Thermal energy storage

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/thermal-energy-storage

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the storage media examples?Water, ice, molten salts, phase-change materials, native earth, bedrock, and deep aquifers
2. What is the scalability?Ranges from small building-integrated systems to large district and seasonal storage facilities
3. How does thermal energy storage help with sunny or windy days?It stores extra heat or cold when there’s plenty of sunshine or wind, and releases it later when we need it, making energy more reliable.
4. Where can thermal energy storage be used?It can be used in homes, neighborhoods, big power grids, and even underground in rocks or aquifers.

Sensible Heat Storage: Storing thermal energy by altering the temperature of a substance without changing its phase.
Latent Heat Storage: Storing thermal energy through the phase transition of a material, such as melting or freezing.
Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES): Storing thermal energy (typically solar heat) collected during warmer months for use in colder months.