zlacker

>>PaulHo+(OP)
Perhaps I am missing something; this product already exists as the Sunamp Thermino.

https://sunamp.com/en-gb/hot-water-solutions-thermino-range/

>>chicke+jq1
It also exists, as described in the headline, as a tank of heated water.

The phase change stuff has positives like taking up less physical space but it's also a much less mature tech than storing hot water.

>>ZeroGr+ev1
Indeed.

In the UK there was a unfortunate trend of ripping out these energy storage devices and replacing hot water tanks with on demand electric hot water heating ( only heat the water you need ). And new builds often have no tanks ( as it saves space in the new tiny homes ).

Very short sighted in my view - a very simple way to store energy and everyone uses hot water directly.

>>DrScie+SF1
They don't work well with heat pumps. Heat pumps lose efficiency as the differential increases, so if you try to store heat in a tank, you quickly drop capacity and efficiency.

Versus resistance, which is exactly as efficient at 0°C and 1000°C, and why those storage heaters used to make sense.

(And storage is directly proportional to temperature differential above interior ambient)

>>coryrc+OY3
Home hot water heating in the UK with heat pumps is about 250-300% efficient (slightly lower than the efficiency of home heating but still much better than resistive).

No one is storing 1000C water at home.

It is true that the temperature deltas affects efficiency. You can use the thermocline to draw from the cooler lower portion of the storage tank to push this further. Or less technically, just a bigger tank, though this has some tradeoffs.

In warmer countries they are set up differently can act as free air conditioning by extracting heat from indoor air at the same time as heating water.