In the media: Sheet pile technology brings seasonal buffer

Slim en Voordelig OnlineIn the media

logo_warmtenetwerkIn the January issue of Heat Network Magazine an article is written about Ecovat. Sales Manager Jan van den Boogaard tells the readers more about the technology used for this innovative heat storage system.

We have discovered that our storage system has great potential in existing heating networks and also as an alternative for underground heat and cold storage.

Ecovat uses a new technique used in the construction industry to manufacture the sheet pile wall economically and fast: milling machines inject cement into the milled slot in the ground. These machines are typically used to construct those walls in places where piling is not desired, for example as in the subway network in Amsterdam.

Thanks to a precision system for positioning Ecovat can make a nearly perfect circular wall with a depth of tens of meters. After the construction of the wall an excavator will remove the soil within the circle and fills the gap automatically with groundwater.

Subsequently, the company places a modular interior wall of precast concrete, containing tubes for heat exchange. This is the inner vessel. Finally, a concrete cover is provided with a covering layer thereon. The bottom remains open.

An important difference with the usual heat buffers and thermal energy storage systems is that the water in the storage Ecovat is stationary. The system uses the elements for heat exchange in the walls, which limits heat losses significantly and prevents mixing of hot and cold water. The heat loss from the barrels according to calculations is 10 percent on an annual basis for the smallest model and 5 percent for the largest model.

Mr. Van den Boogaard

You can read the complete article (in Dutch) here.
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