What’s your opinion on load shifting as an alternative to electrical energy storage. (EG:phase change heating/cooling storage for HVAC). I am currently confused why this hasn’t taken off given time of use pricing for electricity (and peak demand charges) offer big incentives. My current best guess is added complexity is a big problem leading to use only in large building HVAC(eg:this sort of thing)
Both in building integrated PCMs(phase change materials) (EG:PCM bags above/integrated in building drop ceilings) and PCMs integrated in the HVAC system (EG:ice storage air conditioning) seem like very good options. Heck, refrigeration unit capacity is still measured in tons (IE:tons ice/day) in some parts of the world which is very suggestive.
Another potential complication for HVAC integrated PCMs is needing a large thermal gradient to use the stored cooling/heating (EG:ice at 0°C to cool buildings to 20°C).
People don’t want to schedule their washing machines / showers / etc around electricity prices. That’s not worth it unless your country is failing.
Using electric car batteries could make some sense, but for many chemistries, battery wear from cycling is worth more than the storage.
Hot water storage for large buildings could make economic sense with variable electricity prices. CenTrio Plant No. 2 makes ice to use for district cooling. Phase change heat storage doesn’t seem economical for houses but it’s not crazy.
What’s your opinion on load shifting as an alternative to electrical energy storage. (EG:phase change heating/cooling storage for HVAC). I am currently confused why this hasn’t taken off given time of use pricing for electricity (and peak demand charges) offer big incentives. My current best guess is added complexity is a big problem leading to use only in large building HVAC(eg:this sort of thing)
Both in building integrated PCMs(phase change materials) (EG:PCM bags above/integrated in building drop ceilings) and PCMs integrated in the HVAC system (EG:ice storage air conditioning) seem like very good options. Heck, refrigeration unit capacity is still measured in tons (IE:tons ice/day) in some parts of the world which is very suggestive.
Another potential complication for HVAC integrated PCMs is needing a large thermal gradient to use the stored cooling/heating (EG:ice at 0°C to cool buildings to 20°C).
People don’t want to schedule their washing machines / showers / etc around electricity prices. That’s not worth it unless your country is failing.
Using electric car batteries could make some sense, but for many chemistries, battery wear from cycling is worth more than the storage.
Hot water storage for large buildings could make economic sense with variable electricity prices. CenTrio Plant No. 2 makes ice to use for district cooling. Phase change heat storage doesn’t seem economical for houses but it’s not crazy.