European researchers test pioneering solar energy system in Cork that could cut heating bills
Researchers Dr Carlos Ochoa (left) and Samaneh Fakouriyan (right) from the International Energy Research Centre, based at Tyndall National Institute with the pioneering renewable energy solution in Cork City. Picture: Clare Keogh
A pioneering system which captures and stores energy from the sun and which could help slash home heating bills is being tested in Cork as part of a major pan-European research project.
Researchers at the International Energy Research Centre (IERC) based at the Tyndall National Institute, a research flagship of University College Cork, are piloting the state-of-the-art prototype high-capacity thermal energy storage system called MiniStor at a house in the city’s western suburbs.
It is one of just four sites across the continent involved in the testing.
Dr Carlos Ochoa, a senior researcher at the IERC at Tyndall, said the system offers huge potential.
“The MiniStor device has the potential to provide homes in Ireland and Europe with another option, in addition to building fabric improvement, heat pumps and domestic solar panels, to achieve a future with clean and affordable energy for all,” he said.
The team involved in the European project are trying to find a novel and sustainable way to store and manage heat and electricity from renewable sources such as solar energy.
The MiniStor system captures heat from the sun through solar collectors and then stores it by heating up salt compounds that create a thermochemical reaction.
Crucially, the compact heat store is suitable for family homes.
The heat is then released as needed through a hot water circuit and heat pump for use both in heating and in producing domestic hot water.
With a storage capacity 10 times greater than that of water, the MiniStor system has the potential to provide a practical, compact solution to storing large amounts of heat, the research team said.
As well as reducing domestic home heating bills, the MiniStor system could even reduce, or potentially remove the need for solid fuel, oil or gas-based heating systems in homes.
One such MiniStor system has been installed at a residential home in Cork’s western suburbs, where it will operate for six months to assess how it performs in the Irish climate.
Similar systems are being tested at the same time at locations in Spain, Greece and Hungary.
The researchers said the spread of test sites is to ensure that the system can be adapted across different climatic conditions which they say will help pave the way for it to be adopted across several markets in due course.
The system, part of an EU Horizon Europe funded project, is in collaboration with Cork City Council and 11 other partners from across the continent.
The team involved says MiniStor’s combination of cutting-edge storage technology with renewable energy provides a scalable and sustainable model for European homes that will reduce carbon footprints and energy costs, provide a cheaper and easier way to retrofit existing homes, and could help accelerate the decarbonisation of the building stock across the continent.
