A DC power plant generating DC power from a variety of engines including a Stirling cycle engine. The DC power plant includes a relatively small start-up power source that is discontinued after the engine is running. A method for producing DC power for a load including starting up an engine using power supplied by a relatively small power supply supplemented by a capacitor bank, providing output from the engine to a generator, producing alternating current (AC) power by the generator, converting the AC power to direct current (DC) power, disabling output of the DC power during a first set of pre-selected conditions, limiting a rate of change of current of the DC power during a second set of pre-selected conditions, reducing conducted and radiated emissions of the DC power, disconnecting the DC power from the load under a third set of pre-selected conditions, and providing the DC power to the load.

Disclosed are methods and functional elements for enhanced thermal management of predominantly enclosed spaces. In particular, the invention enables the construction of buildings with reduced power requirements for heating and/or air-conditioning systems since under certain conditions less energy for heating or cooling is required to maintain, within certain boundaries, desirable temperatures inside such buildings, habitats, or other enclosed spaces.

In some instances the invention is in part based on dynamically changing functional elements with variable properties, or effective properties, in terms of their electromagnetic radiative behavior and/or their thermal energy storage properties, or the spatial distribution of the stored thermal energy, which permits the application of methods and algorithms to control the overall thermal behavior of the entire structure in such a way that desired levels of inside temperature can be reached with reduced consumption of external energy (typically electricity, gas, oil, or coal).

In some instances no conventional heating of cooling is required at all, whereas in other instances the expenditure of external energy for conventional heating or cooling is reduced. In some instances the invention enables the reduction of the time to reach desired temperatures inside such buildings, habitats, or other predominantly enclosed spaces.

Disclosed are methods and functional elements for enhanced thermal management of predominantly enclosed spaces. In particular, the invention enables the construction of buildings with reduced power requirements for heating and/or air-conditioning systems since under certain conditions less energy for heating or cooling is required to maintain, within certain boundaries, desirable temperatures inside such buildings, habitats, or other enclosed spaces.

In some instances the invention is in part based on dynamically changing functional elements with variable properties, or effective properties, in terms of their electromagnetic radiative behavior and/or their thermal energy storage properties, or the spatial distribution of the stored thermal energy, which permits the application of methods and algorithms to control the overall thermal behavior of the entire structure in such a way that desired levels of inside temperature can be reached with reduced consumption of external energy (typically electricity, gas, oil, or coal).

In some instances no conventional heating of cooling is required at all, whereas in other instances the expenditure of external energy for conventional heating or cooling is reduced. In some instances the invention enables the reduction of the time to reach desired temperatures inside such buildings, habitats, or other predominantly enclosed spaces.

A heat source system managing device includes: a predicted heat demand upper limit calculating unit configured to calculate a predicted heat demand upper limit by adding a prediction error to a predicted heat demand value for a heat source system; an operation plan preparing unit configured to prepare an operation plan of the heat source system to supply heat of the predicted heat demand upper limit to a consuming facility; a surplus stored heat quantity calculating unit configured to repeatedly perform a process of calculating a surplus stored heat quantity by subtracting a heat quantity consumed by the consuming facility from the predicted heat demand upper limit; and an operation plan changing unit configured to sequentially change the operation plan by decreasing a future operation rate of a refrigerator to cancel the surplus stored heat quantity.

A latent heat storage window includes a plurality of cells, an operation mechanism, and a magnetic material. The plurality of cells are formed by encapsulating a latent heat storage material including two or more components. The operation mechanism can be operated by a user. The magnetic material causes a specific component of the two or more components included in the latent heat storage material to be unevenly distributed when the operation mechanism is operated.

A pumped heat energy storage system (11) is provided. A thermodynamic charging assembly (11) may be configured to compress a working fluid and generate thermal energy. A thermal storage assembly (32) is coupled to charging assembly to store at atmospheric pressure by way of a conveyable bulk solid thermal storage media thermal energy generated by the charging assembly. A thermodynamic discharging assembly (11) is coupled to the thermal storage assembly to extract thermal energy from the thermal storage assembly and convert extracted thermal energy to electrical energy. A heat exchanger assembly (34) is coupled to the thermal storage assembly. The heat exchanger assembly is arranged to directly thermally couple the conveyable bulk solid thermal storage media that is conveyed to the heat exchanger assembly with a flow of the working fluid that passes through the heat exchanger assembly. Disclosed embodiments can make use of immersed-particle heat exchanger technology and can offer similar roundtrip efficiency and pressure ratio characteristics comparable to those of a recuperated cycle without involving a recuperator and concomitant piping.

A DC power plant generating DC power from a variety of engines including a Stirling cycle engine. The DC power plant includes a relatively small start-up power source that is discontinued after the engine is running. A method for producing DC power for a load including starting up an engine using power supplied by a relatively small power supply supplemented by a capacitor bank, providing output from the engine to a generator, producing alternating current (AC) power by the generator, converting the AC power to direct current (DC) power, disabling output of the DC power during a first set of pre-selected conditions, limiting a rate of change of current of the DC power during a second set of pre-selected conditions, reducing conducted and radiated emissions of the DC power, disconnecting the DC power from the load under a third set of pre-selected conditions, and providing the DC power to the load.

A DC power plant generating DC power from a variety of engines including a Stirling cycle engine. The DC power plant includes a relatively small start-up power source that is discontinued after the engine is running. A method for producing DC power for a load including starting up an engine using power supplied by a relatively small power supply supplemented by a capacitor bank, providing output from the engine to a generator, producing alternating current (AC) power by the generator, converting the AC power to direct current (DC) power, disabling output of the DC power during a first set of pre-selected conditions, limiting a rate of change of current of the DC power during a second set of pre-selected conditions, reducing conducted and radiated emissions of the DC power, disconnecting the DC power from the load under a third set of pre-selected conditions, and providing the DC power to the load.

Heat transfer systems employing a heat transfer means (e.g., circulating fluid, thermally conductive material, etc.) to transfer heat from the heat source (e.g., fireplace, wood stove or other heat source) to a remote location of a home, residence, building or other structure.

There is herein described energy storage systems. More particularly, there is herein described thermal energy storage systems and use of energy storable material such as phase change material in the provision of heating and/or cooling systems in, for example, domestic dwellings.