Installation and assessment of crushed rock heat storage furnaces

Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G) participated in installing and evaluating a prototype crushed-rock heat storage furnace. The authors describe PSE&G's experience during the installation and the assessment of the furnace's operation. Two furnaces were installed during October 1985 in two test homes. An initial result of the tests was that the crushed rock furnace could be a viable option for home heating under certain conditions. Overall seasonal energy usages (kWh) for heating were about 30% less than the standard gas furnace in both test homes. On average, on-peak electrical energy usages of these pilot units (the energy used by house fan) was less than 2% of the total furnace usages. Approximately 98% of the total furnace electrical energy of these units was utilized during off-peak hours.<
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