and long-term heat and cold storage systems. With
Aquifer Thermal Energy Storages (ATES) a working temperature below the freezing
point of water is not possible because of the open system. Borehole Thermal Energy
Storages (BTES) can be operated with an antifreeze working fluid to allow for
working temperatures below 0 °C. However, a freezing and unfreezing of the grouting
materials in a borehole and the surrounding ground can cause problems like a
submergence of the ground, mechanical failures or a reduced thermal connection from
the borehole heat exchangers (BHE) to the ground. Numerous problems of this kind
are documented for ground coupled heat pump systems with an undersized BHE
system (Bassetti 2006). Besides limitations concerning possible capacity rates for
charging and discharging a thermal balancing of the ground has to be taken into
account.
With Cavern Thermal Energy Storages (CTES) natural rock caverns or artificial
caverns like e.g. abandoned mines can be used for cold storage. There are only few
research and demonstration plants documented and economics have not been feasible
so far.
4.6 References
Bassetti S., Rohner E., Signorelli S., Matthey B. (2006), Dokumentation von
Schadensfällen bei Erdwärmesonden, Report (in German), Geowatt AG, Zürich,
Switzerland
Dincer I., Rosen M.A. (2002), Thermal Energy Storage, Systems and Applications,
ISBN 0-471-49573-5, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., England
Mehling H. et al. (2004), Sachbericht zum Leitprojekt „Innovative PCM-

Technologie“. im Themenfeld „Energieerzeugung und –speicherung für den
dezentralen und mobilen Einsatz, FKZ 0327303, ZAE Bayern, Munich
Morofsky E.L. (1984), Developing and introducing an innovative building cooling

technology, Strategy formulation based on market and technology considerations,
Issues in strategic management, Adm 6395, Public Works in Canada
Paksoy H.Ö. (Ed.) (2003), General State-of-the-Art Report Subtask 1, IEA ECES
Annex 14 - Cooling in All Climates with Thermal Energy Storage, Adana, Turkey,
http://cevre.cu.edu.tr/annex14
Skogsberg K., Nordell B. (2000), Seasonal Snow Storage for Cooling of Hospital in
Sundsvall, Terrastock 8th International Conference on Thermal Energy Storage,
Proceedings, Vol.1 245-250, ITW University of Stuttgart, Germany
5. New Advanced storage technique
Contributed by AEE INTEC (chapter 5.3: CRES)
In this chapter an overview on storage techniques like i) PCM and ii) SORPTION +
CHEMICAL STORAGE used as as high temperature storage (up to 100 °C) is given.
The concepts described are mainly based on the findings of the IEA Solar Heating and
Cooling Task 32: “Thermal energy storage for solar and low energy buildings”
(www.iea-shc.org/task32/publications/index.html).
The scope of this chapter is to describe the working principle of the considered
technique and to quote application examples as carried out in Task 32.
5.1 Phase Change Materials (PCM)

Materials with the property to absorb and release significant heat energy quantities in
the phase change process are termed phase change materials (PCM).
The material classes that are most widely used as PCMs are paraffin and salt hydrates
with melting temperatures at useful temperatures.
Paraffin’s are alkane-hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2, where n is the
number of carbon atoms. Paraffin in its solid state - generally known as wax - is
typically ranging from 20 to 40 carbon atoms (C20 to C40 ).
Salt hydrates are inorganic salts, which contain a specific number of water molecules.
The incorporation of water into the molecular crystal is due to the strong dipole
character of the water molecule, which allows the interaction with cations and
complex anions of the salt.
An elaborate list of PCM materials can be found in reference (J.C. Hadorn et al. 2005)
on the pages 84-87.
5.1.1 Operating principle of PCMs

