Many renewable energy systems have thermal storage tanks that bridge the gap between when energy is available from the heating source, and when that energy is needed by a heating load.
When most people think about solar, they think about photovoltaic panels that generate electricity, but they don’t often think about solar thermal. When considering heating water, solar thermal is incredibly efficient by comparison.
Last month, we began with a concept for an “ideal” thermal storage tank. This tank was then shown in both a classic four-pipe configuration, as well as a newer configuration called two-pipe. This month, we’ll look at a morphing of these two piping methods to create a three-pipe configuration. We’ll also look at options for connecting multiple thermal storage tanks together.