+

Feasibility study
ENVIRO-CORES: Thermal Storage
integrated with Heat Pumps

Client:

NTNU, Departement of Mineral resources Engineering

Project:

Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pumps

Document title:

Feasibility Study

Project no.:

113059

Clients representative:

H. Gether

Project manager:

G. Eggen

Author:

G. Eggen

Checked by:

C. Srlie

Key words:

Thermal storage system, Heat pumps, system design

Date:

2003.01.27

Version:

Signatures:

(Author)

(Checked by)

(Project manager)

IT-arkiv: I:\Pro\22409600_IA\22409614_Storage\MKvarmepumpe.rtf

Feasibility Study

Content

Page

Summary.............................................................................................................................. 3

Introduction................................................................................................................. 4

Traditional heat pump system with heat or cold accumulation.......................... 4

2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4

Heat pumps with short time storage...............................................................4

Refrigeration plants with short time storage...................................................5
Ground coupled heat pumps ..........................................................................6
Solar assisted heat pumps with long time storage ........................................7

Evaluation of the Enviro-Core thermal storage system....................................... 7

3.1

Short time storage ..........................................................................................8

3.1.1
3.1.2

3.2

One day storage ................................................................................................................8

One week storage..............................................................................................................9

Long time storage .........................................................................................10

3.2.1
Case 1. Low energy building - single family residential house................................ 10
3.2.2
Case 2. Large institutional building with heating and cooling demands the
whole year........................................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.3
Case 3. Office building with heating demand in the winter and cooling
demand in the summer..................................................................................................................... 12

3.3

Space requirement and costs ......................................................................13

3.3.1
3.3.2

3.4

Short time storage .......................................................................................................... 13

Long time storage........................................................................................................... 13

Critical elements ...........................................................................................14

Conclusions ..............................................................................................................14
References..................................................................................................................15

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

Summary
A concept called enviro-cores is a thermal storage system integrated with a heat pump system
and the balanced ventilation system of buildings. The heat pump and the enviro-core system is
designed for both heating and cooling purposes.
Most conventional thermal storage systems are connected to water based heating and cooling
systems. In this feasibility study, we evaluate the enviro-core system integrated in water-based
heat pump systems.
Thermal storage can be carried out in different ways. For comparison, different traditional
thermal storage systems for both heating and cooling as well as systems serving as low temperature heat source for heat pumps are presented. In this feasibility study, the enviro-core
thermal storage system is mainly evaluated as the heat source for a heat pumps. The idea is to
charge heat into the system in the summer, when excess heat is available from the surroundings
(air or solar collectors) or to use the storage system for cooling purposes. A combination of
those two heat charge methods is a most realistic case.
In this case, the enviro-core storage system consists of gravel or crushed stones mixed with
water, with 60 % rock material and 40 % water. The required low temperature heat demand for
the heat pump operation is approximately 75 000 kWh/year. Space requirements and critical
costs are calculated for the enviro-core thermal storage system for a small office building with
1 000 m2 floor area. The enviro-core system is compared with a bore hole system as the low
temperature heat source for the heat pump.
The required volume is calculated to vary from 1 500 m3 to 10 000 m3 . The smallest volume is
sufficient if the temperature difference is 20C and the water in the storage system is permitted
to freeze to ice, while the largest volume is required when the thermal storage system is designed for sensible storage only with 10C temperature difference. If the bore hole system costs
2 NOK/kWh low temperature heat per year, the critical cost for the smallest storage system is in
the order of 100 NOK/m3.
If we compare an enviro-core thermal storage with a landfill with membrane, the investment
costs could be in the order of 150-500 NOK/m3 depending on the cost related to handling
masses. This implies that the economics of enviro-core may be competitive with bore hole
reservoirs if minimal exchange of masses are required and if the fill for the enviro-core has a
negative value at the construction site.
To conclude, the enviro-core may compete economically with natural ground as thermal storage
or low temperature heat source for ground coupled heat pump systems in certain projects. The
most thinkable way to make the enviro-core storage system economic profitable is where a
storage can be established with little mass exchange and where alternative deposit costs are
significant.