On supplying energy to water, the temperature of the liquid will rise till the melting
temperature (Tm – see Fig. 5-1) is reached. Further heat supply will not increase the
water’s temperature until all solid is converted to liquid (phase transition solid phase
liquid phase). The energy input that does not account for a temperature increase is
needed to overcome atomic bonding forces when moving from the solid to the liquid
phase. This energy proportion - generally referred to as latent heat – is set free when
reversing the phase transition going from the liquid to the solid state. Fig. 5-1 depicts
the above described process in a schematic way.
T [K]
Tm
latent heat
Q [J]
Fig. 5-1: Temperature as a function of supplied energy to a liquid
In a more macroscopic description, heat energy and temperature are linked via the
specific heat capacitance. PCMs have in the temperature region of their phase
transition a significant increase in heat capacitance. Fig. 5-2 gives a comparison
between the storage medium water and a PCM produced by Merk. In the temperature
region from about 70 to 80 °C the PCM can accommodate significantly more energy
(latent heat) than water, which energy storage mechanism in this temperature region is
entirely a function of the specific heat capacity (cp).
Given that the material has a phase transition in the considered temperature interval
the overall heat-energy storage properties result from the storage of sensible heat,
defined by the specific heat capacitance of the considered material and its energy
storage in latent heat.
Heat Capacity [J/cm3]
600
Water
500 PCM 72
400
Latent
300 Heat
200
Sensible
100
Heat
0 20 40 60 80 100
Temperatur [°C]
Fig. 5-2 : Comparison of latent to sensible heat
If the larger temperature intervals for heat-energy storage are considered, the specific
heat capacity (sensible heat) has a grave influence on the total energy storage
capability. With its high cp value and unrivalled low acquisition cost, water is the
benchmark material PCMs have to compete with. Especially in the case of larger
temperature intervals until now water appears to be the storage medium of choice
(A.Heinz et al, 2007).
5.1.2 Material Properties and Application Examples of PCMs

An important quality requirement for PCMs is their long term stability (cycle
resistance), which is dealing with the degradation behaviour of PCMs subjected to
multiple phase change cycles. In this context the melting and solidification behaviour
of the PCM material are addressed. PCMs melting in congruent manner have an
exactly defined melting point with a homogeneous melting product. In the adverse
case of incongruent melting, the material forms at the melting point a melt plus new
solid phases. These two aggregates are separated due to density differences (phase
segregation - typical for salt hydrates). Generally, the PCM material solidifies via a
crystallisation process that sets the heat of crystallisation free (rearrangement of bonds
to a lower total energy state). Counter measures for phase segregation are gelling or
thickening of the salt hydrates (G. Lane et al.).
A typical behaviour of salt hydrates is super cooling, which terms an effective
solidification temperature below the excepted one due to the absence of seed crystals,
which are required to initiate the crystallisation process. In the case of an incongruent
melting system the crystallisation process is hampered and takes considerably longer
so the latent heat is not set free on call.
A project taking advantage of the super cooling effect is carried out by J. Schultz.
First simulation results and work in progress on a lab prototype describes the project’s
status (S. Furbo et al., 2005).
The low intrinsic heat conduction of PCMs makes the charging/discharging process of
the storage system difficult. Microencapsulated PCM particles ranging in sizes from 2
to 20 micron mitigate poor heat conduction properties through huge area/volume
ratios and strongly reduced transport ways. Dispersing microencapsulated PCMs in a
liquid (e.g. water) generates a PCM slurry that can be employed as a energy transport
and storage media. Detailed investigation concerning the heat transfer coefficients of
PCM slurries in a storage tank as well as the heat transfer rate of PCM slurries in a
flat-plate heat exchanger were performed by A. Heinz et al. (A. Heinz et al. 2005).
Their findings can be summarised as follows: if large temperature differences are
employed in the storage procedure, specific heat contribution are similar to the
contribution coming from the latent heat. Optimum results are gained for small
temperature differences and high slurry concentrations. Heat exchanger operating
results basically give the same results for PCM slurries and water. Further application
examples can be found at the IEA SHC Task 32 homepage (report C1 of subtask C).
5.2 Sorption and Thermo-Chemical Storage
5.2.1 Principles of Storage mechanism

