When spring arrives and the heating season comes to an end, keeping warm becomes less of an issue.
When spring arrives and the heating season comes to an end, keeping warm becomes less of an issue. However, scientists remind us that it is not just a seasonal necessity – heat is also a valuable energy resource that can be stored and used when needed most. Researchers at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) have discovered an innovative solution beneath our feet: using soil as an efficient thermal energy storage system.
KTU professor Dr Tadas Ždankus and his team have been investigating how the ground can serve not only for construction purposes but also as a medium for heat storage. At the core of their research is a ground-based heat accumulator that would store excess energy underground and make it available when demand peaks. “Our goal was to convert heat, which would normally dissipate into the ground as waste, into a useful energy source,” explains Dr Ždankus.
Underground Heat Storage Potential
At the beginning of their research, Prof. Ždankus and the team explored how wind energy could be used to produce heat instead of electricity. Instead of a conventional generator, they employed a hydraulic system. The researchers found that so-called hydraulic losses, typically seen as inefficiencies, were actually generating usable heat. “The hydraulic losses we were trying so hard to eliminate turned out to be nothing less than heat generation,” says a KTU professor.
Read more at Kaunas University of Technology
Photo Credit: ariesa66 via Pixabay