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

Introduction
A concept called enviro-cores is a thermal storage system integrated with a heat pump system
which is connected to the balanced ventilation system of buildings. The heat pump and the
enviro-core system is to be designed for both heating and cooling.
Most conventional thermal storage systems are connected to water based heating and cooling
systems. In this feasibility study, we evaluate the enviro-core system integrated in water-based
heat pump systems.

Traditional heat pump system with heat or cold accumulation

There are many traditional ways of building heat pump systems with thermal storage systems.
Heat and cold can be stored for different time periods. We look at two different storage periods:
Short storage period - one day, and long storage period from several months to one year.

2.1

Heat pumps with short time storage

The most traditional heat storage systems are accumulators for sanitary hot water. Figure 1
shows a CO2-heat pump with accumulators. The maximum heat demand for hot water occurs
normally a few times per day, and it is often many times the average heat demand. By designing
the accumulator system correctly, the heat pump may be designed to cover the average heat
demand, and hot water may be accumulated for meeting the maximum demands.

Waste air
Compressor
Gas cooler

Low
pressure
receiver

Hot tap water

CO2 -circuit
Evaporator

Accumulators

Fresh water

Figure 1. CO2 -heat pump with accumulators for sanitary hot water.
Figure 1 represents a thermal storage system for accumulating the heat that has been produced
by the heat pump. The enviro-core thermal storage system can not replace accumulators for
sanitary hot water, but it may be used in a similar way for heating the ventilation air or for
heating water for radiators and floor heating systems. This is discussed in chapter 3.

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

Refrigeration plants with short time storage

Thermal storage systems are frequently used for cold accumulation. Figure 2 shows an ice
storage system which is used for cold accumulation for large buildings, and for district cooling
systems.

Ice accumulators

Cooling water

Brine

Refrigeration plant

Condenser
cooling
water

Figure 2. Cooling plant with ice accumulation system

The greatest variations will occur with regard to cooling demands in summertime. Figure 3
shows the cooling effect variations throughout the warmest day of the district cooling plant at
Nedre Elvehavn in 2001.
1 000,00
900,00
800,00
700,00
600,00
500,00
400,00
300,00
200,00
100,00
0,00

23

21

19

17

15

13

11

Cooling demand

Cooling demand (kW)

2.2

Time (hours)

Figure 3. Cooling load variations throughout one day in Trondheim, Thursday June 28, 2001
The cooling plant may be built in different ways, either by installing a refrigeration plant with
1 000 kW cooling capacity, or by installing a refrigeration plant with 500 kW cooling capacity,

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

and an accumulator for ice accumulation during the night in order to cover the peak cold demand in day-time.

2.3

Ground coupled heat pumps

Ground source heat pumps has become very popular world-wide, and as an example, it comprise one or more bore holes which are connected to the low temperature side of the heat pump
system. Figure 4 shows a ground coupled heat pump system with brine circulating within plastic
tubes in bore holes as the heat source. In the warmer parts of the year, exhaust air past the
ventilation air-to-air heat exchanger is warmer than the brine from the wells, and it may be used
as a supplementary heat source for the heat pump or it may be used to charge the ground with
heat. At the end of the heating season, the ground surrounding the bore hole has been cooled
down, and the brine from the wells may be used as cooling water for the building. The heat
removed from the building is transported down to the bore hole system, which will be gradually
heated up. Both the exhaust air heat exchanger and the cooling heat exchangers contribute to
heat the bore hole system, which is used as low temperature storage system for the heat pump.

