Preliminary characterization of a sorption TES to enhance flexible exploitation of renewables in buildings

A novel sorption TES was developed, using a composite sorbent as active storage material and water as working fluid. The prototype is equipped with a power-to-heat converter to store the excess of renewable energy in the form of thermochemical energy, to provide both heating and cooling to a building. Once manufactured, the prototype was preliminarily characterized in the lab to analyze the performance. An overall stored energy of 21.4 kWh was achieve, using very low charging temperatures, i.e. 70 °C. The system is able to deliver continuous heating power of 2.7 kW while discharging with a round trip efficiency of 0.86. The performance will be further assessed during the demonstration campaign that will take place in a residential building in Valladolid, Spain, in the coming year.