Sun Stream Heat Stores (Power Tanks)

Heat Storage Tanks are a revolutionary, new technology, developed in Germany, which, when coupled with “Sun Stream” solar heating panels, can reduce oil or gas consumption by as much as 70%. They can be used in both domestic and commercial applications, with equal success.

They are certified to the highest German quality standards and hold the TUV certificate. They are guaranteed for 10 years, but have an expected life of over 100 years as there are no moving parts, include no corrosive materials and need no maintenance.

What are Sun Stream Heat Stores or Power Tanks?

The Heat Store or Power Tank is a latent energy storage system ideal for domestic and commercial installations which will effectively improve boiler efficiency and maximise the solar gain from Sun Stream solar collectors.
It achieves this by storing all excess heat generated by the solar collectors,at the same time reducing the boiler cycle i.e. the number of times the boiler fires-up, by as much as 90%.

90% of all heating systems are operating in an inefficient range, that means that systems switch on and off 30- 40000 times per year. This leads to high energy consumption, soot production in the flue gases and increased technical wear in the system.

The integration of Sun Stream Heat Storage Tanks reduces the response times down to 3-4000 cycles (depending on boiler type) thus achieving a substantial increase in boiler efficiency. At the same time they permit the installation of larger than normal solar thermal systems, as all the excess heat can now be stored and used later.

Sun Stream Heat Storage Tanks are available for both vertical and horizontal fixings, therefore most properties can be accommodated, including garages, basements and lofts.

A smart controller is required to manage the system

Heat Storage Tanks can be integrated into the following systems :-

Generator systems

Heat Pumps Heat Transfer systems

Sterling Engines

Fuel Cells

Oil / Gas boilers

Solar Systems

Wood and pellet stoves

Technical Report on Saving Energy with Latent Energy Storage

According to the German Federal Environment Agency, 50% of all pollutants are generated by domestic and commercial boilers in the start and cut-off phases of their burners. In the main, these pollutants are unburned hydrocarbons that means fuel that is being wasted. The large producers of heating boilers also quote the number of burner starts in the average boiler as being up to 50,000 per year.

A report by the Technical University of Aachen says that only after 3-6 minutes firing does a burner reach what is called the stationary level. This is when combustion becomes effective and achieves maximum efficiency. This means that, based on 50,000 starts, in the course of a year, a boiler needs to be firing for 2500 hours in order to reach maximum efficiency. As the average service time of boiler is considerably less than that, the conclusion must be that a running time of 6 minutes is very rarely achieved, and even then only when in very cold weather conditions. Thus in most cases, few boilers ever reach the desired stationary level and a very high proportion of unburned fuels escape via the flue.

In addition to this, each boiler start up creates soot and just a 1mm layer considerably reduces heat transmission and increases flue gas temperature by about 500 C. By reducing the number of boiler starts therefore, the need for cleaning and service can also be reduced.

The answer to these problems is of course to decrease the number of boiler starts and increase burn time at the stationary level thereby increasing the efficiency of the boiler, reducing the amount of unburned hydrocarbon emissions, and reducing soot deposits.

This is what can be achieved with the introduction of latent heat storage system in the form of Power Tanks from Firstlight Energy. By storing the energy produced by the boiler, burner starts can be reduced by over 90% thus virtually eliminating the amount of unburned hydrocarbons. The operating efficiency of the boiler is increased accordingly, and fuel consumption and soot deposits dramatically reduced. As Power Tanks also serve to increase the effectiveness of solar heating, an installation of Power Tanks and Sun Stream solar heating panels is probably the most effective means to reduce energy consumption available on the market today.

(source: TH Aachen, TFH Berlin)