Smart thermal storage system capable of complex, decentralized heat trading

Abstract

A smart thermal storage system capable of complex, decentralized heat trading, according to the present invention, has a plurality of heat trading units that perform heat trading in a heat trading network, the smart thermal storage system comprising: at least one supplier which includes an inter-system thermal storage tank that collects thermal energy from a heat source and stores same, and which supplies the thermal energy to the heat trading network; at least one prosumer, which is a heat trading unit for performing both consumption and generation of thermal energy in the heat trading network; at least one consumer, which is a heat trading unit for performing only consumption of thermal energy in the heat trading network; and a heat trading hub, which includes a hub thermal storage tank for relaying heat trading among the supplier, the prosumer and the consumer in the heat trading network.

Description

Smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading

[0001] The present invention relates to a smart thermal storage system that performs heat trading on a heat trading network, and more specifically, to a smart thermal storage system that effectively stores heat energy produced from various heat sources and is constructed to enable two-way heat trading between prosumers.

[0002] Recently, interest in environmental protection has increased, and various industrial facilities utilizing renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydrothermal energy are expanding to prepare for future resource depletion.

[0003] Renewable energy can be used continuously without fear of depletion, and it has the advantage of being environmentally friendly and being able to utilize energy without causing pollution. However, there is a problem that the amount of energy generated varies greatly over time, and depending on the type, there are limitations on the period or time at which it can be used, making it difficult to use continuously.

[0004] Therefore, to solve this problem, active research is being conducted on a heat storage system that configures a heat storage tank to store residual heat energy and networks multiple heat transaction units around it to supply the stored heat energy to the appropriate location.

[0005] However, the conventional thermal storage system has a problem in that thermal energy is supplied unilaterally from the component that produces thermal energy to the component that consumes thermal energy, which causes the thermal efficiency of the entire system to drop significantly and sometimes makes it impossible to supply thermal energy in a timely manner.

[0006] Therefore, a method to solve these problems is required.

[0007] The present invention is an invention devised to solve the problems of the above-described prior art, and has the purpose of providing a heat storage system constructed to effectively store heat energy produced from various heat sources and enable two-way heat trading between prosumers, thereby enabling efficient consumption of heat energy overall.

[0008] The tasks of the present invention are not limited to the tasks mentioned above, and other tasks not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

[0009] In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides a smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading, which comprises a smart thermal storage system in which a plurality of heat trading units perform heat trading on a heat trading network, the smart thermal storage system including a seasonal thermal storage tank that collects and stores heat energy from a heat source, one or more suppliers arranged to supply heat energy within the heat trading network, one or more prosumers that are heat trading units that perform both consumption and production of heat energy within the heat trading network, one or more consumers that are heat trading units that perform only consumption of heat energy within the heat trading network, and a heat trading hub including a hub thermal storage tank that relays heat trading among the suppliers, the prosumers, and the consumers within the heat trading network.

[0010] At this time, the supplier may be formed in the form of either a first supplier including a first-stage thermal energy storage tank that collects and stores thermal energy in an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) manner or a second supplier including a second-stage thermal energy storage tank that collects and stores thermal energy in a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) manner.

[0011] And the above-mentioned hub storage tank may be a short-term storage tank with a relatively shorter heat storage period than the above-mentioned intermittent storage tank.

[0012] Additionally, the hub storage tank can receive heat energy from the inter-seasonal storage tank when the total heat consumption required by the prosumer and the consumer exceeds its own heat storage capacity.

[0013] In addition, the hub storage tank can transfer surplus heat energy to the inter-seasonal storage tank and store it when the total heat consumption required by the prosumer and the consumer is less than its own heat storage capacity.

[0014] Meanwhile, the prosumer can request the supply of the remaining heat energy from the hub storage tank when its own heat consumption exceeds its own heat production.

[0015] Additionally, the prosumer can transfer excess heat energy to the hub storage tank and store it when its own heat consumption is less than its own heat production.

[0016] In addition, the prosumer may be equipped with at least one of a geothermal source heat pump (GSHP) and a water source heat pump (WSHP).

[0017] The smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem includes one or more suppliers arranged to supply thermal energy within a heat trading network, one or more prosumers which are heat trading units that simultaneously consume and produce thermal energy, and one or more consumers which are heat trading units that only consume thermal energy, and a hub thermal storage tank which relays two-way heat trading between them, thereby having the advantage that thermal energy consumption can be efficiently performed within the entire system.

[0018] In addition, the present invention has the advantage of effectively linking heat sources and demand through flexible operation of short-term and long-term storage tanks according to heat source characteristics, thereby reducing energy resources and costs.

