A sustainable space heating solution

With the world's increasing focus on sustainability and decarbonisation, innovative technologies are emerging to tackle the challenges of energy conservation and carbon emissions. Here is how Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are changing the field of thermal energy storage fields.

- Samit Jain

The growing need for sustainable space heating

PCMs are especially valuable in space heating applications for residential, defence or other buildings or storage purposes, due to their ability to store a large amount of energy in the form of latent heat. They provide an environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional heating systems that rely on fossil fuels.

Space heating is a critical aspect of providing comfortable and habitable environments, especially in extreme weather conditions. In regions where temperatures can plummet to sub-zero levels, heating solutions become essential for human comfort, health and productivity. In many parts of North India that face extreme weather conditions, residents rely on diesel or kerosene, apart from wood-burning for heating, due to frequent disruptions to electricity. In geographically harsh and distant terrains as well, electricity is often unavailable.

Even if gas-based heating systems are available, with the ability to upgrade to modern heating systems that use electricity, this is often put off, as there is no guarantee of an uninterrupted electricity supply. At extreme temperatures, the battery storage becomes unusable or defunct, due to their reaction to temperature. For this reason, batteries are oversized and occupy precious space, because only 50 percent of the capacity can be utilised, and the cost of batteries per kilowatt is more than thermal storage.

Challenges of traditional heating methods

Traditional heating methods, such as wood-fired stoves, kerosene heaters and diesel-based systems, have many challenges. Some of them are: