Thermal energy storage management system

A system comprising:

• a thermal energy storage system comprising a phase change material;
• one or more sensors configured to generate temperature data corresponding to the phase change material and a temperature-controlled environment surrounding the phase change material;
• a heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, or refrigeration (HVAC&R) system associated with the temperature-controlled environment;
• and
• a controller comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor of the computing node to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
• reading sensor data from the thermal energy storage system, the sensor data comprising temperature data corresponding to a phase change material and temperature data corresponding to a temperature-controlled environment surrounding the phase change material;
• determining a direction of thermal energy transfer between the phase change material and the temperature-controlled environment surrounding the phase change material based on a comparison of the temperature of the phase change material and the temperature of the environment surrounding the phase change material;
• generating state-of-charge information by estimating a state-of-charge of the thermal energy storage system using a first model that maps temperature, time, or a combination thereof to a quantity of thermally stored energy in the phase change material, wherein the first model comprises a physics-based simulation that incorporates thermal properties of the phase change material, and estimates the quantity of thermally stored energy based on temperature change over time during charging or discharging of the phase change material;
• refining the state-of-charge information by inputting an output of the first model to a second model, wherein the second model comprises a regression model that calibrates the state-of-charge information using data obtained during one or more charging cycles;
• updating the state-of-charge information over time by reapplying the first model and the second model to newly received sensor data;
• transmitting the state-of-charge information to a heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, or refrigeration (HVAC&R) system associated with the temperature-controlled environment;
• and
• controlling, by the HVAC&R system, operation of a HVAC&R asset to selectively charge or discharge the thermal energy storage system while maintaining the temperature of the temperature-controlled environment surrounding the phase change material within a predefined temperature range.

A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions being executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

• reading sensor data from the thermal energy storage system, the sensor data comprising temperature data corresponding to a phase change material and temperature data corresponding to a temperature-controlled environment surrounding the phase change material;
• determining a direction of thermal energy transfer between the phase change material and the temperature-controlled environment surrounding the phase change material based on a comparison of the temperature of the phase change material and the temperature of the environment surrounding the phase change material;
• generating state-of-charge information by estimating a state-of-charge of the thermal energy storage system using a first model that maps temperature, time, or a combination thereof to a quantity of thermally stored energy in the phase change material, wherein the first model comprises a physics-based simulation that incorporates thermal properties of the phase change material, and estimates the quantity of thermally stored energy based on temperature change over time during charging or discharging of the phase change material;
• refining the state-of-charge information by inputting an output of the first model to a second model, wherein the second model comprises a regression model that calibrates the state-of-charge information using data obtained during one or more charging cycles;
• updating the state-of-charge information over time by reapplying the first model and the second model to newly received sensor data;
• transmitting the state-of-charge information to a heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, or refrigeration (HVAC&R) system associated with the temperature-controlled environment;
• and
• controlling, by the HVAC&R system, operation of a HVAC&R asset to selectively charge or discharge the thermal energy storage system while maintaining the temperature of the temperature-controlled environment surrounding the phase change material within a predefined temperature range.