Flexibility in heat demand at the TU Delft campus smart thermal grid with phase change materials

Plans have been made to change the current district heating grid at the TU Delft to a smart thermal grid. New heat suppliers will be connected to the grid including a geothermal well and waste heat from the Schie area. The heating grid will change from a demand driven grid to a combination of demand and supply driven heating grid. Demand side flexibility will improve the potential for a smart thermal grid as more favourable heat production units can be used on the TU Delft grid. This project focuses on the potential for phase change materials to increase the thermal buffer capacity. A building simulation model (the ‘Low Energy Architecture’ model developed by Deerns) is used to model three buildings connected to the TU Delft district heating grid. A module for phase change material has been developed and two configurations for the passive use of phase change materials (PCM) are simulated with the LEA model. The PCM used as suspended ceiling tiles and as PCM fins both show a very small potential for phase change materials. The heat transfer to the PCM is too small to show significant diurnal heat storage in the phase change materials due to the low heat transfer coefficient and the small temperature difference between the air in the building and the phase change material.

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