A) Thermo-Chemical Storage
The idea of thermo chemical storages is to use a material “A” which can be split to
“B” and “C” by endo-thermic reaction driven by solar energy at reasonable
temperatures. Afterwards the components “B” and “C” can react again via an exo-
thermic reaction where heat can be used. According to the IEA SHC Task33
Handbook (Hadorn, 2005) thermo chemical storages up to now are not easy usable for
solar thermal applications because the necessary conversion temperatures for feasible
materials are around 200 °C or higher. This technology therefore is quite far away
from practical use at the moment .
B) Sorption Storage
Energy storage in these systems is based on the absorption or adsorption of a working

substance – also called sorbate – and the sorption material – called sorbance.
Adsorption is the bonding of a liquid or a gas on the surface of a solid state. In the
absorption process, the sorbate is dissolved in the sorption material.
The stored energy in the adsorption/absorption process has two contributions:
a) Energy of the phase change process – e.g. condensation of water vapour on a
porous material like zeolite.
b) Bonding energy of the sorbate molecules with the sorption material – typically
these bonds are formed by dipole/dipole interaction and are consequently
rather weak.
A major conceptual advantage of the sorption storage technique is the dramatic
reduction in heat storage losses compared to water seasonal storage. The argument for
this improvement is that not matter at elevated temperature levels is stored and
therefore the inevitable entropy losses during the storage period do not occur. Another
way to put it is to say entropy is not stored in the storage system (P. Gantenbein et al.,
2005).
The operation cycle of the adsorption/desorption process is shown in Fig. 5-4. The
upper line shows the process of charging the storage, which means drying the silica
gel and separating the condensed water. This process takes place in summertime,
when sufficient solar energy with high power to reach high temperatures is available.
The lower line shows the process in winter time. Low temperature heat (from solar
collectors, bore holes, etc.) can be used to evaporate the water and generating high
temperature heat thanks to the adsorption process in combination with the silica gel.
Fig. 5-3: Working principle of an adsorption heat storage.
In the application field systems are subdivided into i) open and ii) closed systems. In
open system the working fluid is directly released to environment whereas closed
system work with a closed working fluid circuit.
5.2.2 Application Example: Open Adsorption System

In this application example a school building is heated in winter and a jazz club (A.
Hauer, 2005) cooled in summer with a zeolite based thermo-chemical storage system.
The main intention is to shift the energy peak demand for heating in winter time from
day to night allowing to leverage reduced energy costs at night time. For the charging
process (drying of the zeolite) the steam line (130 °C to 180 °C) of the district heating
system is deployed. Charging of the storage (loading of zeolite with water vapour) is
scheduled during daytime when the heating demand occurs. The heating energy
comes from the heat of condensation of water-vapour on zeolite, which is stored in a
tank. The heat transport medium, which also serves as carrier for water vapour, is
ambient air. The necessary energy needed for the humidification process of the
ambient air is provided by the low energy return of the district heating system.
Cooling of the jazz club in summer is achieved by adding a cold recovery unit
allowing the system to operate as a desiccant cooling system.
The main application experiences with this system are as follows: since operation start
in 1997 the required heat load was generally met. The experimentally determined
thermal coefficient of performance (COP) was 0.92; the achieved energy density in
the zeolite storage was 153 kWh/m³ (A. Hauer, 2005). Both values are around 80% of
the calculated maximal obtainable values. Improvement potential is seen in the
simplification of the control strategy of the system.
Further information on mainly prototype applications is found on the IEA_SHC
Task 32 homepage (report B1 of subtask B).
5.2.3 Application Example: Closed Adsorption System

The application example for a closed system is an adsorption system based on silica
gel/water as adsorption material/working substance pair (D. Jähnig et al., 2007). The
aim of the project was to build a seasonal storage for domestic hot water and space
heating in a single family house. The second generation prototype developed by AEE
INTEC contained absorber and evaporator/condenser in one housing with the idea to
minimize heat losses due to internal transport ways. All quoted data stem from a
prototype that was field tested in a low energy house in Austria (W. Wagner et al.,
2006).
The concept of the second generation prototype is shown in Fig. 5-4.
Fig. 5-4: Left: Concept of the second generation prototype of AEE INTEC’s
adsorbtion storage system; Right: first second generation prototype
installation in a one family house with 2 sorption storages, one water tank
(green, without insulation) and one conventional water storage (D. Jähnig
(2007))
The underlying operation principle of the storage system is best described by a heat
pump. The energy contributions from the bonds formed between the absorbing
material (silica gel) and water are neglectable compared to the energy portion coming
from the phase change process.
Heating energy stems from the condensation of water vapour on the silica gel
(condensation energy) – solar energy is used in the operation cycle to desorb water
from silica gel (drying).
The - on the field - test achieved energy density of 39 kWh/m3 with an apparatus that
was optimized from the design side, lends itself to the conclusion that the crucial lever
for performance improvement is on the material side. Further information on mainly
prototype applications is found on the IEA_SHC Task 32 homepage (report B1 of
subtask B).
5.2.4 Application Example: Thermo-Chemical Accumulator (TCA)

