Finnish household energy storage materials

Could Finland's sand battery be the solution to the heating problem?

Finland’s sand battery could be a solution to the heating problem and provide a more flexible way of using and storing heat. This would help a lot in terms of expense while contributing to Finland’s transition toward more renewable sources of gas and electricity.

Can sand be used for thermal energy storage?

The thermal energy storage system will use crushed soapstone as its storage medium. Sand batteries can use sand or sand-like materials as a storage material. Polar Night Energy said soapstone conducts heat better than conventional sand.

What is a sand based heat storage?

Sand-based heat storages can store several times the amount of energy that can be stored in a water tank of a similar size; this is thanks to the large temperature range allowed by the sand. So, it saves space and it allows versatile use in many industrial applications. What kind of a sand you are using?

Does Finland need a district heating system?

"It's very useful in Finland where we have cold winters and need heating pretty much from September to May, [due to] an average annual temperature of under 10C (50F)," she says, adding that half of Finland's 5.5 million people are connected to a district heating network.

How does vatajankoski sand heating work?

The device has been installed in the Vatajankoski power plant which runs the district heating system for the area. Low-cost electricity warms the sand up to 500C by resistive heating (the same process that makes electric fires work). This generates hot air which is circulated in the sand by means of a heat exchanger.

Does Finland have green power?

Finland gets most of its gas from Russia, so the war in Ukraine has drawn the issue of green power into sharp focus. It has the longest Russian border in the EU and Moscow has now halted gas and electricity supplies in the wake of Finland's decision to join NATO.