PCM | Solarthermalworld

January 8, 2020
In search of cost-effective, advanced PCMs

Salt hydrates are the most interesting phase change material in the low-temperature range of up to 150 °C. Their volume-related enthalpy at melting is much higher than the enthalpy of paraffins and sugar alcohols (see the chart above) and they are comparatively inexpensive. This is why the...
October 22, 2018
Online database on advanced PCMs

Compared to water, phase change materials (PCMs) offer more capacity to store heat in tanks. As a consequence, researchers in all corners of the world have been developing new materials and their properties. To ensure the employment of a shared methodology and the use of equivalent terms to...
September 27, 2017
IEA SHC: Most Effective Solar Cooling Storage Technologies

Scientists from IEA SHC Task 53, New Generation Solar Cooling & Heating Systems, have compared the cost, efficiency and adaptability of solar cooling storage solutions and are now creating a report about the technologies most suitable for a given application. The researchers...
August 30, 2016
IEA SHC: Coordinating Thermal Energy Storage Research Worldwide

The key to the decarbonisation of the energy sector is new compact storage technology: It will require much R&D to develop market-ready products based on new storage designs with phase change and thermochemical materials (PCMs and TCMs). One strategy is to combine resources within...
March 3, 2015
Austria: Task 42 Meeting on Compact Thermal Energy Storage Systems

IEA-SHC Task 42, entitled Compact Thermal Energy Storage, has entered into its final year and will end in December 2015. In February 2015, 44 scientists met for the 13^th Experts Task Meeting in Vienna, Austria, to discuss the characterisation and development of materials for...
May 31, 2011
Storage Solution for Solar Thermal Energy (2004)

This is a study concerning solar storage technologies and materials presented by J. C. Hadorn from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. Many schemes and graphics provide a visual explanation of how all presented technologies work and how they can be connected to different energy supply...
March 12, 2010
Ventilation Performance of Solar Chimney with Built-in Latent Heat Storage (2006)

This document was prepared by two researchers from the Osaka University, Department of Architectural Engineering. It describes the prototype solar chimney with PCM (Phase Change Material) storage, together with a numerical model for predicting air flow rate in a solar chimney and temperature...
November 17, 2008
More Research Needed for New Storage Materials

If solar energy is to be the primary or only source of heat for houses in the future, there will arise a need for storing it more efficiently. Materials have to be found that are able to hold more energy than water, but with less volume and higher loss. Task 32 of the International Energy...