How a Heat Battery Works
Energy for your heat battery can come from a number of sources:
Principles of the Heat Battery
Works like a hand warmer...
Click to release the heat...
Recharge in hot water...
Be it electricity from the national grid over night, or solar photo voltaic panels during the day, a gas or biomass boiler, a wind-turbine, even an air source pump.
Just like boiling the pocket hand warmer in water, this energy added to the battery changes the state of the Phase Change Material (PCM), shown here in green.
In absorbing the energy as heat, the PCM changes state and stores it, until it is needed.
Like the hand warmer, that won’t radiate its heat until the metal is clicked, the heat battery won’t give up its heat until you pass water through it.
Connecting your heat battery to the mains water pipe, and then opening a tap or turning on a shower enables pressurised cold water to pass through the high power heat exchanger in the battery.
As soon as the battery has some charge, it can discharge hot water. Once fully charged, a size 9 unit will give you 300 litres of water at 40°C, enough for oodles of relaxing showers.
The PCM in the battery, transfers its heat to the water via the heat exchanger, the water heats to 55°C very quickly.
This is a little too hot for domestic use, so we fit a device to bring the temperature down to a more manageable temperature.
The PCM will cool with this heat transfer and change back to its cool state.The battery can be charged whist hot water is being drawn off.
80L tank equivalent. For small businesses and annex apartments.
150L tank equivalent. For a 2/3 bedroom property, 1-2 bathrooms or a business with a shower.
210L tank equivalent. For a 3/4 bedroom property, 2-3 bathrooms or a larger business with showers.
280L tank equivalent. For larger properties with lots of bedrooms and bathrooms or big business and sports pavilions.
74 litres of hot water @ 55°, 105 litres @ 40°C. For small businesses and annex apartments.
142 litres of hot water @ 55°, 199 litres @ 40°C. For a 2/3 bedroom property, 1-2 bathrooms or a business with a shower.
212 litres of hot water @ 55°, 301 litres @ 40°C. For a 3/4 bedroom property, 2-3 bathrooms or a larger business with showers.
306 litres of hot water @ 55°, 436 litres @ 40°C. For larger properties with lots of bedrooms and bathrooms or big business and sports pavilions.
Running Time: 17 minutes 56 seconds
In this video, Orkney resident, Jonathan Porterfield describes how he uses a Heat Battery to provide hot water in his home using Solar PV as an energy source. He then goes on to answer a few questions sent to him by viewers of his previous videos.
Running Time: 11 minutes 56 seconds
In this video, Energy Storage News visits the Sunamp headquarters in East Lothian to talk to Andrew Bissell, COE of Sunamp and Professor Colin Pulham of the University of Edinburgh, about the workings and efficiencies of a Heat Battery.
