Researchers in Cork are testing a new solar energy system that could help slash home heating bills.
Spokesperson for the International Energy Research Centre Dr Págraig Lyons said these new systems can store energy for days.
“This system harvests heat energy from the sun and then stores it in a new state-of-the-art heat storage battery that allows you to hold onto that heat for a few days and use it in your house,” he told Breakfast Business.
“One of the things here in Ireland is that our housing stock isn’t of the highest quality.
“So, you’ve heard from SEAI, et cetera, that we’re looking to retrofit thousands of homes over the next 10, 15 years to achieve targets with respect to decarbonising our homes.
“Retrofitting is really, really expensive and this technology is providing a potential mechanism for decarbonising these homes and maybe reducing the cost of retrofitting it and also reducing the energy bills for the customers of the people living in those houses.”
A man installing rooftop solar panels, 20-9-16. Image: Radharc Images / AlamyDr Lyons estimated that these panels could be piloted in ordinary homes in three or four years.
“The big advantage of it is that there are solar collector systems here in Ireland already and they’re storing the heat in water tanks,” he said.
“But if you want to store large amounts of energy, the water tanks would get huge and water does lose its heat over a few days.
“So, you can store 10 times the amount of heat in the same space with this technology, so it’s quite different to what we have today.”
According to Dr Lyons, it will take a few years before this tech is rolled out but the “building blocks are in place there to make it happen”.
Main image: Eight electric solar panels on the roof of a domestic house in West Cork, Ireland. Image: Andy Gibson / Alamy. 9 February 2022
