REVIEW ON THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

Abstract

In the past five thousand years human energy consumption per capita has risen from 9 to 230 kWh/capita.day. At thecurrent rate of usage, taking into consideration population increases, natural resources will be depleted within a fewdecades. One must therefore endeavour to take precautions today for a viable world for coming generations. There aremany situations where available energy is wasted because it is in the wrong place and/or at the wrong time.
Therefore, there is a desperate need for energy storage and a very wide range of techniques is used for this purpose.
Most methods involve high capital investment; however, so a cheaper alternative has been widely exploited in whichthermal energy is stored in a suitable medium. Sensible and latent heat thermal storage systems in general have beenamong main topics in research for the last two decades or so, but although the information is quantitatively enormous, itis also widely spread in the literature, and often quite difficult to find. This work provides a survey of studies dealingwith thermal energy storage (TES) using sensible and solid–liquid phase change thermal energy storage units. Threeaspects have been the focus of this review: storage media, heat transfer analysis and applications. The work describedbelow falls within an area of international interest as it deals with energy saving, the efficient and rational useof available resources and the optimum use of renewable energies.