In Sweden an absorption storage was developed by the company ClimateWell. This
concept uses a three phase process (solid, solution and vapour) where the solid phase
is salt crystal. This development finally was not resulting in a heat storage but it was
successfully launched on the market (mainly in Spain) as a water chiller.
Fig. 5-5: ClimateWell CW10 as a10 kW chiller
5.3 A High-Combi storage system with Boreholes

Contributed by CRES
The proposed system is considered “advanced”, mainly because it is planned to have

the following features:
• Use a combination of boreholes and water storage.
• Have small dimensions, if compared with the usual size of existing seasonal
storages: (total volume of about 400 m³ while usual seasonal storage tanks
have volumes bigger than 1000 m³).
• Use the rejected heat during summer cooling operation to “warm” the earth
around the water tank.
• Use low (or zero) cost insulation materials.
A short description of the plant follows.
One of the main attempts of the storage design is to minimise the heat losses by the
use of boreholes around the main storage tank.
During cooling operation, the cooling machine receives thermal energy (Qh) at high
temperature (i.e., 70-85°C) from the collectors’ field and provides the useful cooling
(Qc) services to the building. As in every heat driven system, the sum of the heat
provided for operating the chiller at “high” temperature and of the heat extracted from
the building (at low temperature), namely (Qh+Qc), has to be rejected at a mid
temperature level. Often the external ambient air is used as heat sink for the heat
rejection (e.g., through a cooling tower). In this HighCombi system, Qh+Qc will be
delivered to the boreholes (that are positioned around the water storage tank).
Consequently, the earth surrounding the storage will be heated, thus reducing the
losses of the water storage tank. When, during summer, there is solar energy available
but no need for cooling or domestic hot water, the produced heat will be delivered
into the water tank storage. The storage will be heated up to about 90°C in summer.
The combination of a good insulation (yellow area in the figure), an additional low (or
zero) cost insulation (light blue area) and the surrounding earth heated by the
boreholes will hopefully maintain the storage high temperatures, so that it will cover a
substantial amount of the heating load during winter. Obviously, a part of the heating
load will be covered directly by the solar gains during winter. A schematic
representation of the system can be seen in Fig. 5-6.
Ab/adsorption
cooling machine
Water storage
Qh
Qc
Qh +Qc
Boreholes
Mild temperature
heating/cooling
element
Fig. 5-6: Schema of the Greek HighCombi plant in summer operation mode
One important factor for the success of such a seasonal thermal storage is to minimise
the construction cost. Therefore, the (research) work aims at reducing the cost of the
insulation and the boreholes. Certainly the tank cost has also to be minimised;
however, the tank’s volume may permit us to use existing tank components and not
prototypes (for example, if a steel tank has to be used, then it is possible to choose
from the tanks that are readily available on the market, e.g. those used in milk and
other food and beverage factories).
In what concerns the boreholes, since their drilling is expensive, it is possible to dig a
larger area during the construction of the storage tank equal to the total area
surrounded by the boreholes. This will allow for an easy placement of the borehole
pipes that need to be fixed at the perimeter’s area of the hole. The use of low cost
thermal insulation of the seasonal heat storage tank, is an interesting alternative.
Several materials (or combinations) may be used, including: stacked used tyres
(probably cut in pieces); empty soft drinks plastic bottles, wrapping bubble plastic
film, perlite etc. After the boreholes, insulation and storage tank is completed, the
remaining space (and the top of the storage tank) can be filled with soil.
The total volume of the seasonal storage may be about 400 m³ (250 m³ water storage
tank surrounded by boreholes). The water storage may be cylindrical, either concrete
or steel with a radius of about 3.5 meters and height of about 7 meters burred
completely in the ground.
The boreholes may be made out of U-shaped plastic tubes, surrounded by concrete,
about 8 meters in depth with a distance between them , in the order of 1 meter. The
actual distance and number of pipes used have to be optimised through simulations
and optimisations.
6. New generation of collectors
Contributed by AEE INTEC
6.1 Introduction
This summary is based on the findings of (W. Weiss et al., 2005) within the IEA SHC
Task 33, which in subtask C analysed medium temperature collectors designed for
temperatures ranging up to 250 °C. From the operation principle the analysed
collectors are grouped into two classes: a) flat plate collectors; b) concentrating
collector systems.
Concentrating collector systems are further subdivided into compound parabolic
collectors (CPC), parabolic through collectors and fresnel collectors.
6.2 Collector Heat Losses