Waste air

Outdoor air
Exhaust air

Fresh air
Auxiliary boiler
Exhaust
air heat
exchanger

Air-to-air
heat exchanger

Cooling
heat exchanger

Compressor
Brine circuit
Evaporator

Condenser

Heat distribution

Heat pump

Bore holes

Figure 4. Ground coupled heat pump system

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

2.4

Solar assisted heat pumps with long time storage

Figure 5 shows how a solar energy collector and a heat pump may be connected to a heat accumulation system in the ground. For low energy houses, a major part of the heating demand is to
heat the sanitary water, while the rest of the heating demand occurs during the few coldest
winter months. Most of the heating demand for hot tap water may be covered by the solar
assisted heat pump with day-to-day accumulation of heat. The demand for ventilation heat and
space heating occurs during the winter season when the heat supply from the solar collector is
negligible. Therefore, the accumulator is designed to collect heat in the summer, and to serve as
a heat source for the heat pump in the winter

Solar energy
collector

Heat pump

Heat distribution

Brine pump
Accumulator

Figure 5. Solar assisted heat pump with heat accumulation in ground

Evaluation of the Enviro-Core thermal storage system

The enviro-core thermal storage system is in the original plans (1) a system integrating thermal
storage with a heat pump system in the balanced ventilation system.
In this feasibility study, we look at the enviro-core system integrated in water-based heat pump
systems. Heat may be accumulated in different ways, either for short time storage on the heat
distribution side, or for long time storage on the low temperature side of the heat pump. Figure 6
shows a principal pipe diagram of a heat pump system with accumulators on both the low
temperature and the high temperature side of the heat pump.
In this case, we regard the enviro-core storage system to consist of 20-30 mm crushed stones
surrounded with water. The specific heat capacity of the rock material is 2 000 kWs/m3 C, and
the specific heat capacity of water is 4 200 kWs/m3 C. Provided that the storage volume consist
of 60 % rock material and 40 % water, the average specific heat capacity of the storage volume
is 2 880 kWs/m3 C = 0,8 kWh/m3 C. This is about 30% lower than an accumulator based on
water only. The heat is transported to and from the enviro-core storage system by means of
water or brine which is circulating through a bundle of plastic or steel tubes in the storage
volume.

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

Outdoor air

Waste air

Exhaust air

Fresh air
Auxiliary heating system
Heat
charging
coil

Heat exchanger

Air
cooling
coil

Heat distribution

HEAT PUMP

Low temperature heat source accumulator

Accumulator for heat distribution

Figure 6. Principal pipe diagram of a heat pump system with accumulators on both the low
temperature and the high temperature side of the heat pump
3.1

Short time storage

Short time storage may be actual for heat accumulation on the heat distribution side in order to
reduce the size of a heating system, or to increase the operating time of a heat pump.

3.1.1

One day storage

Figure 7 shows the heat load for heating and ventilation of a small office building at design
winter condition. At Oslo climate, these design heat demands may be relevant for an office
building with a floor area of approximately 1 000 m2 .
The heat demand for heating and ventilation do not vary too much throughout the day, but it is
reduced in day-time due to waste heat from lighting, computers etc. The heat demand curve in
Figure 7 presupposes a ventilating system with an efficient heat recovery system. In order to
reduce the heating plant (e.g. heat pump) from the maximum size of 34 kW to 27 kW for covering the average heating demand throughout the actual day, 84 kWh must be stored in a thermal storage system.
If the thermal storage system is designed for 10C temperature difference, the required size of
the enviro-core thermal storage system is:

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

Required volume = 84 kWh / (0.8 kWh/m3 C 10C) = 10.5 m3

40,00
Heat demand (kW)

35,00
30,00
25,00
20,00

Heat demand for heating and ventilation

15,00
10,00
5,00
23

21

19

17

15

13

11

0,00
Time (hours)

Figure 7. Heat load throughout the day at design winter condition

One week storage
As it occurs natural variations with regard to the heat demand during the day, it is also variations from one day to another. At a given ventilation rate, the heat demand is approximately
proportional with the difference between the balancing indoor temperature and outdoor air
temperature.
The heating demand for an office building in Oslo of say 1 000 m2 floor area may as an example
be 75 kW to cover the heating demand from the design outdoor temperature, which is -20C, to
the balancing indoor temperature, which may be +10C. The rest of the heating demand up to
desired room temperature of 22C is covered from internal heat loads like lighting, computers,
persons etc., and from sunshine in daytime.
Figure 8 shows temperature measurements from Oslo the first 50 days of 1999 (Meteorologisk
institutt).
10