[0019] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

[0020] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration of a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a drawing exemplarily showing the form in which a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to the first embodiment of the present invention is constructed.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a drawing exemplifying a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a drawing showing in detail the structure of a fluid distribution unit in a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a drawing exemplifying a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] In this specification, when it is said that a component (or region, layer, portion, etc.) is “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another component, it means that it can be directly disposed / connected / coupled to the other component, or a third component may be disposed between them.

[0026] Identical drawing numbers indicate identical components. Furthermore, in the drawings, the thicknesses, proportions, and dimensions of components are exaggerated for the purpose of effectively illustrating the technical content.

[0027] “And / or” includes any combination of one or more of the associated constructs that can be defined.

[0028] While terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a "second component," and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a "first component." Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0029] Additionally, terms such as "below," "lower," "above," and "upper" are used to describe the relationships between components depicted in the drawings. These terms are relative concepts and are described based on the directions indicated in the drawings.

[0030] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. Furthermore, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted to have a meaning consistent with their meaning in the relevant technical context, and unless interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, they are explicitly defined herein.

[0031] Terms such as "include" or "have" should be understood to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but not to exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration of a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to the present invention.

[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to the present invention is constructed so that multiple heat trading units can perform heat trading on a heat trading network.

[0035] To this end, the smart storage system according to the present invention may include a supplier (100), a prosumer (200), a consumer (300), and a heat transaction hub (400).

[0036] The supplier (100) is provided to supply thermal energy within the thermal transaction network, and one or more may be provided on the thermal transaction network.

[0037] And the supplier (100) may include a seasonal heat storage tank (110) that collects and stores heat energy from a predetermined heat source. At this time, the heat source for collecting heat energy by the supplier (100) is not determined in a specific form, and various heat sources can be applied without limitation.

[0038] A prosumer (200) is a heat trading unit that simultaneously consumes and produces heat energy within a heat trading network, and one or more prosumers may be provided on the heat trading network.

[0039] And such a prosumer (200) can be operated in a manner that consumes the thermal energy it produces itself.

[0040] A consumer (300) is a heat trading unit that only consumes heat energy within a heat trading network, and one or more may be provided on the heat trading network.

[0041] And such a prosumer (200) can be operated by consuming heat energy produced through a supplier (100) and stored in a heat trading hub (400) to be described later.

[0042] The heat trading hub (400) may include a hub storage tank (410) that relays heat trading between the supplier (100), prosumer (200), and consumer (300) described above within the heat trading network.

[0043] At this time, the hub storage tank (410) can be implemented as a short-term storage tank with a relatively shorter heat storage period than the seasonal storage tank (110) provided in the supplier (100), and can receive heat energy from the seasonal storage tank (110) or, conversely, transfer heat energy to the seasonal storage tank (110). That is, the hub storage tank (410) and the seasonal storage tank (110) are formed so that they can mutually transfer heat energy.

[0044] In addition, the hub heat storage tank (410) can receive heat energy from the seasonal heat storage tank (110) when the total heat consumption required by the prosumer (200) and consumer (300) exceeds its own heat storage capacity. This is to supplement the heat energy shortage from the seasonal heat storage tank (110) and supply it to the prosumer (200) or consumer (300).

[0045] In addition, the hub heat storage tank (410) can transfer surplus heat energy to the seasonal heat storage tank (110) and store it when the total heat consumption required by the prosumer (200) and consumer (300) is less than its own heat storage capacity.

[0046] This is to prevent loss by transferring excess heat energy to the inter-temperature storage tank (110) which has a relatively long heat energy storage period.

[0047] And when the prosumer (200)'s own heat consumption exceeds its own heat production, it requests the supply of the insufficient heat energy from the hub heat storage tank (410), and accordingly, it can receive heat energy from the hub heat storage tank (410).

[0048] In this process, if the total amount of heat energy stored in the hub storage tank (410) is less than the supply request amount of the prosumer (200), heat energy can be transferred from the seasonal storage tank (110) as described above.

[0049] Additionally, when the prosumer (200)'s own heat consumption is less than its own heat production, the surplus heat energy can be transferred to the hub heat storage tank (410) for storage.

[0050] Afterwards, when the total heat consumption required by prosumers (200) and consumers (300) on the heat transaction network is less than its own heat storage capacity, the hub heat storage tank (410) can transfer the surplus heat energy to the seasonal heat storage tank (110) and store it as described above.

[0051] In this way, the present invention includes a hub storage tank (410) that relays two-way heat transactions between a supplier (100), a prosumer (200), and a consumer (300), thereby enabling efficient consumption of heat energy within the entire system.

[0052] In addition, the present invention enables the flexible operation of a short-term storage tank, a hub storage tank (410), and a long-term storage tank, a seasonal storage tank (110), depending on the characteristics of the heat source, thereby effectively linking heat sources and demand and reducing energy resources and costs.

[0053] In the following description, the drawing symbols for each component shown in Fig. 1 are applied equally even if they are not shown in other drawings.

