THERMAL ENERGY SYSTEM TO PLAY A VITAL ROLE.

Thermal energy storage brings life to assets and makes them ready for a sustainable future.

The global thermal energy storage market volume was assessed at USD 4.38 billion in 2019 and is projected to grow at 12.6%  CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from 2020 to 2027. Due to the rising demand for efficiency in renewable energy generation, there is a positive increase in thermal energy storage demands. The key factors propelling growth in the industry are- concentrated solar power and the need for integrating thermal energy storage systems with HVAC systems.

Governments across nations are offering financial incentive plans to prosper commercial energy sector upgrades. In September 2018, the Canadian government updated Commercial Energy Conservation and Efficiency Program” that offers USD 15,000 worth rebates for energy storage. China's aggregate energy storage capacity is likely to climb sharply from 489 megawatts (MW) or 843 megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2017 to 12.5 gigawatts (GW) or 32.1GWh in 2024.

The Indian government is in no way behind! The government's initiatives and schemes, including the development of solar parks, setting grid networks, and capital subsidies from MNRE, present a piece of great news to the renewable energy generation sector. With the global energy transitions underway, renewable energy auctions continue to set record-breaking low prices. The current electricity pricing system in India is a largely flat tariff (except few part of India may be). If India could consider different categories and types of energy demand - plus variations in supply and costs of service - it could benefit from efficiency gains driven by differential pricing at peak periods.  “India's electricity generation and demand profiles is such that the demand of electricity increases at certain times of the day, such as evening or during hot weather periods. As  economy grows, this will become even more apparent, putting stress on consumers, businesses and electricity generation systems which is already struggling to meet those peaks.”

In the coming decade, India's urban population is going to increase at a rapid rate. A large amount of the population will live, work and travel to metro cities. This means that there will be more demand for buildings in the form of commercial complexes, data centres for storage of data etc. creating furher demand for air conditioned spaces and data centers. As the evolving sophistication and rising demands of customers and owners regarding performance, Total cost of ownership and sustainability is already boosting the need for smart buildings, energy efficiency, operational efficiency, safety and security of data. Thus, meeting the nation's ever-growing demands for energy in a responsible and sustainable manner is one of the most pressing issues faced by us today.

Thermal energy storage systems are not new to the markets; they are here over the last two or so decades. TES (thermal energy storage) systems are applied to hundreds of commercial structures for space air conditioning as well as for back up cooling for data centres and mission critical facilities.

To ensure uninterrupted cooling in various data centers for smooth working conditions and properly functioning IT equipments, the data centers use chilled water thermal storage tanks. These chilled water storage tanks are basically the chiller-based systems wherein chilled water is stored in a tank using speciliased technologies by experts and then used during power outage as a emergency back up.

Thermal Energy Storage Tanks 

There can be a situation of crisis, irreversible losses in server rooms due to power outages. During a power failure, the air in the server room will heat up immediately, causing a rapid temperature increase. The heat generated will be absorbed by the IT equipments. If the heat goes beyond the permissible limits, an unacceptable temperature rise will cause irretrievable loss to the equipment and data. 

Though the backup generators will turn on and power the chillers, but this may take a few minutes to restore the position and by the time cooling is restored the data would have lost. So, to deal with the situation, chilled water thermal storage tank system proves to be the most efficient, effective, reliable, and simple solution for emergency supply of chilled water for data center cooling.

TES Helps Cut Electricity Bills

For most of the work organizations, a significant contributor to their expense list is the electricity bill. HVAC system in a building is a biggest contributor towards the electricity consumption. Thermal energy systems (TES) help save the bill and bring the cost down. TES can reduce or even eliminate wee-hour demands.  Thermal storage systems are simply like battery backup for a building's air conditioning system in which the energy is stored in the tank in a latent or sensible form (ice or water) in the tank during off-peak hours (night-time) and used later in on peak hours during the day to cool the office building for occupants.

In the renewable-rich future, Thermal energy storage will play a vital role. Thermal energy storage brings life to assets and makes them ready for a sustainable future.

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