5
Dgnmiddeltemperatur

47

45

43

41

39

37

35

33

31

29

27

25

23

21

19

17

15

13

11

0
Temperatur (oC)

3.1.2

-5

Design outdoor
temperature for
the heat pump

-10

-15

-20
Tid (dager)

Figure 8. Temperature variations in Oslo during the first 7 weeks of 1999

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

A temperature change represent a change of the heating demand of 75 kW/30C = 2,5 kW/C.
If a heat pump is designed to cover the heating demand down to 2,5C outdoor temperature, we
can see from Figure 8 that 50 % of the time, the heat pump capacity is larger than the heat
demand and the heat pump must work at part load. The rest of the time also 50 %, the heat
pump capacity is too small, and more expensive supplementary heat must be added. If heat may
be produced by the heat pump in warmer periods and stored in an accumulator to be used as
supplementary heat in cold periods, the stored energy represent approximately 70 % energy
savings compared with an oil heated boiler as supplementary heating system.
In this case, approximately 2 400 kWh must be stored on a week-to-week basis to cover the
total heating demand. If the thermal storage system is designed for 10C temperature difference,
the required size of the enviro-core thermal storage system is:
Required volume = 2 400 kWh / (0.8 kWh/m3 C 10C) = 300 m3
If we consider a single family house with a heat pump and an enviro-core storage system connected to the hydronic heating system, the heat demand and the required volume will be approximately 10 % compared with the 1 000 m2 office building taken into account in the example
above.
3.2

Long time storage

In this feasibility study, the enviro-cores thermal storage system will mainly be evaluated as the
heat source for a traditional heat pump system. The idea is to charge heat into the system in the
summer, when excess heat is available, either from the surroundings (air or solar collectors) or
to use the storage system for cooling purposes. A combination of those two heat charging methods is a most realistic case.
The enviro-cores thermal storage system will be evaluated for three different cases, one for a
small low energy house and two cases involving non residential buildings:
1. Low energy building - single family residential house
2. Large institutional building with heating and cooling demands the whole year
3. Office building with heating demand in the winter and cooling demand in the summer

3.2.1

Case 1. Low energy building - single family residential house

As an example, theoretical calculations on a low energy house in the city of Hamar showed a
total heating demand of 6 800 kWh/year, of which 4 000 kWh/year was for heating sanitary hot
water (3). Most of the heating demand for hot tap water may be covered by the solar assisted
heat pump with day-to-day accumulation of heat. The low temperature heat demand for the heat
pump during the winter season was approximately 2 000 kWh. If the thermal storage system is
designed for 10C temperature difference, the required size of the enviro-core thermal storage
system is:
Required volume = 2 000 kWh / (0.8 kWh/m3 C 10C) = 250 m3

3.2.2

Case 2. Large institutional building with heating and cooling demands the whole year
Hyteknologisenteret i Bergen was established as a research and educational centre in a new
building comprising approximately 15 000 m2 floor area in 1990. This building represent an
ideal case for a heat pump plant because the cooling demand is of a similar magnitude as the
low temperature heat demand for the heat pump. Figure 9 shows the effect-duration curves for
both heating and cooling purposes during a normal year (4). Due to research activities on
aquaculture technology, which require both cooled and heated water throughout the year, there

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

is a simultaneous heating and cooling demand which is covered by a heat pump for both heating
and cooling. The heat pump was designed to cover the maximum cooling demand in the summer, and the corresponding condenser heat capacity is close to match the maximum heat demand.