To achieve the required temperature range with flat plate collectors all heat loss
channels - heat conduction, heat convection and heat radiation - have to be
minimized. Further measures are required to minimize the reflected component of the
incident solar radiation (optical losses).
Starting from a standard single glazed collector with high back cover and fringe
insulation standards an adequate step to further minimize heat losses is to introduce a
second glass cover (double glazed collectors). Given a selective absorber (typically
α=0,95; ε=0,05) the main heat loss channel between the absorber surface and the
glass cover is by convection. Heat losses via convection can effectively be reduced by
introducing a second glass cover with spacing of approximately 10 to 15 mm, which
minimizes losses via this channel.
A next improvement step is to reduce heat conduction between the glass covers by
reducing the pressure in the clearance. Heat conduction in a gas is indirectly
proportional to the mass of the atoms constituting the gas. So gases made up of
“heavy” elements like neon, argon, krypton (inert gases) exhibit reduced heat
conductivity, which makes the filling of the clearance between the covers with any of
these gases an appropriate measure to further decrease heat conduction.
Radiation losses are primarily determined by the temperature difference between the
covers respectively between the sky temperature and the top-cover. The previously
introduced measures have a positive impact on reducing radiative losses, as the
surface temperature of the glass covers is reduced.
After treatment of the different heat loss channels, losses associated with incident
solar radiation are considered. It is desirable to get the highest possible proportion of
the incoming radiation on to the absorber plate. Possible optical loss mechanisms are
i) reflection on the glass covers (typically 4-5 %) and ii) absorption in the glass cover.
The fundamental reason for reflection on the air/glass interface is different
propagation velocities of an electromagnetic wave in air and in the material glass.
Anti-reflective coatings on the glass cover can mitigate reflection losses. An anti-
reflection coating can be made by choosing a film of a certain thickness and refractive
index so that the reflections from its upper and lower surfaces are out of phase and
will interfere destructively. Through destructive interference the intensity of reflected
radiation is reduced and transmission intensity in the same amount increased (given
constant absorption).
Absorption of radiation in the glass cover comes from incorporated chemical elements
(contaminations) into the glass. The energy of the absorbed radiation is used to trigger
excitations in the electronic structure of the contaminating chemical compounds. A
typical absorption causing contaminant for solar cover glasses is iron oxide in its form
Fe2O3.
Concentrating systems focus solar radiation on to a small area – called the receiver –
and thereby achieving high radiation intensities. All above discussed heat loss
mechanisms are area proportional. In the case of concentrating systems the small
receiver surface area accounts for reduced heat losses as compared to flat plate
collectors. The absorbing surface of the receiver can be designed to be selective
identical to selective absorbers used in flat plate collectors. Typically the receiver is
bonded with a glass tube ideally evacuated to reduce heat conduction between the
receiver surface and the glass-tube wall. By this measure the surface temperature of
the glass tubing stays comparably low, yielding low radiation losses between the
receiver shielding and ambient. The combination of high radiation intensities and
diminished heat losses result in operating temperature levels well suited for the mid
temperature range.
6.3 Market Development Mid Temperature Collectors

