Paper Conference

Proceedings of eSim 2016: 9th Conference of IBPSA-Canada

Back

---

Using TRNSYS Types 4, 60 and 534 to model residential cold thermal storage units using water and water/glycol solutions

Christopher Baldwin, Cynthia A. Cruikshank

Abstract: As the peak load placed on the electrical grid increases, and with the introduction of time of use billing, a greater emphasis must be placed on when energy is consumed. This paper presents the validation of three standard TRNSYS tank models (Type 60, Type 534 and Type 4) when used to model a cold thermal storage systems using water and a 50/50 glycol/water solution (by volume) as the storage medium. An experimental set-up was designed and constructed to measure the inlet conditions and the temperature distribution within a thermal storage tank. It was determined that all three models predict almost identical temperature distributions within the cold thermal storage tank using both water and a water/glycol solution. When modelling cold storage using water, the simulation provides an accurate representation at low flow rates and at higher temperatures, while the model loses its accuracy as flow rates increase and the temperature approaches freezing. When modelling the glycol/water solution, the standard tank models accurately predict the temperature distribution across all temperatures and flow rates tested.
Pages: 742 - 752
Paper:
esim2016_52-77