TY - JOUR
TI - Numerical simulation of the solar thermal energy storage system for domestic hot water supply located in south Spain
AU - Ledesma Juan T
AU - Łapka Piotr
AU - Domański Roman
AU - Casares Francisco S
JN - Thermal Science
PY - 2013
VL - 17
IS - 2
SP - 431
EP - 442
PT - Article
AB - Nowadays, due to increase in energy consumption, a great deal of fossil fuels  is being used. This latter is a consequence of the present environmental  problems, such as global warming, acid rain, etc. In order to decrease these  problems, the use of renewable energy sources is being promoted. But the  renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy, present the drawback  that there is a mismatch between the energy demand and supply. To cover this  mismatch, the use of phase change thermal energy storage systems is required.  In this work, the behavior of a packed bed latent heat thermal energy storage  system cooperating with solar collector located in south Spain was analyzed  by using a numerical method which based on Finite Volume discretization and  Enthalpy Method. The model was validated by comparing obtained results with  experimental data reported in the literature. The packed bed was composed of  spherical capsules filled with phase change materials usable for a solar  water heating system. The system was designed according to the conditions in  the south Spain and by using commercial components available on the market. A  series of numerical simulations were conducted applying meteorological data  for several months in south Spain, particularly in Málaga.