A simulation study on solar energy seasonal storage by phase change material

Solar heating systems with seasonal energy storage have attracted an increasing attention over the past decades. The availability of solar energy is intermittent, thus heat storage is an indispensable element in a solar energy based building thermal system. However, studies of such systems using a phase change material (PCM) as seasonal storage medium have not been found in the previous literature. In this paper a solar heat pump heating system with seasonal latent heat thermal storage (SHPH-SLHTS) is presented. A mathematical model for the system was developed and the operating performances of the system were simulated using the model developed. The simulation results suggested the solar energy can be seasonally stored and be used in the winter. Moreover, the temperature of the PCM in a storage tank was much lower than that of water in a central solar heating system with hot-water heat storage, hence the efficiency of solar collectors was increased and energy losses from the storage tank to ambient reduced in a SHPH-SLHTS system.