Table 6-1 compiled by (W. Weiss et al., (2007)) – gives a market overview of new
developments in the field of mid temperature solar collectors. The deployment status
ranges from prototyping to volume production.
Table 6-1: Overview of medium temperature collectors examined in IEA Task 33
(W. Weiss (2007))
Collector-type Operation Heat Contact
Temperature Carrier Task 33/IV
[ºC] Medium
Improved Flat Plate Collectors
Fraunhofer Institut
2AR Flat Plate
für Solare
Collector
Water- Energiesysteme
Double glazed Flat 80 – 150
Glycol Heidenhofstrasse 2
Plate Collector with
79110 Freiburg
Anti-Reflection Glass
Germany
Schüco International
SCHÜCO KG
Water-
Double glazed Flat 80 - 150 Karolinenestr. 1-15
Glycol
Plate Collector 33615 Bielefeld
Germany
[ºC] Medium
CPC- Collectors
DER/INETI, Edificio
H,
AoSol Estrada do Paço do
Water-
Stationary CPC 80 - 110 Lumiar, 22, 1649-038
Glycol
Collector Lisboa
Portugal
SOLARFOCUS
Solarfocus
Water- GmbH
Stationary CPC 80 - 120
Glycol 4451 St.Ulrich / Steyr
Collector
Austria
ZAE Bayern
ZEA Walther-
Water-
Evacuated CPC 120 - 180 Meißner-Str. 6,
Glycol
Collector 85748 Garching
Germany
Small Parabolic Trough Collectors
AEE INTEC
PARASOL
Water or Feldgasse 19
Parabolic Trough 100 – 200
Vapour 8200 Gleisdorf
Collector
Austria
DLR
SOLITEM PTC Institut für
1800 100 – 200 Technische
Water
Parabolic Trough Thermodynamik
Collector 51170 Köln
Germany
New Energy Partners

NEP SOLAR Pty Ltd
Polymer Carrier Level 2 Suite 1a
PTC 150 – 250 Water 802 Pacific Highway
Parabolic Trough Gordon
Collector NSW 2072
Australia
[ºC] Medium
Solar-Institut Jülich
PTC 1000 Heinrich-Mußmann-
Modular Parabolic 80 – 300 Water Str. 5
Trough Collector 52428 Jülich
Germany
Australian National
University
Centre for
CHAPS Sustainable Energy
Combined Heat and 80 - 150 Water Systems Department
Power Solar Collector of Engineering,
Canberra ACT 0200
Australia
Fresnel-Collector
Water,
PSE
PSE Vapour
Solar Info Center
Linear Concentrating 100 – 400 or
79072 Freiburg
Fresnel Collector Thermo-
Germany
oil
CCStaR – Concentrating Collector with Stationary Reflector
Universitat de les
CCStaR Illes Balears
80 - 140 Water
Palma de Mallorca
Span
Flat plate collectors in this overview utilize basically all approaches discussed in
paragraph 6.2 to lower optical and heat losses. Double glazing, anti-reflective coating
and filling of the space between the two covers with an inert gas push the
performance limits of the two presented flat plate collectors to an operation
temperature area of approximately 150 °C.
All other collectors depicted in Table 6-1 operate as concentrating systems, which are
inherently designed for higher operating temperatures (see paragraph 6.2).
A detailed analysis of these collectors was carried out in IEA Task 33 and was
published in a brochure by AEE INTEC in spring 2008
Process Heat Collectors - State of the Art within Task 33/IV"Editors: Werner Weiss
and Matthias Rommel, 2008]
7. References
Weiss, W. & Bergmann, I. & Faninger, G. (2006), “Solar Heat Worldwide - Markets
and Contribution to the Energy Supply 2004”, IEA SHC, http://www.iea-shc.org
VDI Guideline 4640 (2000), Thermal use of the Underground; Verein Deutscher
Ingenieure (VDI), Düsseldorf, Germany, www.vdi.de
Jean-Christophe Hadorn (Editor) (2005), “Thermal energy storage for solar and low
energy buildings”, IEA SHC Task 32
A.Heinz, C.Sole, R.Heimrath, H.Schranzhofer, W.Streicher (2007), “Untersuchung

der Auswirkung einer Integration von Phasenwechselmaterialien in den
Energiespeicher auf den solaren Deckungsgrad eines Kombisystems“, 17.Symposium
Thermische Solarenergie Bad Staffelstein 2007
G.A.Lane (1986), “Solar Heat Storage: Latent Heat Material“ Volume 2: Technology,
CRC Press, Florida
A. Heinz, W.Streicher (2005), “Microencapsulated PCM Slurries”, Chapter 11 in

“Thermal energy storage for solar and low energy buildings”,IEA SHC Task 32
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Contract No: TREN/07/FP6EN/S07.