[0054] FIG. 2 is a drawing exemplarily showing the form in which a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to the first embodiment of the present invention is constructed.

[0055] In the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, the supplier (100) is configured to include a first supplier (100-1) and a second supplier (100-2).

[0056] At this time, in the present embodiment, the first supplier (100-1) may include a first inter-system thermal energy storage tank (110-1) that collects and stores thermal energy using an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) method.

[0057] That is, the first-stage heat storage tank (110-1) uses a naturally formed aquifer to store heat. During the heat storage period, cold groundwater is extracted from the cold water layer, heated, and circulated to the hot water layer. During the heat release period, the flow direction can be reversed and used.

[0058] And in this case, where it is possible to switch in both directions, the cold water layer and the hot water layer can be equipped with pumps and piping networks.

[0059] Additionally, in this embodiment, the second supplier (100-2) may include a second inter-system thermal energy storage tank (110-2) that collects and stores thermal energy using a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) method.

[0060] In other words, the second-level heat storage tank (110-2) uses the ground itself as a heat storage medium, and stores heat directly in the soil where moisture is saturated.

[0061] And in this embodiment, the prosumer (200) is implemented in the form of a smart residential facility (200-1) and a smart office facility (200-2).

[0062] Such a prosumer (200) may be equipped with at least one of a geothermal source heat pump (GSHP) and a water source heat pump (WSHP).

[0063] In particular, in this embodiment, the smart residential facility (200-1) is exemplified as including a first geothermal heat pump (210-1) and a first water-heated heat pump (220-1), and the smart office facility (200-2) is exemplified as including a second geothermal heat pump (210-2).

[0064] In addition, the smart residential facility (200-1) may further include an auxiliary heat storage tank (230) for storing thermal energy generated by the first geothermal heat pump (210-1) and the first water heat pump (220-1). In other words, the prosumer (200) may additionally have its own heat storage tank, taking into consideration its size and operating time.

[0065] And in this embodiment, the consumer (300) is implemented in the form of a smart water purification plant (300-1) and a cultural facility (300-2).

[0066] Such a smart water purification plant (300-1) and cultural facility (300-2) can be operated by receiving heat energy from a hub storage tank (410).

[0067] As described above, the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 is merely presented as an example of implementing the smart storage system shown in FIG. 1, and it goes without saying that the smart storage system of the present invention can be configured in various other ways.

[0068] The present embodiment has been described in detail above, and other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In each embodiment described below, redundant descriptions of components provided in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above will be omitted.

[0069] FIG. 3 is a drawing exemplifying a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0070] The smart storage system according to the second embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3 has a feature in that a fluid distribution unit (500) is provided on a path through which heat energy is supplied from the hub storage tank (410) to the prosumer (200) and consumer (300).

[0071] For example, in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, if a smart residential facility (200-1) is applied as a prosumer (200) and a smart water purification plant (300-1) is applied as a consumer (300), the fluid distribution unit (500) may be provided in each of the paths through which heat energy is supplied from the hub storage tank (410) to the smart residential facility (200-1) and the paths through which heat energy is supplied from the hub storage tank (410) to the smart water purification plant (300-1).

[0072] A fluid distribution unit (500) such as this serves to supply the working fluid that holds thermal energy and flows from the hub storage tank (410) to the prosumer (200) and consumer (300) in a divided manner to various detailed facilities built in the prosumer (200) and consumer (300).

[0073] At this time, the working fluid can be applied without limitation to various gases or liquids for transferring heat energy, and since this is obvious to those skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0074] FIG. 4 is a drawing showing in detail the structure of a fluid distribution unit (500) in a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0075] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the fluid distribution unit (500) includes a distribution tank (510) into which working fluid flowing from the hub storage tank (410) toward the prosumer (200) or consumer (300) is introduced.

[0076] And in this embodiment, one or more partition walls are formed inside the distribution tank (510) so that the internal space of the distribution tank (510) can be divided into a plurality of branch spaces (511 to 513), and the working fluid is distributed and introduced into each of the branch spaces (511 to 513).

[0077] In this way, the working fluid introduced into each branch space (511-513) can be supplied to various different detailed facilities constructed in the prosumer (200) and consumer (300).

[0078] At this time, the fluid distribution unit (500) of the present embodiment may further include a heat exchange housing (520) that intersects the distribution tank (510) so as to cross each branch space (511 to 513).

[0079] An outside air path is formed inside the heat exchange housing (520) through which outside air flows, and the outside air flowing into the heat exchange housing (520) indirectly exchanges heat with the working fluid flowing into each branch space (511 to 513) in the process of flowing into the outside air path.

[0080] And in this embodiment, the heat exchange housing (520) has a characteristic in that the width of the area intersecting with the distribution tank (510) is formed to gradually decrease from upstream to downstream.

