Emerging Trends and Future Prospects of Thermochemical Energy Storage Systems for Building Space and Water Heating Applications

Abstract

The thermal energy storage (TES) technology has gained so much popularity in recent years as a practical way to close the energy supply–demand gap. Due to its higher energy storage density and long-term storage, thermochemical energy storage (TCES), one of the TES methods currently in use, seems to be a promising one. These potential advantages have triggered to undertake a decent amount of research investigations in the past few years. The present review paper summarizes the recent outcomes of TCES systems for building water and space heating applications and demonstrates the different kinds of systems and their configuration arrangements. The recently developed experimental as well as theoretical prototypes are looked over with respect to their arrangement (closed and open loop) and role of relevant operating conditions. Various kinds of reactor shapes are also summarized and presented. Critical issues like materials’ achievable heat storage density/capacity, stability/cyclability, charging temperature, and systems’ mass and heat transfer properties are discussed. This work also presents the current challenges and the possible suggestions to address them. This review suggests that additional research is necessary to determine the role of influencing parameters in the design and establishment of TCES prototypes for building’s water and space heating applications.