THE mysteries of thermal energy storage will be unveiled in a free presentation at the Villa Marina later this month.
The presentation, organised by Epsilon Consultants (IOM) Ltd in association with the Institute of Engineering and Technology takes place at 2pm in the Broadway cinema.
IFTech, a ‘green’ energy company which is presenting the talk, has completed more than 500 projects around the world using underground thermal energy storage.
The process allows a reduction in demand for fossil fuel by storing hot and cold energy below ground for use as required to heat or air condition buildings.
Michael Glanfield, a director of Epsilon said IFTech had an international reputation for its green energy projects.
Describing the technology involved he said: ‘It is really an application suitable for large concerns like factories. In the summer there will be large roof areas that heat up.
‘There is technology now to capture that excess heat and it can then be stored underground and utilised during the winter to heat a building.
‘During the winter that space can get very cold and that cold energy can also be stored underground and used to cool the building in summer.’
He said the system could potentially reduce fossil fuel usage by 60 to 70 per cent and his company already had one client in the island who might be interested in using such a system.
‘One of the exciting features that will be discussed is the opportunity for the applications to be used in the Isle of Man,’ he said.
A key geological feature is aqifer – permeable water bearing rock – which is needed below ground for the technology to work successfully.
This does feature in the island, he said, which means the technology should be feasible here.
The talk is entitled Exploring the opportunities on the Isle of Man for underground thermal energy storage and it takes place on Friday October 26 at 2pm.
Refreshments will be served beforehand at 1pm.
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