The overall objective of MESSIB project is the development, evaluation and demonstration of an affordable multi-source energy storage system (MESS) integrated in building, based on new materials, technologies and control systems, for significant reduction of its energy consumption and active management of the building energy demand.
The MESSIB basic principles are based on the combination of:
1. Rational use of thermal energy for primary energy savings and for increasing the building indoor comfort. Improvement of thermal energy storage developing active building components based on phase change technologies. The isothermal process improves the use of heating and cooling units by decreasing energy requirements. The adequate integration and use of RES decreases further peak loads, thereby reducing grid power needs.
2. Improvement of electrical energy storage, equally integrated with RES in order to shift the demand with the production and to optimise the use of low cost “off peak” power from the grid. This will lead to a reduction of the overload time increasing the security and efficiency of the network.
3. Integration of the technologies in the building. Each of the technologies developed in the project and the whole system will be integrated with conventional installations (heating ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) and electrical grid) optimizing their functionality.
4. An active control/actuation system will smartly manage the profile of use of each storage system and their interactions. This will contribute to the intelligent management of building energy demand and to ensure its security, quality and reliability by selecting how to operate, by cutting in to the conventional network in times of high grid demand or through a parallel supply topped up by low cost power or external sources.
MESS is composed by two thermal and two electrical storage systems, integrated with the building installations and a control system to manage the building energy demand. This new concept will reduce and manage smartly the electrical energy required from the grid favoring the wider use of renewable energy sources (RES) in any type of building and district level. It will reduce raw material use for thermal performance and improve the indoor environment, the quality and security of energy supply at building, including Cultural Heritage (CH), and district level. Furthermore, a significant reduction of the energy unit cost for end-users will be achieved.
To install additional conventional energy generation and distribution network assets with the capacity to accommodate to the maximum (short-term) demand is economically inefficient. Furthermore, productivity decreases when power plants cannot operate at full capacity in periods of reduced demand. The basic idea behind energy storage in buildings is to provide a buffer to balance fluctuations in supply and demand. The demand fluctuates in cycles of 24 hour periods (day and night), intermediate periods (e.g. seven days) and according to seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter). MESSIB systems for storing energy (thermal/electrical) will cover these cycles, with short-term, medium-term or long-term (seasonal) storage capacity.
For more information please visit
http://www.messib.eu/