A modular system for thermal control of a vehicle component includes a modular thermal control unit configured to be removably installed in a vehicle, the modular thermal control unit including a housing, a heat exchange component, and a connection assembly configured to removably connect the heat exchange component in thermal communication with a thermal loop of the vehicle.

A heat accumulating unit includes an upstream heat accumulator and a downstream heat accumulator each accommodating a supercooling heat accumulating material. Each of the upstream heat accumulator and the downstream heat accumulator has a channel in which fluid flows. In heat accumulation of the supercooling heat accumulating material, the channel of the upstream heat accumulator and the channel of the downstream heat accumulator are set in a serial connection state by a serial connection pipe. In a temperature rise mode, fluid that has passed through the channel of the upstream heat accumulator flows in a bypass pipe.

The present invention provides a phase change cold storage device having vortex coiled tubes, which falls within the technical field of low temperatures and comprises an inlet tube, an outlet tube, a tube plate, a baffle plate, vortex coiled tubes, a cylinder body, a central tube, a support frame, a seal head and a saddle, wherein the tube plate is fixedly connected to the cylinder body, a lower end position and a central position of the tube plate are respectively perforated, the inlet tube and the outlet tube are respectively connected to a lower end position and a central position of the tube plate, the baffle plate and the vortex coiled tubes are mounted on the central tube, one end of the central tube is fixed on the tube plate, and the other end is inserted through the support frame connected to the cylinder body, the head is connected to the cylinder, provided on the opposite side of the inlet and outlet tubes, and the saddle is provided below the cylinder. The present invention has a compact structure, is easy to manufacture, and easily enhances heat transfer with vortex coiled tubes, and at the same time, has a good cold storage effect and a wide application range.

High temperature thermal energy storage, distinctive in that the storage comprises: a thermally insulated foundation, at least one self-supported cassette arranged on said foundation, which cassette is a self-supporting frame or structure containing a number of concrete thermal energy storage elements, some or all of said elements comprising embedded heat exchangers, a pipe system, the pipe system comprising an inlet and an outlet for thermal input to and output from the storage, respectively, and connections to said heat exchangers for circulating fluid through said heat exchangers for thermal energy input to or output from said thermal energy storage elements, and thermal insulation around and on top of the at least one self-supported cassette with concrete thermal storage elements. The invention also provides a method of building and methods of operating the storage.

Refrigerative shelving arrangement comprising a heat-absorbing shelf (10) formed from a panel having first and second main faces containing plural passages (50) for conveying a working fluid in both liquid and gaseous states around an interior portion of the shelf (10); and a condenser (35) in fluid communication with the heat-absorbing shelf (10), wherein the heat-absorbing shelf (10) and the condenser (35) form a hermetically sealed system configured to allow the working fluid to circulate between the heat-absorbing shelf (10) and the condenser (35) without a compressor.

An energy transportation and grid support system utilizes at least one transportable containment module capable of storing thermal or chemical energy typically produced from renewable or geothermal sources and providing connectivity with energy conversion equipment typically located in a land or sea-based operating facility. The system includes circuitry to hookup to an adjacent electricity grid for the provision of grid support and/or piping to move thermal energy typically used to drive steam turbines generating electricity. The operating facility also includes a communication arrangement to link with and exchange operations control data with a grid or heating operator and the energy transportation operator. The invention is directed to both apparatus and method for the energy transportation and grid support system.

The invention relates to a modular assembly (E) for storing heat by phase-change material including a plurality of heat-storage modules (M1) attached to one another, the heat-storage assembly comprising a vessel (2). At least two adjacent modules are disposed so that a porous external wall (6b) of one of the modules (M1) is arranged facing a porous external wall (6b) of the other of the modules (M1), and so that a solid external wall (6a) of one of the modules (M1), forming one of the parts of the vessel, is attached to a solid external wall (6a) of the other of the modules (M1), forming another part of the vessel.

A heating system and method for heating the interior of a vehicle, such as a motor vehicle, which has an air-air heat exchanger having a heat storage medium, and which is configured to transfer heat between exhaust air, drawn out of the interior, and intake air, supplied to the interior from the vehicle environment, between the exhaust air and the heat storage medium, and between the intake air and the heat storage medium.

A method for cooling a mixed beverage formed with one or more beverage components includes circulating a refrigerant through a heat exchanger having a phase change material to cool a beverage component and sensing a temperature of the refrigerant. The method further includes detecting a first instance when the sensed temperature of the refrigerant equals a threshold refrigerant temperature, detecting a second instance when the sensed temperature of the refrigerant equals the threshold refrigerant temperature, and stopping circulation of the refrigerant when the second instance is detected.

The invention provides an energy storage apparatus comprising a crucible having a cavity and a channel, a phase change material stored in the cavity of the crucible and a heat exchanger having an inlet and an outlet, wherein at least a portion of the heat exchanger is disposed along the channel. Also provided are methods of reversibly storing and/or extracting energy, and an energy storage array comprising a plurality of energy storage apparatus as described above.