Thermal Medium

Type of material used in thermal energy storage technology.

Data Type: 
Constrained List
Unit of Measure: 
None
Sector: 
Commercial, Residential, Multifamily
List Optionssort descending Option Definition Unit of Measure
Air Air as a thermal medium is used for space heating or cooling. None
Chemical oxides Solar energy is stored chemically in reduced solid oxides. Heat is released at a constant temperature. Air is used as both the heat-transfer fluid and the chemical reactants. Oxide systems can be tailored to match input heat temperature. None
Domestic water Domestic hot water is typically used for bathing, cooking, cleaning, and space heating. None
Ice Ice is usually stored to provide cooling services. None
Molten salt Molten salt is a means of storing heat at a high temperature. This is a current commercial technology used in conjunction with concentrated solar power for later use in electricity generation, to allow solar power to provide electricity on a more continuous basis. These molten salts (Potassium nitrate, Calcium nitrate, Sodium nitrate, Lithium nitrate, etc.) have the property to absorb and store the heat energy that is released to the water, to transfer energy when needed. To improve the salt properties it must be mixed in a eutectic mixture. None
None None None
Not applicable Not applicable None
Other Other None
Pool water Pool water heated by solar thermal collectors. None
Regular soil Common soil None
Rock Rock storage material has thermal transfer medium characteristics include air, water and other phase-change materials. None
Sand Sand storage includes sand particles as the heat collector, heat transfer and thermal energy storage media. None
Unknown Unknown None
Term ID: 5a65d7a2-c5a7-4fcb-a381-1b95f0af74a9
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