Another storage tank system

[in hot water]

out of VT. Looks like they have done a lot of TRYNSYS energy modeling on this system. They claim R80- 100 insulation values!


www.thermalstoragesolutions.com/environmental-climate-exchange.php

 

[flyingcow]

probably ok, but not excited about underground install....but what do i know. Curious about price

 

[tom in maine]

Since these tanks have 10-13" of spray foam, they are a little pricey.
The bigger the tank, the lower the cost per gallon, but the insulation in this case is expensive, but good.
I would prefer to use this type of insulation to make my heat load lower.

These folks try to make a case for seasonal heat storage with solar. This just doesn't work well, even at these insulation values.

I think I have stated here before, that I am nervous about underground tanks that do not have simple access for service.
Things so occasionally need attention. At very least, this should be above ground or in a basement.

When buried, the urethane can eventually waterlog. Even spray foam. Good drainage is very critical.

My 2 cents worth, having worked on really big tanks of this size.

 

[btuser]

I think about that a lot. My front step is granite, and even when it's 60 degrees the rock is warm to the touch. It gets me thinking: "I could heat my house with this rock!". My house needs about 90k/hr on a cold day. A typical solar DHW setup will give me that in a day, so for a whole day's heat I'm going to need a solar array that will give me about 270k/hr, because the sun is really only going to give me 8 hours in the Winter. That would mean a lot of panels on my roof. I'm not against it, but that's a lot.

R80 in the attic? I just raised it to R49 and now I need R80?