Thermal store options vary in their functions and capabilities. Broadly speaking, though, they can play a part in one or more renewable heating technology systems in the domestic environment. Their function is to store any excess heat generated by the system until it is ready to be used. They have been proven to work effectively with a range of renewable heating technologies, including solar and wind energy water heating systems, heat pumps and wood-fuelled biomass boilers, and they can store energy from single or multiple sources. Moreover, it is possible to incorporate thermal stores into conventional heating systems with boilers or immersion heaters.
So what are the advantages of including a thermal store in your heating system? When one is used to ‘collect’ renewable heat, this can be used at a later date to provide a home with hot water, heating, or a combination of the two. Its use depends on the type of unit chosen and the technology with which it has been designed to work. This means, for instance, that if you have solar heating panels that collect the sun’s energy during the day, you can still use the heat stored to produce hot water at night when there’s no solar energy available. A thermal store heating system also maximises the efficiency of renewable heating systems that are wood-fuelled, like log burners, which work much better if running at their highest output rather than just at a low constant. Another advantage of thermal stores is that this is achievable without overheating the room or house at the same time.
This means that a household’s reliance on expensive fossil fuels can be reduced, saving money and operating in a more environmentally friendly way. Equally, though, you won’t ever be without heat or hot water. And that’s because thermal stores typically incorporate the ability to heat water with a back-up or secondary source, such as an electric immersion heater or a conventional boiler. There is a wide range of thermal stores on the market and which you choose depends on which renewable heating technologies you are running and your requirements. Wood fuelled heating systems can include a large thermal store immersion heater, ensuring you don’t have to wait for ages to run hot water once the boiler or stove is lit, for instance, by retaining previously produced energy. A thermal store water heater incorporated into a solar water heating system guarantees that none of the energy collected on sunny days is wasted, even prioritising the use of solar-generated heat over other sources.
Assessing your heating and hot water needs and designing the most efficient solutions can be a difficult task. But at World Heat Cylinders, we are here to help. If you are interested in incorporating a thermal store into your home’s renewable heating technology, contact us. As well as supplying quality thermal store units, we’re also experts in the design of thermal store systems tailored precisely to your specifications and home’s requirements. Whether you are using one or multiple heat sources, including biomass, wood burners, heat pumps and/or solar panels, we can help. Speak to our dedicated technical team today on 0161 343 8610, contact us through our website (https://whcylinders.co.uk) or email sales@whcylinders.co.uk for more details.