Seasonal storage system of solar energy for house heating by absorption technology

Abstract

Absorption technology has the potential to store space heating in green solar buildings, an advantage because it can store excess heat available during the summer until the following winter's heating period. Its operating conditions are compatible with the use of conventional solar heat collectors. The absorption heat storage systems include the same components as the well-known absorption chiller, to which two or three storage tanks are added. The system's principle, functioning, and design are explained in this chapter. The operating phases (charge, storage, and discharge) of the absorption storage cycle are presented and explained for the lithium bromide-water couple. The impact of the operating conditions on the system's performance and its integration into a building are also discussed. A major issue in the development of this technology is finding and choosing the ideal absorption couple. The criteria to consider for this choice are presented, and some of them are discussed for seven possible absorption couples. Existing absorption systems are presented. This technology is still in its early days, and therefore only demonstration prototypes exist at this time. The different challenges that remain to overcome by the research and engineering communities to lead this technology to commercial profitability are at the microscale, the component level, and the system macroscale. The future directions of these developments are summarized in the last section of this chapter.