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SUSTAINABILITY
A look inside Aktivhaus: Zero emissions, zero waste, zero fossil fuel
Architect/engineer Werner Sobek’s latest creation, a prototype of a modular home that generates twice as much energy as it uses, is featured in a CNN piece this week. The 900-square-foot Aktivhaus dwelling in Stuttgart, Germany, can be assembled in a single day. It is designed to produce no emissions or waste and derive no energy from fossil fuel, a standard that Sobek refers to as “Triple Zero.”
The house is packed with energy-efficient features, including a rooftop solar system that produces electricity and heat, and a thermal-regulation system linked to an underground ice storage tank.
“In summer, the ice is used to cool the house. By melting, it absorbs heat energy,” Sobek says. “In winter, it gradually freezes. Each time a chunk of water turns into ice, a certain amount of heat energy is released, which is then used to heat the house via a heat pump, which brings the energy to a higher temperature level.”
Austin’s NexusHaus features rainwater thermal storage system
Austin EcoNetwork says an 850-square-foot solar-powered house under development in Austin demonstrates the “creative thinking” needed to address the Texas city’s limited access to local food, high energy demands, strained water resources and urban sprawl. NexusHaus, a collaboration of the University of Texas, the Technical University of Munich and the city of Austin, is designed to be an affordable solution. Features include “an integrated rainwater thermal storage system” that will shift cooling to off-peak hours and help cut energy consumption by about 80 percent during peak hours.
ENERGY STORAGE
A checklist for those considering an ice energy storage system
CALMAC, maker of ice-based energy storage systems, offers a short checklist for building owners who are considering such a system:
• Check your utility’s time-of-use rates, demand charges and incentives. Electricity is usually cheaper at night, but you might have to do a little digging to understand all the pricing factors.
• Check the amount of space available on your site. Ice storage tanks can be placed in basements, on roofs, in storerooms and in garages.
• Check the availability of contractors who can provide support before and after the system is installed.
Thermal energy storage shows rapid growth since 2006
Earlier this month, the BBC published a chart showing the top 10 energy storage nations, ranked by capacity. CleanTechnica’s Sandy Dechert digs into the underlying data supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Global Energy Storage Database. China (33,000 kW), Japan (29,000 kW), and the United States (22,000 kW) are the clear leaders. No other country can store more than 9,000 kW.
Breaking down the technology by type, CleanTechnica notes:
“Electromechanical sources dominated from 1978–2012, but their share of the pie has diminished. Electrochemical (think batteries) has grown rapidly since the turn of the millennium. Thermal storage has grown about twice as fast since 2006, overtaking electromechanical in 2013.”
11 energy storage developers to watch
Forbes.com contributor Ucilia Wang takes a look at the key players in the global energy storage market. Topping her list: Solar energy giant SunEdison, PV manufacturer SunPower and rooftop solar system provider SolarCity.
MARKET RESEARCH
Advanced PCM market to hit $1.18 billion by end of 2018
The global market for advanced phase materials, valued at $350 million in 2011, is expected to reach $1.18 billion by the end of 2018, according to the latest report from Transparency Market Research. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 19.5 percent. Europe was the largest market for advanced PCMs in 2011, with the United Kingdom, Germany and France recording the highest demand. Paraffin accounted for more than 50 percent of global demand by revenue that year, followed by salt hydrates (36 percent) and others, including biobased PCMs (12 percent).
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
VA pharmacy program posts RFI on temperature-controlled packaging
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ outpatient pharmacy program has posted a request for information in connection with efforts to standardize its cold-chain containers. The standardized packaging will be used to mail patient prescriptions in durable, secure, temperature-controlled packaging. It will be made up of either a mailing pouch, a mailing bag or a cooler; phase change materials; and, if needed, additional packing or shipping materials. The purpose of this RFI is to evaluate availability, obtain statements of capability, and gauge the interest and capability of small businesses.
PATENT APPLICATION
Engineered foam and foam mattress with PCM
U.S. patent application 20150067967 [Assignee Sealy Technology LLC]:
“In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure and inventions, there is provided engineered foam for use as a layer in a foam mattress construction having multiple layers including a top layer of foam and at least one additional layer of foam, and a coating of phase change material applied to a top surface of the top layer of foam. Surface application of phase change material to a top surface of a top layer of foam of a foam mattress provides more efficient transfer of heat away from a body on the mattress and reduced heat accumulation at the body-mattress interface.”
RESEARCH ROUNDUP
From Solar Energy:
From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:
From Construction and Building Materials:
• Experimental study of geopolymer mortar with incorporated PCM
From Energy and Buildings:
• Review of phase change emulsions (PCMEs) and their applications in HVAC systems
From International Conference on Numerical Analysis and Applied Mathematics:
• Temperature boundary conditions for ATES systems
• Characterization of a lime-pozzolan plaster containing phase change material
From Journal of Materials Chemistry A:
From Applied Energy:
• Heat transfer fluids for concentrating solar power systems – A review
From Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews:
From Fibers and Polymers:
From Renewable Energy:
From Carbon:
From Applied Mechanics and Materials:
• Research on Expanded Graphite/Nitrate High-Temperature Composite Phase Change Materials
From International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education:
• Testing a model for wearable product materials research
YOUR TURN
Got a question about PCMs or TES? Ask our expert
Dr. Mohammed Farid, an Entropy Solutions advisor and professor of chemical and materials engineering at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, has agreed to answer your questions about phase change material and thermal energy storage. We’ll select the best questions sent to inquiries@entropysolutionsinc.com and post the answers here each Friday.