Comparison between Air-Exposed and Underground Thermal Energy Storage for Solar Cooling Applications

Juan Ríos-Arriola; Nicolás Velázquez-Limón; Jesús Armando Aguilar-Jiménez; Saúl Islas; Juan Daniel López-Sánchez; Francisco Javier Caballero-Talamantes; José Armando Corona-Sánchez; Cristian Ascención Cásares-De la Torre

LAPSE

Living Archive for Process Systems Engineering

LAPSE:2023.36763

Published Article

LAPSE:2023.36763

Comparison between Air-Exposed and Underground Thermal Energy Storage for Solar Cooling Applications

Juan Ríos-Arriola, Nicolás Velázquez-Limón, Jesús Armando Aguilar-Jiménez, Saúl Islas, Juan Daniel López-Sánchez, Francisco Javier Caballero-Talamantes, José Armando Corona-Sánchez, Cristian Ascención Cásares-De la Torre

September 21, 2023

Solar energy is one of the main alternatives for the decarbonization of the electricity sector and the reduction of the existing energy deficit in some regions of the world. However, one of its main limitations lies in its storage, since this energy source is intermittent. This paper evaluates the potential of an underground thermal energy storage tank supplied by solar thermal collectors to provide hot water for the activation of a single-effect absorption cooling system. A simulator was developed in TRNSYS 17 software. Experimentally on-site measured data of soil temperature were used in order to increase the accuracy of the simulation. The results show that the underground tank reduces thermal energy losses by 27.6% during the entire hot period compared with the air-exposed tank. The electrical energy savings due to the reduction in pumping time during the entire hot period was 639 kWh, which represents 23.6% of the electrical energy consumption of the solar collector pump. It can be concluded that using an underground thermal energy storage tank is a feasible option in areas with high levels of solar radiation, especially in areas where ambient temperature drops significantly during night hours and/or when access to electrical energy is limited.

Record ID

LAPSE:2023.36763

Keywords

solar thermal energy storage, thermal energy storage tank, underground thermal energy storage, UTES

Subject

Energy Systems

Suggested Citation

Ríos-Arriola J, Velázquez-Limón N, Aguilar-Jiménez JA, Islas S, López-Sánchez JD, Caballero-Talamantes FJ, Corona-Sánchez JA, Cásares-De la Torre CA. Comparison between Air-Exposed and Underground Thermal Energy Storage for Solar Cooling Applications. (2023). LAPSE:2023.36763

Author Affiliations

Ríos-Arriola J: Centro de Estudio de las Energías Renovables (CEENER), Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21280, Mexico [ORCID]
Velázquez-Limón N: Centro de Estudio de las Energías Renovables (CEENER), Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21280, Mexico [ORCID]
Aguilar-Jiménez JA: Centro de Estudio de las Energías Renovables (CEENER), Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21280, Mexico [ORCID]
Islas S: Centro de Estudio de las Energías Renovables (CEENER), Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21280, Mexico [ORCID]
López-Sánchez JD: Centro de Estudio de las Energías Renovables (CEENER), Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21280, Mexico [ORCID]
Caballero-Talamantes FJ: Centro de Estudio de las Energías Renovables (CEENER), Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21280, Mexico [ORCID]
Corona-Sánchez JA: Centro de Estudio de las Energías Renovables (CEENER), Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21280, Mexico [ORCID]
Cásares-De la Torre CA: Centro de Estudio de las Energías Renovables (CEENER), Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21280, Mexico [ORCID]

Journal Name

Processes

Volume

11

Issue

8

First Page

2406

Year

2023

Publication Date

2023-08-10