Session: 19-03: Symposium to Honor Professor Jane Davidson III

Paper Number: 169975

169975 - Low Temperature Thermal Storage: A Researcher's Random Walk Right Back to the Start 

Abstract: 

Since my time in the Solar Energy Lab until today as a Research Scientist at Center for Energy and Environment, I’ve usually been working on some formulation of the same problem: how do we heat our buildings in very cold climates using clean energy? Seventeen years ago Jane Davidson gave me the opportunity to work on thermal energy storage as a potential solution to this problem. I didn’t make much progress during that attempt, but I did learn a lot and much of it continues to serve me every day. Since my time in the Solar Lab, I’ve had opportunities to work on this problem from many different technical, economic, and political perspectives. And while the problem is much more complex and multi-faceted than my original focus, I’m happy to report that so too are the solutions available to us. And we may now actually be fast approaching the point where thermal energy storage does have a significant role to play in bridging the gap between the availability of clean energy and the space heating needs of buildings in very cold climates. Please join me as I describe how my time in the Solar Lab prepared me to make a career out of a problem and make meaningful contributions toward the solutions.

Presenting Author: Josh Quinnell Center for Energy and Environment

Presenting Author Biography: As a senior research scientist at the CEE, Josh focuses on the intersection between energy efficiency, decarbonization via electrification, and our energy systems.