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.

A structural body includes a refrigerant between a first plate and a second plate. A circulation structural part between the first and second plates includes a reservoir portion provided on a first plate side. In the circulation structural part, the refrigerant from the reservoir portion which has evaporated due to heat of the first plate side reaches a second plate side, condenses on the second plate side and is returned to the reservoir portion again. A temperature sensitive mechanism is in a first state when a temperature of the first plate side is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature to allow refrigerant circulation, and is in a second state different from the first state when the temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature to prohibit the refrigerant circulation.

Thermal energy battery, comprising: an evaporator-condenser thermal energy storage (ec-TES), with an end for vapor and an end for liquid, comprising one-phase stationary material storing at least 70% of the thermal energy stored within the ec-TES, a storage tank for vapor and liquid (ST), with a vapor part at a higher elevation and a liquid part at a lower elevation, a vapor line, arranged to the vapor end of the ec-TES, for inlet and outlet of vapor, a liquid line arranged between the liquid end of the ec-TES and the liquid part of the ST, a tank vapor line arranged from the vapor part of the ST to the vapor line or the vapor end of the ec-TES, and an evaporation control valve (CV6) in the tank vapor line.

A temperature control system is used for controlling a temperature of a control target. The system includes: a first circulation circuit through which a first heat transfer medium circulates; a second circulation circuit that is independent of the first circulation circuit and through which a second heat transfer medium circulates; and a third circulation circuit that is independent of the first circulation circuit and the second circulation circuit and through which a third heat transfer medium circulates. The third heat transfer medium has a usable temperature range wider than usable temperature ranges of the first heat transfer medium and the second heat transfer medium.

Disclosed are systems and methods of flexibly cooling thermal loads by providing a complex compound system for burst mode cooling, a vapor compression system for ancillary cooling, and a thermal storage system for helping efficiently maintain and cool a thermal load such as a directed energy weapon system.

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.

Heat energy storage systems described in this disclosure can be used for long-term storage of large amounts of thermal energy. In some cases, such systems receive electrical energy from renewable energy sources such as solar panels or wind turbines. Using novel techniques, the heat energy storage systems covert the electrical energy to thermal energy that is stored in hot materials such as molten silicon, molten salts, or any other material that can store large amounts of heat. The heat energy storage systems incorporate extremely good thermal insulation of the thermal energy storage tank that contains the hot materials. The systems are also configured to release thermal energy in an efficient manner to an electricity-producing steam turbine using novel heat exchanger systems and techniques that are described. The energy storage systems described herein have a higher overall real-world efficiency than energy storage systems currently available.

The invention relates to an energy storage system for storing heat and coldness and for providing electrical energy, characterized by an energy converter, wherein the energy converter is designed to produce electrical energy from heat and coldness and to produce heat and coldness from electrical energy, the energy converter being in heat-transferring contact with a hot heat exchanger and with a cold heat exchanger, the hot heat exchanger being connected to a heat reservoir and the cold heat exchanger being connected to a coldness reservoir, and a control unit being provided, which operates the energy storage system in a first operating mode, in which heat and coldness are formed from electrical energy by means of the energy converter, and in a second operating mode, in which electrical energy is produced from heat and coldness.

A thermal energy storage system including an enclosure having an internal volume. An incompressible phase change material (PCM) is provided within the internal volume of the enclosure, where the PCM contracts into a solid state when its temperature falls below a certain temperature and expands into a liquid state when its temperature goes above the certain temperature. An elastic bladder is positioned adjacent to the PCM within the internal volume of the enclosure and is filled with a compressible material, where the PCM pushes against the bladder when it is expanded to the liquid state and causes the compressible material to be compressed within the bladder and the enclosure.

The invention provides a heat-storage medium conveying system for a solar-thermal power plant. The system includes a high-level tank subsystem including a high-level tank used to store the heat-storage medium. The system further includes a heat-storage medium transport subsystem. The high-level tank subsystem is connected with the heat-storage medium transport subsystem. The heat-storage medium transport subsystem includes a low-level tank. A mounting height of the low-level tank is lower than that of the high-level tank. A volume of the low-level tank is smaller than a volume of the high-level tank. The heat-storage medium can enter the low-level tank from the high-level tank partially or completely by its own gravity. The low-level tank is provided with a conveying pump, and the heat-storage medium is pumped out of the low-level tank through the conveying pump. The invention solves the problems such as construction cost, operation and maintenance cost brought about by using the vertical long-shaft submerged molten salt pump, while avoiding the potential safety hazards in the design of large and small tanks or high-level and low-level tanks.