Review of Thermal Energy Harvesting Opportunities in Buildings

The building sector has a substantial energy demand for the requirements of hot water, space heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Thermal energy is thus, a fundamental requirement thoroughly relied upon by the building sector. By exploiting thermodynamic principles, building science and freely available environmental energy, mechanical systems which synchronize with the natural environment can be implemented to efficiently, source and service thermal energy to the building environment.

Each employed mechanical system, purposed to harvest thermal energy will have a unique means of operation and feasibility. Estimation of practical efficiencies, alongside the results of energy simulation modelling can provide foresight on mechanical building system performance. With appropriate case studies, thermal energy harvesting, storage and recovery solutions can be verifiably implemented to achieve significant energy and greenhouse gas savings.