Investigation of optimal underground thermal energy storage systems

The growth of underground seasonal thermal energy storage systems has been relatively slow due to limited understanding with regard to optimal system design for different locations and building/community archetypes. Thermal interactions between underground storages and the surrounding strata as well as the effects of seasonal changes are not entirely understood making the development of optimized systems difficult. Development of advanced tools that address these issues are required for accurate modeling, simulation, analysis, design and optimization of underground seasonal thermal energy storage for a variety of building and community archetypes. The objective of this research is to determine the most appropriate underground seasonal thermal energy storage system(s) for the S2E smart energy community through developing an integrated approach that allows for optimal design of such systems given local conditions and proposed building/community archetypes. S2E will benefit from this project as it will illustrate the relevance of seasonal thermal energy storage within smart community designs and the benefits and limitations associated with various system designs.

Faculty Supervisor:

Drs. Marc Rosen & Bale Reddy

Student:

Stuart Self

Partner:

S2E Technologies Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Energy

University:

Ontario Tech University