2 400
Heat/cold capacity (kW)

Heat/cold capacity (kW)

2 400
2 000
1 600
1 200
800
400

2 000
1 600
1 200
800
400

Heating demand

Cooling demand

0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350 days

50

100

150

200

250

300

350 days

Heat/cold capacity (kW)

2 400
2 000
Extra
heat
demand

1 600

Excess
condenser
heat from
cooling

1 200
800
400
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350 days

Figure 9. Effect-duration curves for heating and cooling purposes at Hyteknologisenteret in

Bergen
In the summer, the enviro-core may be used as a heat sink for the heat pump at cooling operation, and the excess condenser heat is stored until the heating season when the heating demand
is larger than what can be covered from the heat pump at cooling operation. If the temperature
level is low enough it may be used directly as cooling source. In the winter, the enviro-core
system is used as the low temperature heat source for the heat pump
From Figure 9, it appears that the condenser heat to be dumped into the enviro-core storage
system is approximately 1 650 000 kWh/year. If the thermal storage system is designed for 10C
temperature difference, the required size of the enviro-core thermal storage system is:
Required volume = 1 650 000 kWh / (0.8 kWh/m3 C 10C) = 210 000 m3

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

Case 3. Office building with heating demand in the winter and cooling demand in the
summer
In 2002, the energy consumption of the heating and cooling systems at the Interconsult office
building in Trondheim was as shown in table 1. The floor area is approximately 7 000 m2 , and
in addition, there is a parking garage in the basement.
Table 1. Heating and cooling demands for Interconsult office building 2002
Demands

Heating demands

Measured /estimated
demands
Specific demands

Cooling demands

Effect

Energy

Effect

Energy

700 kW

800 000 kWh/year

270 kW

175 000 kWh/year

100 W/m2

115 kWh/m2 year

40 W/m2

25 kWh/m2 year

The maximum heating demand is quite high due to the building construction with large glass
walls. The annual heating demand is also very high because the ventilation was running day and
night during the first two years.
The specific demands from Table 1 is used for an office building in Oslo climate. The size of
the building is chosen to be 1 000 m2 floor area in order to be able to compare the long time
storage system with the short time storage systems which is discussed in chapter 3.1.

70

-18

60

- 14

50

- 10

40

-6

Duration curve for the net heat demand and for the ambient ait temperaturs

30

-2
Net heat demand
Cooling
demand

20

Outdoor air temperature (oC)

Figure 10 shows the effect-duration curve for the heating and cooling plant of the building. The
heating demand is 115 000 kWh/year, and the cooling demand is 25 000 kWh/year. The maximum heat demand in Figure 10 represent the net average value, and is less than the absolute
maximum value.

Effect (kW)

3.2.3

+2

10

+6
Storage capasity

0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

+10

Time (days)

Figure 10. Effect-duration curves for heating and cooling of an office building in Oslo climate

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

In this case, surplus heat from cooling operation do not supply sufficient energy to cover the
low temperature heat demand for the heat pump in winter operation. In addition, an air or solar
collector must collect heat for the enviro-core storage system.
The necessary low temperature energy demand for the heat pump operation is approximately
75 000 kWh/year, and if the thermal storage system is designed for 10C temperature difference,
the required size of the enviro-core thermal storage system is:
Required volume = 75 000 kWh / (0.8 kWh/m3 C 10C) = 9 400 m3
3.3

Space requirement and costs

In this study, we look at space requirements and costs for the enviro-core thermal storage system for a small office building with 1 000 m2 floor area.

3.3.1

Short time storage

A storage system for a week with an energy amount of approximately 2 400 kWh require an
accumulator volume of 300 m3 . This may be built as an accumulator with area 10 m x 10 m and
3 m height.
As shown in Figure 8, it is a possibility to accumulate such an energy amount during three
different periods in January and February. If this event could happen six times per year, the
energy savings with an enviro-core thermal system of 300 m3 would be approximately 10 000
kWh/year. At an energy price of 0.5 NOK/kWh, this represent an annual saving of NOK 5 000,Provided an amortisation of 0.15 NOK/NOKyear, this annual savings may pay for an investment of NOK 33 000,-.
It seems impossible to build a 300 m3 storage system for less investment than NOK 33 000,-.
The storage system is made of crushed stones or sand surrounded with water, and with a bundle
of tubes for heat distribution water in it. The area of approximately 320 m2 surrounding the
storage system must be insulated.

