Thermal storage unit

[begreen]

UK's Specflue has developed a common thermal storage unit that can accept inputs from solar, fire(wood stove or pellet), boiler, backup heat source and then act as a single point source for distribution.

http://specflue.com/catalogue/product/thermal-store#

 

[velvetfoot]

500 l. max capacity not enough for stick wood boilers.

 

[begreen]

Prolly right. A small ones attached to the stove and a pellet boiler is what they seem to indicate.

 

[jebatty]

No port for the flux capacitor -- bummer.

 

[begreen]

Coming soon in the Mk 1000.

 

[maple1]

No port for the flux capacitor -- bummer.

Are you sure? Looks like a whole bunch of them to me.

 

[Circus]

$2800 for 140ish gal tank of water seems a bit steep. I've got 750 gal of water in free old soda bottles. Maybe if it was full of some funky phase change material that would store 10 times that of water.

 

[tom in maine]

You can do this with any unpressurized storage tank, simply by placing heat exchangers in whatever level you want it in.
And you can add or remove them as needed.
BTW, our 200g Softank sells as a kit for $389. with our double liner system. Less with a slightly lesser performance liner.
Uses about $200 worth foam which you can get at Home Depot.

 

[begreen]

$2800 for 140ish gal tank of water seems a bit steep. I've got 750 gal of water in free old soda bottles. Maybe if it was full of some funky phase change material that would store 10 times that of water.

Yes, it is expensive. Hopefully part of that goes to superior materials and construction for a longer lifespan (25 yr warranty). If the design works as advertised it should offer better rapid recovery and less boiler cycling. This is not a simple hw tank. It's a tank with a whole lot of water-tight taps and exchangers and an integrated, prefabricated system of controls options. This saves space and a lot of installation time (considering plumbers at $100/hr). It offers great flexibility for future expansion.

UK pricing is high though remember that includes a hefty VAT. A 3K electric water heater can run $1500 and more.