Phase-change heat storage
Storing heat in a material that melts when warmed and gives the heat back as it freezes again. Tried with Glauber's salt in 1948.
- Category
- heat
- Principle
- A salt such as sodium sulfate decahydrate melts at about 90 °F, absorbing heat. As it recrystallizes it releases that heat, so a small volume stores more than the same mass of stone or water.
Failure modes
- The salt separates into layers that will not remix
- Containers corrode and leak
Sources
- The House of the Day After Tomorrow. MIT Technology Review, June 22, 2010. · accessed November 4, 2026
- Dover Sun House. Wikipedia. · accessed November 4, 2026
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