Stommel Haus has equipped a private dwelling in Aberdeenshire with ground-breaking ‘Heating with Ice’ technology by Viessmann. Professional Builder reports.
The innovative ice store system is installed in a highly energy efficient eco timber house from Stommel Haus, a combination that makes the home the first of its kind in Scotland. This heat pump technology recovers heat from renewable sources only – such as the sun, air and ground – to heat, cool and provide hot water for the building.
While drawing energy from ice to heat or cool a house is a new concept, over the past four years Stommel Haus has installed many such systems in its eco houses in Germany.
The ice storage system – which consists of an underground water tank in combination with solar air absorbers – supplies energy to the heat pump that in turn generates hot water for taps and baths, as well underfloor heating on all floors of the house. The system also cools the home in summer months.
The heat pump extracts energy from the water stored in the ice storage tank. The energy used to provide the heat slowly turns the water in the underground tank to ice.
Freezing is an exothermic process so as liquid water changes to solid ice, crystallisation energy, known as latent heat, is released. This latent heat is retained in the ice store system and releases additional usable heat – therefore the term “ice store”.
A heat source management system integrated in the heat pump draws energy from either the ice store or solar air absorbers on the roof. The ice store also draws energy from the surrounding ground to regenerate heat.
In summer, the ice store can be used to provide natural cooling. At the end of the heating season, the water in the store is turned to ice. The ambient summer heat around the store, the solar thermal energy, and the heat that is drawn from the system via an extraction heat exchanger, melt the ice in the ice store and cool the heating circuit of the house.
Christian Engelke, Technical Director at Viessmann, says: “The standard ice storage tank measures 10 cubic metres, which corresponds to the energy content of approximately 120 litres of heating oil. The key difference is that, while the oil is eventually consumed, the water content of the ice store represents an almost limitless heat source that is continuously regenerated with energy from the sun and air.”
Benefits of the Heating with Ice Technology
• No fossil fuel consumption required – combined utilisation of ambient air, the sun and ground as heat source
• No drilling – no environmental risk, no permits required
• Low operating costs thanks to the high COP (Coefficient Of Performance) of the heat pumps, up to 5.0 (B0/W35) to EN 14511
• Particularly high efficiency thanks to intelligent heat source management and heat pump with RCD (Refrigerant Cycle Diagnostic) system with electronic expansion valve (EEV)
• Easy-to-use control unit integrated in the heat pump
For more information on Viessmann click here.
