It is called MiniStor and from EndeF we are part of this sustainable heating project framed in the Horizon 2020 program of the EU
EndeF works on this project with 17 other entities from around Europe, which include research groups, companies, non-profit organizations and local authorities. The International Energy Research Center (IERC) at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork is leading the project for which it has 8.6 million euros and which aims to develop a greener and more accessible heating alternative to already existing.
MiniStor began development in early December with the goal of creating greener home heating while allowing homeowners to save a considerable sum of money per year.
In the words of IERC director, Professor Tony Day, its operation will be as follows: ”It is based on salts and special phase change materials. The heat will be obtained from the sun, will be collected using a hybrid solar panel (provided by the company EndeF) and will be stored in the new salt storage system.
The stored thermal energy can be released for use when necessary. Also, excess electricity from the sun can be stored in a battery and sold to the grid or used later. ”
MiniStor is expected to have 10.6 times the thermal storage capacity of more conventional water-based systems and, if widely implemented, could help reduce about 3,400 tons of CO2 equivalent each year.
To achieve this, it is expected to last up to four and a half years, its planning involves testing the system with different houses in Ireland, France, Greece and Hungary. This project also includes the design of a “home energy management system” that will manage the installation in the home.
Day estimated the cost of home installation at just under € 10,000, estimating the repayment period at 7 years with, in addition, low maintenance. These are very low figures when compared to other high-end heating solutions that use renewable energy, which in many cases need subsidies to be competitive.