“State of the Art of Similar Applications”

Start date of project: June 1st, 2007 Duration: 48 months

Lead contractor for this deliverable:

2. SEASONAL THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE (STES) 6

2.1 GENERAL ASPECTS 6

3. SOLAR SPACE HEATING AND COOLING APPLICATIONS 97

3.1 THERMALLY DRIVEN COOLING TECHNOLOGIES 97

4. COLD STORAGE DEVICES 137

4.1 INTRODUCTION 137

5. NEW ADVANCED STORAGE TECHNIQUE 142

5.1 PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS (PCM) 142

6. NEW GENERATION OF COLLECTORS 151

6.1 INTRODUCTION 151

Because of economic and technical efficiency reasons seasonal thermal energy

2.1 General Aspects

heating central with flat plate collectors

district heating net

The maximum thermal storage capacity (QS,max) is calculated according to equation

2.3 Types of Seasonal Thermal Energy Storages

tank thermal energy storage pit thermal energy storage

borehole thermal energy storage

2.3.2 Storage Medium

2.4 Experiences with Research and Pilot Projects

2.4.1 Construction Techniques of Pilot and Research Storages

2.5 Construction of Buried Tank and Pit Thermal Energy

2.5.1 Geometry of Buried Thermal Energy Storages

Depending on the operation mode, short-term (buffer) storage or long-term (seasonal)

2.5.3 Covering Hot Water Thermal Energy Storages

2.6 Construction of Underground Thermal Energy Storages

borehole depth (30 - 100 m)

2.6.2 Construction of Aquifer Thermal Energy Storages (ATES)

Parameter Unit Explanation Identification

kf [m/s] hydraulic conductivity; pumping test,

T [m²/s] transmissivity; hydraulic conductivity times pumping test,

n [%] porosity; fraction of the void spaces in a laboratory test at

Z [m] depth of water table; distance from ground profile,

A known problem of ATES systems is the frequent appearance of well-clogging. This

A monitoring and maintenance program is very important for the long-run

water tank gravel-water pit BTES ATES

37,500 m³ BTES in Crailsheim, 2008 20,000 m³ ATES in Rostock, 2000

Ilmenau Rottweil realized

2.9 Project examples

2.9.1 Large scale projects - Central Solar Heating Plants with

Fig. 2-24: CSHPSS in Friedrichshafen (source: ITW / University of Stuttgart)

Fig. 2-27: Elementary school in Neckarsulm

Fig. 2-28: CSHPSS in Steinfurt-Borghorst (source: Gockell)

Fig. 2-30: CSHPSS in Hannover (source: Gockell)

Fig. 2-33: Site plan of the CSHPSS in Crailsheim

Fig. 2-34: Solar Collectors on a noise protection wall in Crailsheim

2.9.2 Medium scale Project – Seasonal storage in Attica, Greece

Description of the system:

2.9.3 Experiences from a solar plant with long-term storage in a

Retrofit of the building

3 Today’s large-area flat plate collectors

The energy supply concept

Experiences and lessons learned

Fig. 2-42 Monitored storage temperature values calculated by TRNSYS

2.9.4 Small scale seasonal storage examples

Bauer D., Heidemann W., Müller-Steinhagen H., (2006), Solar unterstützte

Bauer D., Heidemann W., Müller-Steinhagen H., (2007), Der Erdsonden-

Benner M., (1999), Blähglasgranulat Liaver, Bestimmung von Richtwerten der

BINE (2001), Solare Heizungsunterstützung mit Kombianlagen, Projektinfo 5/01,