Varming Consulting Engineers – Thermal Energy Storage Explained
Renewable energy is becoming used more and more in the present day, as the construction industry is moving inexorably towards a future where buildings are expected to become almost completely self-sustaining. Varming Consulting Engineers are at the very centre of this shift away from dependence on traditional forms of power and are one of Ireland’s foremost mechanical and electrical engineering firms.
Harnessing the Sun’s Rays
One of the many new technologies employed by Varming to help buildings rely less on the main grid for its power needs is thermal energy storage, an innovative method for making use of the abundant solar energy the sun provides.
Rather than make use of the sun’s light, like solar panels do, thermal energy storage collects heat and stores it for later use (as the name of the technology would suggest). There are currently three known varieties of the technology, with just one used on a widespread basis in commercial building design.
Those types are:
- Latent heat storage
- Sensible heat storage
- Thermal chemical storage
Sensible heat storage is the one of the three that is commercially available, the overriding reasons for which are its relative low cost and simple design when compared to the other two.
It is often employed in concentrated solar power applications that allow for electricity production long after the sun has set.
It’s technologies like these that allow Varming’s M & E engineers to create highly efficient, ecologically sound buildings and building services to their many clients and with concepts like zero net buildings becoming the norm, it’s not likely to change any time soon.
If you would like to know more about anything described here or anything relating to sustainable building design and Ireland’s construction move towards a greener future, visit www.varming.ie or call their head office 01 4872300.
