Passive generation and storage of winter ice for summer cooling applications

Conference · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:5260660

McGarity, A E; Gorski, A I

The results of analytical and experimental work on a cooling system which uses phase-change seasonal energy storage are presented. The system uses a heat pipe to chill passively the storage medium during the winter season. During the summer, the storage medium is used as an energy sink for the cooling system of a building. The storage medium is a material that freezes at a temperature in the range 0 to 15/sup 0/C. Experiments have been performed with a prototype system using water as the storage medium at Argonne National Laboratory and large quantities of ice have been grown in an insulated tank with no use of auxiliary energy. Alternative storage materials are clathrate hydrates which freeze at temperatures above 0/sup 0/C. The use of such materials can extend the freezing season and enable the operation of the system in climates with somewhat mild winters. Here, estimates of system performance and system costs are combined to examine the economic feasibility of water-ice and clathrate hydrate systems in different climates. It is found that water-ice systems may be economically feasible in certain climates. It is also found that using a clathrate hydrate can reduce the size and cost of the heat pipe, but this cost reduction is offset by the high cost of most of the currently known clathrate forming chemicals.

• Research Organization: Swarthmore Coll., PA (USA). Dept. of Engineering; Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 5260660
• Report Number(s): CONF-840506-1; ON: DE84007549
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320101* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Residential Buildings-- (-1987)
AIR CONDITIONING
ANNUAL ENERGY STORAGE
CLATHRATES
COLD STORAGE
COOLING
ENERGY STORAGE
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FLUIDS
FREEZING
FREONS
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HEAT PIPES
ICE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
REFRIGERANTS
RESIDENTIAL SECTOR
STORAGE
WORKING FLUIDS