What goes on inside a heat battery boiler – and how can storing heat help create a more flexible electricity system?
tepeo Engineering Director Chris Carver explores exactly that in a new article for the Energy Institute’s New Energy World.
“Decoupling demand: engineering a heat battery boiler” takes a technical look inside the tepeo ZEB, from its high-temperature thermal storage core and heat exchanger to the smart software that determines when the appliance charges.
Unlike conventional direct electric heating, a heat battery can separate when electricity is consumed from when heat is actually needed. The ZEB can charge during lower-cost, lower-demand periods, store that energy as heat and release it later through the home’s existing wet central heating system.
The article explores some of the engineering that makes that possible, including:
- storing up to 40kWh of usable thermal energy
- safely managing core temperatures
- extracting stored heat at the temperature required by a home’s heating system
- using predictive charging to respond to household demand, weather and electricity tariffs
- the potential for fleets of heat batteries to provide flexibility to the electricity grid
The article also looks at where heat batteries could sit alongside heat pumps as the UK moves towards low-carbon home heating – particularly for properties where other electrification options may be more difficult.
For anyone interested in the engineering behind heat batteries, smart electric heating or the role flexible demand could play in the future energy system, the full article is well worth a read.
Read the full article: Decoupling demand: engineering a heat battery boiler on New Energy World