Analysis of work of a thermal energy storage with a phase change material (PCM) charged with electric heaters from a photovoltaic installation

This paper proposes to connect a thermal energy storage (TES) with phase change material (PCM) to a photovoltaic (PV) installation in order to store surplus output at the place of generation. A thermal energy storage with a PCM has been designed with the use of an electric heater for charging and water for discharge. The influence of the heat source temperature on the TES charging rate and its thermal capacity was investigated. The conducted numerical simulations confirmed the correctness of the designed TES. The application of thin aluminium fins caused fast heat transport along the entire volume of storage and ensures a short charging time, despite the low thermal conductivity of the PCM. The modular design allowed us to build a storage with thermal capacity enabling the storage of thermal energy both for the needs of a small house and production plants. The amount of energy produced by a photovoltaic installation with a capacity of 9.6 kWp located in Southern Poland was also measured. Conducted economic analysis and analysis of the results of measurements and calculations indicate the advisability of using a PV installation to charge a TES with PCM.