Thermal performance of a heating system working with a PCM plate heat exchanger and comparison with a water tank

摘要

Heat storage equipment plays a very important role in micro-cogeneration plants as unconsumed heat can be released when needed. PCM heat exchangers are an alternative to commonly used storage tanks. Moreover, PCM heat exchangers occupy less space for the same amount of stored energy. This paper examines the energy performance of a heating-power micro-cogeneration system applied to a 450 m(2) office space. A hot water thermal energy storage system and two latent heat thermal energy storage systems based on PCM plate heat exchangers are compared and their performances are analyzed under dynamic conditions.