3.3.2

Long time storage

The necessary long time storage system for a 1 000 m2 office building is 10 000 m3 , which
require a place of e.g. 50 m x 50 m x 4 m, and it has to be isolated against the surrounding
ground.
An alternative ground coupled heat pump system with bore holes, need about 750 m drilled
wells with plastic tubes for the heat transport brine, which cost approximately 200 NOK/m. This
means that the enviro-core system must be compared with another low temperature heat system
which costs about NOK 150 000,-.
The enviro-core system represent an energy saving advantage compared with the bore hole
system because it permit the heat pump to operate with higher temperatures on the low temperature side. If the temperature of the storage heat is 10-15C higher than the bore holes surrounding ground, this temperature advantage represent an extra saving of approximately 10 000
kWh/year. At an energy price of 0.5 NOK/kWh, this represent a yearly saving of NOK 5 000,-.
Provided an amortisation of 0.15 NOK/NOKyear, this annual savings may pay for an investment of NOK 33 000,-.
The 10 000 m3 enviro-core heat accumulation system must be built for less than NOK 150 000,+
NOK 33 000,- = NOK 183 000,-, and this seem to be very difficult. With the size of the
storage mentioned above, an area of 6 000 m2 between the storage system and the surrounding
ground must be insulated. In addition, the enviro-core system also require an extra solar or air
collector which require investments.

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

3.4

Critical elements
Investments for the enviro-core storage system is a critical factor. If the enviro-core system is
compared with a bore hole system which costs 2 NOK/kWh low temperature heat per year, the
enviro-core system operating with 10C temperature difference must cost less than 19,5
NOK/m3 storage volume in order to be economic profitable. If the temperature difference is
increased to 20C, the required volume is reduced to 50 %, and compared with the bore hole
system, the critical cost is increased by 100 %. If the water in the storage system is permitted to
freeze to ice, the storage volume may be reduced considerably. Consequently, the critical cost is
6 times higher than an enviro-core operating with 10C temperature difference without freezing,
as shown in Table 2
Table 2. Critical cost of enviro-core thermal storage system at different operating conditions for
a 1 000 m2 office building
Sensible temperature difference (C)

10

20

20

Latent heat

No

No

Yes

16

53,2

(m3 )

9 400

4 700

1 400

(NOK/m3 )

19,5

39

131

Specific heat utilization

Required volume
Critical cost

(kWh/m3 )

The real expenses of such a storage system with gravel or crushed stones mixed with water, is
much higher than the highest critical cost shown in Table 2. One possible way to make the
enviro-core economic profitable is to use crushed heavy building waste for the core, and where
the alternative deposit costs is so high that it will cover most of the expenses of building the
storage system.
If we compare an enviro-core thermal storage with a landfill with membrane, the investment
costs could be in the order of 150-500 NOK/m3 depending on the cost related to handling
masses. This implies that the economics of enviro-core may be competitive with bore hole
reservoirs if minimal exchange of masses are required and if the fill for the enviro-core has a
negative value at the construction site.

Conclusions
The enviro-core may compete economically with natural ground as thermal storage or low
temperature heat source for ground coupled heat pump systems in certain projects. The most
thinkable way to make the enviro-core storage system economic profitable is where a storage
can be established with little mass exchange and where alternative deposit costs are significant.

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Enviro-Cores: Thermal Storage integrated with Heat Pump

References
1

Jrgen Gether, Harald Gether, Kai Nielsen: Enviro-cores: A Pathway to Sustainable

Operation of Buildings. December 2002 (NB: Under preparation not finished).

Trond Dahlsveen: Energi- og effektbudsjett NS 3032. Energi- og effektberegninger

for bygninger etter nye norske standarder.

Geir Eggen, Even Thorbergsen: Solenergi-varmepumpe ved Snekkerstua Borettslag i

Hamar. SINTEF rapport STF11 A93029.

Geir Eggen: Energiteknologi - Varmepumper. Interconsult - 25. Februar 1999.

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