Transforming the market
ORNL’s heat pump research is just one of many paths Stor4Build will leverage over the next few years to advance potential TES solutions from early- to medium-stage development to market adoption. By 2028, the program intends to have conducted field evaluations of novel packaged or integrated TES solutions to validate the benefits of the new technologies when installed in homes. In addition, the program plans to target a community-scale demonstration that can show aggregated peak demand reduction of 50–100 kilowatts in 20 to 50 homes while reducing the power consumption for thermal loads of individual homes by at least 50% for a duration of four to six hours.
Mumme, who shared anticipated accomplishments for 2025 with Stor4Build workshop attendees at ORNL, noted that the national laboratories will execute projects in five areas: TES-ready heat pumps for residential buildings; TES-ready equipment for commercial buildings; active TES in building envelopes that improve resilience, reduce peak demand and save energy; TES sizing, benefits and decision open-source tools; and standard testing protocols and procedures for TES products.
“Stor4Build unites stakeholders, including the HVAC industry and utility providers, and our academic and research communities to share knowledge and collaborate on shared goals to accelerate scaled adoption of TES technologies in buildings,” Mumme said.
“It will take crosscutting teams to develop equitable solutions that ensure the benefits of TES are clear for everyone,” he added.
In addition to Mumme and Gluesenkamp, Stor4Build co-directors include Sumanjeet Kaur, materials scientist and thermal energy group leader at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and Tim LaClair, distinguished research scientist in building thermal energy sciences at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
This Oak Ridge National Laboratory news article "Stor4Build heats up thermal energy storage solutions for buildings, grid" was originally found on https://www.ornl.gov/news