[0081] The reason for doing this is to vary the contact area between the heat exchange housing (520) and each branch space (511 to 513), so that the working fluid passing through the branch space (511 to 513) with a relatively wide width of the heat exchange housing (520) exchanges heat with the outside air for a longer period of time.

[0082] That is, the working fluid passing through the relatively wide branch space (511 to 513) of the heat exchange housing (520) has a lower temperature, and the working fluid passing through each branch space (511 to 513) has different temperatures.

[0083] Accordingly, this embodiment has the advantage of not requiring a separate temperature control process in each detailed facility by supplying the working fluid passing through each branch space (511 to 513) to a detailed facility that can be utilized at a temperature appropriate for that facility.

[0084] Additionally, it goes without saying that the outside air heated during the process of passing through the heat exchange housing (520) can also be supplied to the detailed facilities of the prosumer (200) and consumer (300) that can appropriately utilize the temperature.

[0085] FIG. 5 is a drawing exemplifying a smart storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0086] The smart storage system of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5 includes the same fluid distribution unit (500) as the second embodiment described above.

[0087] And in the case of the present embodiment, the heat exchange housing (520) of the fluid distribution unit (500) further includes a housing driving unit (530) that provides a driving force to linearly move in the forward and backward direction while intersecting with respect to the distribution tank (510).

[0088] In this way, the present embodiment is formed so that the heat exchange housing (520) can perform a reciprocating stroke in the front-back direction by the housing driving unit (530), and has the characteristic that the contact area with each branch space (511 to 513) of the distribution tank (510) can be varied according to the front-back position.

[0089] That is, the present embodiment has the advantage of being able to finely control the temperature of the working fluid passing through each branch space (511 to 513) and the outside air passing through the heat exchange housing (520) by varying the contact area between the heat exchange housing (520) and each branch space (511 to 513) of the distribution tank (510) through the housing drive unit (530).

[0090] As described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms, in addition to the embodiments described above, without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the above description, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0091] [Explanation of symbols]

[0092] 100: Supplier

[0093] 100-1: First Supplier

[0094] 100-2: Second Supplier

[0095] 110: Quarterly storage tank

[0096] 110-1: First-tier storage tank

[0097] 110-2: Second-tier storage tank

[0098] 200: Prosumer

[0099] 200-1: Smart residential facilities

[0100] 200-2: Smart Office Facilities

[0101] 210-1: First geothermal heat pump

[0102] 210-2: Second geothermal heat pump

[0103] 220-1: First-sequence heat pump

[0104] 230: Auxiliary storage tank

[0105] 300: Consumer

[0106] 300-1: Smart Water Purification Plant

[0107] 300-2: Cultural facilities

[0108] 400: Hot Trading Hub

[0109] 410: Hub storage tank

[0110] 500: Fluid distribution unit

[0111] 510: Distribution tank

[0112] 511, 512, 513: Branch space

[0113] 520: Heat exchange housing

[0114] 530: Housing drive unit

Claims

1. In a smart storage system in which multiple heat trading units perform heat trading on a heat trading network, A heat storage tank comprising a heat storage tank for collecting and storing heat energy from a heat source, and one or more suppliers arranged to supply heat energy within the heat trading network; One or more prosumers, which are heat trading units that perform both consumption and production of heat energy within the above heat trading network; One or more consumers, which are heat trading units that only consume heat energy within the heat trading network; and A heat trading hub including a hub storage tank that relays heat trading between the supplier, the prosumer, and the consumer within the heat trading network; including, A smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading.

2. In paragraph 1, The above supplier, A first supplier comprising a first-stage thermal energy storage tank that collects and stores thermal energy using an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) method; or A second supplier comprising a second inter-system thermal energy storage tank that collects and stores thermal energy using a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) method; Formed in one of the following forms: A smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading.

3. In paragraph 1, The above hub accumulator, A short-term storage tank with a relatively shorter heat storage period than the above-mentioned intermittent storage tank, A smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading.

4. In paragraph 3, The above hub accumulator, When the total heat consumption required by the above prosumer and the above consumer exceeds its own heat storage capacity, heat energy is transferred from the above intermittent heat storage tank. A smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading.

5. In paragraph 3, The above hub accumulator, When the total heat consumption required by the above prosumer and the above consumer is less than its own heat storage capacity, the surplus heat energy is transferred to the seasonal heat storage tank and stored. A smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading.

6. In paragraph 1, The above prosumer, When its own heat consumption exceeds its own heat production, it requests the supply of the remaining heat energy from the hub storage tank. A smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading.

7. In paragraph 1, The above prosumer, When the self-heat consumption is less than the self-heat production, the surplus heat energy is transferred to the hub storage tank and stored. A smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading.

8. In paragraph 1, The above prosumer, Equipped with at least one of a geothermal source heat pump (GSHP) and a water source heat pump (WSHP), A smart thermal storage system capable of complex distributed heat trading.

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