Accumulator tanks (thermal stores) are the answer to all your renewable energy heating and hot water needs.
For domestic and commercial application, the accumulator tank, or thermal store, enables the highest level of efficiency and flexibility in water based heating systems.
The accumulator tanks we supply are made in Austria, Czech Republic and Finland and are highly insulated thermal storage vessels ranging in size from 300 to 5000 litres capacity filled with the primary water of the heating system. Their function is to collect and store heat energy from any source and to allow flexible use of the heat energy, either directly for space heating or via an internal heat exchanger for hot water.
An accumulator tank is the answer for all micro-generation renewables. Solar, log boilers and heat pump sources of energy can all be connected to the thermal store and if the energy is not needed at the time of generation the tank will store it for later use.
Heat accumulators tend to be quite big as they rely on the mass of water to store heat - the advantage is that heat from your stove can be stored up for use later on. You can often specify the amount of tapping points and coils fitted to a heat accumulator which makes them well suited to heating systems with multiple heat sources - for example you might connect a boiler stove, solar panels, and a gas boiler.
A heat accumulator does what it's name suggests - it accumulates heat. Often a heat accumulator will be a well insulated tank of 1000 litres or more, with many tapping points built in, and possibly with multiple coils inside the tank.
Electrical heating elements
Some can come with electric heating elements to provide an electric backup. Please bear in mind that non renewable electricity has the highest kg CO2 / kWh figure of any fuel (wood, gas, oil, coal).
Stratification is important
A good heat accumulator will stratify well. The hot water at the top of the tank is separated from the cold water at the bottom of the tank by a stratification layer. The thinner this layer the better and the bigger the difference between the hot and cold water. That is because the hotter the water at the top of the tank, the more useful it is for providing domestic hot water. Reducing mixing in the tank means that the top of the tank comes up to temperature much faster giving you access to useful hot water.
Letting you use the stove in an efficient way
The most efficient way to use a wood boiler stove is to burn it relatively fast, allowing for complete combustion of the wood. This can make a lot of hot water which you do not always want to use at the time. The heat accumulator tank lets you store it up for later when you do want it. With a larger boiler stove a decent heat accumulator tank can let you fire up the wood boiler once every 3 days and then use the water from the tank in between (in the depths of winter you would may to fire up more often than this).
Heat Accumulators are ideal for use with solar panels
Similarly with solar panels a heat accumulator lets you store heat generated during the daytime for use later - you may well find that you use more hot water during the night time - when solar panels are not that useful.
