The role of thermal insulation materials for energy storage equipment

What is thermal insulation?

Thermal insulation is aspect in the optimization of thermal energy storage (TES) systems integrated inside buildings. Properties, characteristics, and reference costs are presented for insulation materials suitable for TES up to 90 °C.

Are thermal energy storage systems insulated?

Conclusions Today, thermal energy storage systems are typically insulated using conventional materials such as mineral wools due to their reliability, ease of installation, and low cost. The main drawback of these materials is their relatively high thermal conductivity, which results in a large insulation thickness.

What is thermal insulation & storage materials?

Thermal insulation and storage materials have a critical and broad impact on human life, energy saving, and efficient industrial processes.

Why is thermal insulation important in the building sector?

In the building sector, thermal insulation continues to receive significant attention in the literature as there is well-established knowledge about the strong correlation between the energy consumption of a building and the characteristics of its envelope , , , .

How does thermal insulation work?

In conventional insulation materials like glass wool, rock wool or organic foams, the total heat transfer is dominated by the contribution of the gas within the hollow spaces. Alternatively, the thermal insulation can be realized within the wall of the storage as illustrated in Fig. 2 b.

Can super-insulating materials reduce energy losses in thermal energy storage?

The adoption of super-insulating materials could dramatically reduce the energy losses in thermal energy storage (TES). In this paper, these materials were tested and compared with the traditional materials adopted in TES. The reduction of system performance caused by thermal bridging effect was considered using FEM analysis.