Feasibility of thermal energy storage systems in an institutional building in subtropical climates in Australia

Thermal energy storage is (TES) a preferred demand side management (DSM) technology for shifting cooling load demand from peak hour to off-peak hour in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. In this study, the technical and economical feasibility of introducing TES systems in a building in subtropical Central Queensland (Australia) is presented. Firstly, the cooling load profile of existing systems is simulated using building simulation software DesignBuilder (DB) and verified with on-site measured data. Then, using the verified simulation technique, the technical and economical feasibility of TES systems are analysed for both full and partial storage scenarios. The results show that the full and partial chilled storage systems can save up to 61.19% and 50.26% respectively of the electricity cost required for cooling when compared with the conventional system in subtropical climate. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.