Installed at HUF HAUS’s UK showroom near Weybridge in Surrey, the ice storage system can supply energy to heat pumps to heat buildings in winter, and cool them in the summer.
The heat pump extracts energy throughout the year from water stored in the ice store. As this energy is used, especially during the winter heating season, the temperature of the water in the ice store falls. If the temperature in the store falls to freezing point, additional latent energy is obtained from the freezing of the water – hence the term ice store.
According to Viessmann, a standard 10m³ ice store for a detached house generates a heat gain equivalent to 100 litres of fuel oil and is capable of 10kW of heating output. A heat source management system is programmed to draw energy for heating from either the ice store or a solar air absorber. The ice store also draws energy from the surrounding ground, to regenerate heat in the ice store out of the winter heating period.
Christian Engelke, Viessmann’s technical director, said: “We are very pleased that HUF HAUS has selected Viessmann’s sustainable ice store heating system for its UK show home, as part of the company’s efforts to achieve zero carbon efficiency.
“The technology is being installed in hundreds of homes and businesses in Germany each year, but in bringing the system to the UK for the first time, we are able to demonstrate to UK customers that our ‘heating with ice’ system is one answer that not only works in theory but is a very real and viable solution for responsible heating for the future.”