Experimental Study of Thermal Energy Storage in Domestic Geyser

Abstract

Heat energy is the vital source of energy being utilized in various fields. If a compact thermal storage device, which permit storage of heat and retrieval of heat, it will become more suitable for many process industries as well as domestic applications. In this present work, the heat carrying capacity of the domestic water heater (Geyser) is improved with the help of PCM capsules. Melting and solidification of phase change materials (PCM) in a capsule is of practical importance in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system which are considered to be very promising to reduce a peak demand of electricity. Here heat energy is stored in domestic geyser with encapsulated PCM, it has been planted inside the geyser. The encapsulated PCM balls used as energy conserving or storing unit. Heat energy is to be stored in the geyser by providing phase changing materials as latent heat thermal storage, when power supply is given to geyser then water is heated by heating rod up to a temperature range of 55°C to 60°C at the same time heat is transferred to number of encapsulated PCM balls inside the geyser. Since large amount of heat is stored in that PCM material. This stored energy can be retried by pouring water for next usage of hot water without giving heat supply again. Modified geyser is different from the conventional geyser PCM encapsulated are used inside it to increase the efficiency of geyser by giving better heat storage unit. PCM material can store 5 to 14 times more heat per unit volume than conventional geyser. PCM encapsulation inside the modified geyser can hold or conserve heat energy for a much longer time as compared with ordinary geyser, in this paper to improve the thermal capacity of domestic geyser an experiment has done and examined.